Efren, His Cues, Cuedealer Bong, Bugsy the Gangster, and A Man Named JUDD
In an earlier thread someone asked what cue does Efren Reyes use? Forgive me for answering out of thread but this post took a while to write and I figured it might not get read as much if I posted it as a reply.
Ahhh yes, “What’s Efren using?” I’ve wondered this myself before. This is not an easy question to answer because of the man in question. In this particular instance one must be mindful of the person who you are wondering about. Efren Reyes is not your average pool player. This is a gross understatement. Most of us find a cue we like and usually stick with it. Some of us who are financially well off not to mention obsessive compulsive, buy numerous cues and go thru them like kleenex. More power to them! But Efren Reyes is in a unique position of being one of the most successful, beloved, and approachable players in the history of pool during the internet and ebay age no less. That being said he has endless opportunities to come across hundreds of different kinds of cues and cue makers, lucky guy! Oh yeah don’t forget the fact that he often changes shafts and whole cues mid inning! Mix all of those things togehter and you get the situation we have with Efren today. Multiple cue sightings and endorsements.
In 2004 I spent my Thanksgiving in the Philippines (mom was shall we say, less than pleased), and a friend of mine went on a cue buying rampage in Angeles City. Sure enough I eagerly tagged along. This is where I met Bong Pectus. Bong is a local cue dealer and monster player himself. The talent pool is endless in the Philippines this is not hype. During our conversation with Bong we started talking about Efren and this is where I first learned that Efren usually plays with a Judd Fuller. The cue he specifically was talking about was the plain birdseye maple one with the cocobolo handle. When I got home I promptly Googled "Judd Fuller" because I was curious and had never heard of this cue maker before. Google swiftly spat back "www.juddcues.com" and started emailing Judd’s wife, Trudy Fuller. I asked her if what I had learned from Bong was true and she confirmed that yes indeed that particular cue was a Judd. In fact it’s their most basic and affordable cue in the Judd Fuller line the JT-1. The JT is for Judd and Trudy FYI. Anyway, I told her that I have seen many posts online where people (most likely Filipino) swore on their grandma’s grave that this was a Philippine made cue. She mentioned that she, Judd, and Efren had heard this claim many times and that it upsets Efren somewhat because the Fullers don’t get their due. This is not the only Judd Fuller cue Efren has. Efren gets his Judds through a mutual friend the Fullers and he share. Another Judd he has is the one he uses a lot recently. It’s a maple cue with four ebony low points with ivory diamonds and four ivory high points and a bare ebony wrap area. I’ve seen this cue up close in real life and it’s gorgeous. You can see pictures of it in the last US Open and DCC in the AZB gallery. Trudy Fuller is a pleasant lady to converse with. She has shared some interesting Efren stories of her own with me. She told me how with his cocobolo JT-1 if you look closely you’ll notice that at the joint the collars for the butt and shaft are different. That’s because Efren uses a shaft from another Judd, a black JT-1. Trudy also shared how she and Judd can’t seem to figure out why Efren would from time to time wrap his pointed ebony cue (the current one) with tape. Again you can see pictures of that in the AZB gallery. She said they made that particular cue without any wrap on purpose because he had liked the feel of the JT-1 so much. Again Efren perplexes not only us but even his own cue makers.
The last time I was in the Philippines was this past December. This time I got to meet Efren, thanks to Bong!, and watched him do battle with Ronnie Calamba (Alcano) at Bugsy’s Lair. A friendly game of fifteen ball Rotation race to 15, even, for about 2 large if I remember correctly. Efren won 15 to 9. My Bugsy’s Lair (pool Shangri La) experiences are a whole ‘nother post that I’d have to make later. One last thing, it was Christmas time so almost all the Filipino pros were home and I swear I saw almost all of them casually hanging out at Bugsy’s. Anyway, that night I never saw the Judd come out. Efren used the plain pointless ebony wrap-area cue shown in the earlier thread posted by 1pocket. I have no idea what kind of cue that one is. The third and final time I went to Bugsy’s, Efren mainly used the same cue but the Judd (with the points) finally did come out of his case when he got out of position had to shoot a cagey 2 ball cut shot that he had to shoot vertical like a masse shot. I even got that on video. How do we show videos on this site anyway? After shooting the 2 ball with the Judd his manager handed him back the other cue (a la Tiger Woods’ golf caddy) and Efren proceeded to run out. This leads me to believe that the Judd is heavier.
