LastTwo said:
But look at Efren's consistency ever since he came to the united states. You are talking about a 4 year span of perfect 9-ball, Efren has a span of decades with high finishes in 95% of the tournaments he plays in, if he doesn't snap them off.
Every great pool player has had their heyday. There was a period of time when Mike Sigel was winning everything, then there was Nick Varner, Buddy Hall, you name it. Look what's happening to Kid Delicious.
Efren's never had a prime, he has continued to play great with consistency for decades.
Buddy Hall can still play, absoloutely, look at his high finishes in these tournaments recently. Every top player out there has had a period when he was nearly unbeatable, except for Efren. Efren is the only player, quite possibly in the world, who can beat 95% of the top players in the world when he is struggling. He's got the moves, and I'm sure Buddy does too. But Efren's performance at DCC shows what he's made of, even in his older age, he is still the world's greatest pool player to ever grace the planet. I'll take Efren over any of the all time greats as the favorite, no doubt in my mind. When I hear people who have been around pool for 30-40 years, they speak of Efren in the same fashion- nobody can accomplish what he has accomplished, and continued to accomplish.
Buddy hall in a similar fashion, yet a 4 year period of dead punch doesn't compare much to a man who for the past few decades is often capable of shooting a 1000.
I've hear stories of Buddy and Efren matching up, something along the lines up Efren saying "Buddy you never meeeess" or something like that, and shortly thereafter, Buddy became a witness to the greatness of Efren.
Pool is the type of the game where you can lose without participating in a match. Just because Buddy kept people in their chairs the entire set, doesn't mean that it hasn't happened to him. What Efren is known for is, hence the name the "magician" is coming with unbelievable shots, sometimes not even for the run out, but for mere control of the table.
There is no human being on this planet who can beat Efren on a consistent basis. The man's a genius at the table. Of course Buddy is too, but I think Efren is a better player than Buddy, even when Buddy was in his prime, IMHO. By the way, I'm a young guy who wasn't around to see Buddy in his prime, but I've heard multiple accounts, from guys who have been around pool for nearly half a century. They all painted a pretty clear picture- Efren would have beaten Mosconi at any game, even if it were 14.1, had Efren dedicated time to practic and learn the game. He's the most talented cueist on the planet, IMHO.
I have to laugh when people say Efren is the greatest
cueist of all time. I mean no disrespect to Efren,
I think he's an amazing player and probably the best
all-around pool player right now. However, 50 years
from now when people look at the record books they'll
see Earl's 6 world Championships and 5 U.S. Opens,
Mike Sigel and Steve Mizerak's numerous titles,
and they'll see Efren's name but not nearly as
often as the others. To say he was better than
Mosconi is ridiculous, he won 15 World Titles! He
dominated he game for almpst his entire career,
Reyes hasn't dominated anything. Even saying
he's the greatest Cueist in the world is a bold
statement; Blomdahl the 6 or 7 time billiard
champion also won the European Masters 9 ball title,
How many players have ever won major titles in
more than one cue-sport? In fact I have a tape of
Blomdahl and Reyes playing 3-cushion and 9-ball and
Blomdahl wins both games handily.
Then there's Stephen Hendry in snooker with 7
World Titles! Or the legendary Walter Lindrum who
not only dominated English Billiards but eventually
got so good he had to spot all the other top players
7,000 pts in championship play!
Again, I don't mean to put Reyes down, he is a
great player, but not a dominant one.
Even though he's about 60 and now down about 50 pounds from his 350 lb. high, Buddy Hall was unbelievable this weekend in New Orleans winning the Sports Center's nine ball tournament by double dipping Mike Black in the finals.
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