I think Earl is the greatest 9ball player that ever lived. He was an offensive juggernaut that nobody could touch when he was on.
Efren did give Earl a taste of his own medicine on the last day of TCOM in Hong Kong where they played for $100,000(though I think they made a 25k/75k saver beforehand). Once Efren got his break working, Earl basically just sat there and watched Efren run everything out. In about 30 racks Earl only made 2 or 3 mistakes, and he lost the whole thing from having a 17 rack lead on Efren.
Efren's the greatest all-around player ever, IMHO. And I also think that Earl will always be the greatest 9ball player in the history of the game.