Efren is notorious for switching cues and shafts during play. If you remember this was the cause of some brief drama at the IPT King of the Hill last year when he needed to shoot the 8 ball and decided he needed a different cue to do so, for reasons only Efren knows. When Efren went to switch cues the ref thought he was done and like a good ref proceeded to gather the balls up. Luckily with the kazillion video cameras at the IPT they could replace all of the balls in their original positions and finish the rack correctly. Ahhh Efren! What shenanigans will he get into next?
Again with all that being said it’s hard to say which his favorite cue is. All we can do is speculate. It’s obvious he fancy’s his Judds a lot. But with Efren you can never tell. No one is wrong when they say he uses so and so’s cues or endorses so and so’s cues. There is an error in saying he only uses one cue. Efren has the luxury to use and endorse which ever cue he likes and wants and I don't think he is contractualy obligated to stick only with one particular cue. I don’t think he is in the same situation as say Earl Strickland probably is with Cuetec. I believe he is a savvy business man and will make the best of all the countless opportunities presented to him. Rodney Morris used to or may still represent Fury Cues but when he was here last year he showed me up close just how beautiful his Szamboti is. I’m sure any pro lucky enough to be sought after has the same decisions to make. I wish I had those kinds of “dilemmas”. Any sponsored pro reading this forum please feel free to chime in and inform us how those deals usually work out.
One time when perusing thru a book about Michael Jordan there was a picture of him cleaning one of his golf clubs in his garage. Everyone knows how crazy he is about golf. When you look at the picture Michael is standing amidst a sea of golf bags. I swear it was something like 50 or so different bags you’d think he was at some country clubhouse waiting to get on the course instead of standing in his own garage! I imagine somewhere in the Philippines the Reyes’ household garage is the same way too. But instead it’s filled with a sea of pool cue cases. ;P
By the way, this is only my second post on AZB. In the responses to my first about Earl and the HOF a lot of you kindly welcomed me. I’d like to say thank you for positive comments and hospitality. I’m from Hawaii but currently living and working in South Korea so I get to hop over to the Philippines a lot. Yes, I know another AZB’r, Sheaprek. He and I are pool buddies here and play in the same local league.
This forum is fun and highly informative!
Thanks Again! Cheers to all!
In an earlier thread someone asked what cue does Efren Reyes use? Forgive me for answering out of thread but this post took a while to write and I figured it might not get read as much if I posted it as a reply.
Ahhh yes, “What’s Efren using?” I’ve wondered this myself before. This is not an easy question to answer because of the man in question. In this particular instance one must be mindful of the person who you are wondering about. Efren Reyes is not your average pool player. This is a gross understatement. Most of us find a cue we like and usually stick with it. Some of us who are financially well off not to mention obsessive compulsive, buy numerous cues and go thru them like kleenex. More power to them! But Efren Reyes is in a unique position of being one of the most successful, beloved, and approachable players in the history of pool during the internet and ebay age no less. That being said he has endless opportunities to come across hundreds of different kinds of cues and cue makers, lucky guy! Oh yeah don’t forget the fact that he often changes shafts and whole cues mid inning! Mix all of those things togehter and you get the situation we have with Efren today. Multiple cue sightings and endorsements.
In 2004 I spent my Thanksgiving in the Philippines (mom was shall we say, less than pleased), and a friend of mine went on a cue buying rampage in Angeles City. Sure enough I eagerly tagged along. This is where I met Bong Pectus. Bong is a local cue dealer and monster player himself. The talent pool is endless in the Philippines this is not hype. During our conversation with Bong we started talking about Efren and this is where I first learned that Efren usually plays with a Judd Fuller. The cue he specifically was talking about was the plain birdseye maple one with the cocobolo handle. When I got home I promptly Googled "Judd Fuller" because I was curious and had never heard of this cue maker before. Google swiftly spat back "www.juddcues.com" and started emailing Judd’s wife, Trudy Fuller. I asked her if what I had learned from Bong was true and she confirmed that yes indeed that particular cue was a Judd. In fact it’s their most basic and affordable cue in the Judd Fuller line the JT-1. The JT is for Judd and Trudy FYI. Anyway, I told her that I have seen many posts online where people (most likely Filipino) swore on their grandma’s grave that this was a Philippine made cue. She mentioned that she, Judd, and Efren had heard this claim many times and that it upsets Efren somewhat because the Fullers don’t get their due. This is not the only Judd Fuller cue Efren has. Efren gets his Judds through a mutual friend the Fullers and he share. Another Judd he has is the one he uses a lot recently. It’s a maple cue with four ebony low points with ivory diamonds and four ivory high points and a bare ebony wrap area. I’ve seen this cue up close in real life and it’s gorgeous. You can see pictures of it in the last US Open and DCC in the AZB gallery. Trudy Fuller is a pleasant lady to converse with. She has shared some interesting Efren stories of her own with me. She told me how with his cocobolo JT-1 if you look closely you’ll notice that at the joint the collars for the butt and shaft are different. That’s because Efren uses a shaft from another Judd, a black JT-1. Trudy also shared how she and Judd can’t seem to figure out why Efren would from time to time wrap his pointed ebony cue (the current one) with tape. Again you can see pictures of that in the AZB gallery. She said they made that particular cue without any wrap on purpose because he had liked the feel of the JT-1 so much. Again Efren perplexes not only us but even his own cue makers.
