Cliff Joyner vs. Efren Reyes

[playboy]

Funny how Efren makes everyone feel helpless..prime example Cliff Joyner..I have seen Cliff play enough 2 Know that he should ROB efren getting a ball..Cliff has a one-pocket gear that is a mystery 2 man..we've all seen it..foul,foul,3 railer from nowhere split the wicket then 12 and out!

Capable of not only beating but spotting anyone on earth..except 4 one guy..one toothless unassuming master cueist named Efren Reyes..

Here's what I don't understand..why does Cliff lay an egg everytime they play? I mean he plays like a shy kid would for his old man..very timid,second guessing himself..I don't get it.

Does the magician have some sort of "MAGICAL SPELL" over cliff ..or is it all in cliff's head? ? ? ?

Could it be that Efren is that much better than anyone in the world..he makes mere mortals like cliff look bad? ? ?

Any thoughts AZ

 

[poolcuemaster]

Yea he's that good and he robbed Joiner this year at the derby giving him a two ball spot and I mean 9 to 7, plus he won the derby's one pocket and overall again this year. He is a pool playin magician that will continue to win at one pocket for a long time.--Leonard

 

[rossaroni]

Could it be that Efren is that much better than anyone in the world..he makes mere mortals like cliff look bad? ? ?

Any thoughts AZ

I think this is the case. Even if everyone played there absolute best against Efren, they still could not get there imo. I have often heard that most play bad against him, because of the intimidation factor, but does it really matter how good they play?!?!

 

[JCIN]

This is pure speculation on my part but:

Could it be that Efren is guilty of what many of us mere mortals are? Playing to the level of his competion? I mean if he is playing a guy who many consider the top US one pocket player, maybe he focuses just a little bit more. Maybe he senses he has a mental edge on Joyner and exploits it.

Or maybe he is an alien from a planet where he is a D player and was exiled to Earth in shame.

Could go either way.

 

[rossaroni]

This is kind of like when you are playing non-players or low level players. You might run a couple racks and not miss any balls. They say stuff about you being a pro , but they have no reality how good the pros really play. Maybe the rest of the pros look great when playing regular champions, but they have no chance of getting to Effie's level of one hole.

 

[parvus1202]

Are you all saying Reyes is some kind of God or something? Lord Of The Table? The Power Of Olympus? The King Of Kings? Naaaa... Just what he always says, " I am just lucky ".

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

Are you all saying Reyes is some kind of God or something? Lord Of The Table? The Power Of Olympus? The King Of Kings? Naaaa... Just what he always says, " I am just lucky ".

Damn, that's a very high ratio of Luck ! can anybody tell me where to buy it? I don't get that too much luck in a lifetime !

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

This is pure speculation on my part but:

Could it be that Efren is guilty of what many of us mere mortals are? Playing to the level of his competion? I mean if he is playing a guy who many consider the top US one pocket player, maybe he focuses just a little bit more. Maybe he senses he has a mental edge on Joyner and exploits it.

Or maybe he is an alien from a planet where he is a D player and was exiled to Earth in shame.

Could go either way.

I can remember Freddy sayin about Efren "I hate the way he plays, I cant take it that a human can have that much talent". I think he also said that "Efren should either be kidnapped or barred from playing the game". that was freakin funny

 

[cuetechasaurus]

Efren never lets his opponents feel comfortable. He thinks ahead like he's playing chess. Look at how Alex played him in the semi finals of last year's DCC. Alex was playing absoloutely tremendous 1pocket. It was like a tug of war between them, and Efren would knock him off balance, then give the rope a big tug, time and time again.

 

[cuetechasaurus]

I can remember Freddy sayin about Efren "I hate the way he plays, I cant take it that a human can have that much talent". I think he also said that "Efren should either be kidnapped or barred from playing the game". that was freakin funny

LOL yeah Freddie and Billy and DiLiberto were freaking out at some of the shots he was pulling off, and the way he was running out. Incredible stuff!

 

[Slider]

Luck comes in two flavors...

Damn, that's a very high ratio of Luck ! can anybody tell me where to buy it? I don't get that too much luck in a lifetime !

Like most of us, you're probably having a lot more luck than you think.

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

I think this is the case. Even if everyone played there absolute best against Efren, they still could not get there imo. I have often heard that most play bad against him, because of the intimidation factor, but does it really matter how good they play?!?!

I don't think so. I've watched Efren's semis match against Alex in the DCC. Alex was really playing terrific 1P. his best performance I should say. regardless of his performance, he was simply outclassed by Efren. You would just see Alex's frustration on his face, laughs to himself whenever Efren jails him after performing seemingly impossible counters. the notion of "He isn't human" was mentioned a lot of times during this match.

I'm just having some thoughts though. Efren seems to have difficulty playing Shawn. I wonder why? he must be the 1P version of Ralf Souquet !

 

[pooladdict]

This is pure speculation on my part but:

Or maybe he is an alien from a planet where he is a D player and was exiled to Earth in shame.

Could go either way.

Thanks JCIN, you made me laugh there

 

[Gerry]

Funny thing is I've heard the commentators more than once on Accu-stats mention how Efren plays 1P the "wrong" way!.......HAFRIGGINHA. I know I know they were speaking from an old school POV.

I FEEL Efren was knowledgeable enough to see how 1P was played when he got here, and realize that there was a much better way to play the game. With his unearthly touch and Billiards knowledge he revolutionized the game IMO from a defensive battle to an intelligently aggressive battle.

or, maybe he's just sadist and enjoys putting players into those horrible positions!

Gerry

 

[BazookaJoe]

Funny thing is I've heard the commentators more than once on Accu-stats mention how Efren plays 1P the "wrong" way!.......HAFRIGGINHA. I know I know they were speaking from an old school POV.
Gerry

Efren simply plays it Efren's way.

That's why you can't trap him. Because he can see shots you can't.
And he shoots shots you wouldn't dare.
You gotta beat him to the shot and run out. And you will not beat him to the shot.

 

[ragbug74]

Efren simply plays it Efren's way.

That's why you can't trap him. Because he can see shots you can't.
And he shoots shots you wouldn't dare.
You gotta beat him to the shot and run out. And you will not beat him to the shot.

I think Joe nailed it:

Efren sees AND SHOOTS shots that no one else does. This impacts the game in (2) ways: Efren will score balls that you never even considered to be a viable shot, plus he throws that bit of doubt in your mind every time you let him to the table making you wonder "what shot will he 'find' when he gets to the table?"

Couple these factors along with his ability to "move", it's an uphill battle for anyone in the world....hence Cliff getting a spot.

I saw Efren and Cliff play a late-night set on the opening Friday night of the DCC in 2006. They played from midnight to after 5:30 a.m. with Efren spotting Cliff a ball. If I remember correctly, they were racing to 11 and Efren was up 7-1 before Cliff knew what hit him. The final score was something like 11-4 and the word was it was for quite a few bags of sand. This is no knock on Cliff's game, he actually played pretty well. Efren was just "magical".

The only reason people say Efren plays one-pocket "the wrong way" is that they don't think like he does (no one does), so his game seems odd from time to time. Well, if you can dominate people the way he does, I don't think there's anything "wrong" with his game.....it's all good!

 

[john schmidt]

well

efrens the best at onehole,but from what ive seen cliff has played way under his true speed against efren.ive seen cliff play a hundred times and believe me if he would play his a game efren could still beat him but it would not be as lopsided as people think.