The last time I was in the Philippines was this past December. This time I got to meet Efren, thanks to Bong!, and watched him do battle with Ronnie Calamba (Alcano) at Bugsy’s Lair. A friendly game of fifteen ball Rotation race to 15, even, for about 2 large if I remember correctly. Efren won 15 to 9. My Bugsy’s Lair (pool Shangri La) experiences are a whole ‘nother post that I’d have to make later. One last thing, it was Christmas time so almost all the Filipino pros were home and I swear I saw almost all of them casually hanging out at Bugsy’s. Anyway, that night I never saw the Judd come out. Efren used the plain pointless ebony wrap-area cue shown in the earlier thread posted by 1pocket. I have no idea what kind of cue that one is. The third and final time I went to Bugsy’s, Efren mainly used the same cue but the Judd (with the points) finally did come out of his case when he got out of position had to shoot a cagey 2 ball cut shot that he had to shoot vertical like a masse shot. I even got that on video. How do we show videos on this site anyway? After shooting the 2 ball with the Judd his manager handed him back the other cue (a la Tiger Woods’ golf caddy) and Efren proceeded to run out. This leads me to believe that the Judd is heavier.
Efren is notorious for switching cues and shafts during play. If you remember this was the cause of some brief drama at the IPT King of the Hill last year when he needed to shoot the 8 ball and decided he needed a different cue to do so, for reasons only Efren knows. When Efren went to switch cues the ref thought he was done and like a good ref proceeded to gather the balls up. Luckily with the kazillion video cameras at the IPT they could replace all of the balls in their original positions and finish the rack correctly. Ahhh Efren! What shenanigans will he get into next?
Again with all that being said it’s hard to say which his favorite cue is. All we can do is speculate. It’s obvious he fancy’s his Judds a lot. But with Efren you can never tell. No one is wrong when they say he uses so and so’s cues or endorses so and so’s cues. There is an error in saying he only uses one cue. Efren has the luxury to use and endorse which ever cue he likes and wants and I don't think he is contractualy obligated to stick only with one particular cue. I don’t think he is in the same situation as say Earl Strickland probably is with Cuetec. I believe he is a savvy business man and will make the best of all the countless opportunities presented to him. Rodney Morris used to or may still represent Fury Cues but when he was here last year he showed me up close just how beautiful his Szamboti is. I’m sure any pro lucky enough to be sought after has the same decisions to make. I wish I had those kinds of “dilemmas”. Any sponsored pro reading this forum please feel free to chime in and inform us how those deals usually work out.
One time when perusing thru a book about Michael Jordan there was a picture of him cleaning one of his golf clubs in his garage. Everyone knows how crazy he is about golf. When you look at the picture Michael is standing amidst a sea of golf bags. I swear it was something like 50 or so different bags you’d think he was at some country clubhouse waiting to get on the course instead of standing in his own garage! I imagine somewhere in the Philippines the Reyes’ household garage is the same way too. But instead it’s filled with a sea of pool cue cases. ;P
By the way, this is only my second post on AZB. In the responses to my first about Earl and the HOF a lot of you kindly welcomed me. I’d like to say thank you for positive comments and hospitality. I’m from Hawaii but currently living and working in South Korea so I get to hop over to the Philippines a lot. Yes, I know another AZB’r, Sheaprek. He and I are pool buddies here and play in the same local league.
This forum is fun and highly informative!
Thanks Again! Cheers to all!
Last edited:
