Efren Reyes in the 1990s vs Current SVB
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Shane is incredible no doubt! Efren is playing a totally different game from everyone else. Efren finds a way to win! He's the most intelligent player I've ever seen. Every time I've watched Efren play he wows me and everyone else. Have you ever seen him throw all the balls (15) on the table clumped up and run them out? Pure genius!! Shane is awesome but hands down Efren played better.
This is true, comparisons of different era's are difficult and 9ball certainly lags behind 14.1 in complexity. However, players of today are better prepared mentally and physically than guys from a few decades ago. They practice more because competition is tougher, and they have to play tough guys from all over the world almost daily.
I'm well aware that 526 balls still stands as a record, but...what about average score per inning? Percent of players who are capable of 200 ball runs? I guess we'll never know because there's no real basis for comparison, no actual statistics data exists that I'm aware of, but I'd be shocked if former stars of the game are even close.
Speaking of stats, what about snooker? They have it well covered and there's also plenty of footage of old championship matches from the 80s, 90s...etc. One can easily compare frequency of high score breaks, long pot success ratio, etc. I think one has to be blind not to notice progress. There was obvious progress in snooker.
Shane would be the better 10 ball player now. Back in his prime I would give the edge to Efren. I think Efren and Earl both would edge out Shane in their prime. Efren is the smartest and mentally toughest player to ever play the game. Not to mention he had lots and lots of talent to go with it. I think personally Efren is the greatest to ever play. Earl had the most talent of any player that's ever played but at times was mentally weak and it affected his pool game. When Earl was in his prime and in the right frame of mind no one could touch him, even Efren. Taking nothing away from Shane as he is extremely talented and is a great 9 or 10 ball player but I think is slightly and I mean slightly under Efren and Earl during their prime.
I think you should expand your Accu-Stats collection if you've never seen Buddy Hall play perfect pool. Same goes with Earl, Sigel, and Varner.
i would take earl busty or archer in there prime against shane any day.
Efren is the Greatest Pool Player of All Time
There is no one who disputes that Efren is the greatest pool player of all times for all the games, not even Shane !!!!
8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball, 14.1, Rotation, One Pocket, Caroms and Three Cushion, who wants to play this Champion called the Magician.
Titles, who has more?
While older and starting to get "UNLUCKY....grin", he is still winning titles today.
FEAR, who doesn't shake when they play Efren.........
We have all had the fear of God, when playing a Monster player, we are all human.
Gambling with your "Own Money", against any Filipino is suicide.
Not even God would gamble with his own money against Efren.
I would however bet on God with Marsman staking him.
Shane is a great player and he plays the Filipinos to get better, nuff said.
"He can't Beat Me"?
Not sure Shane say's this anymore, huh Earl (5x10).
SVB is a credit to Pool and a Gentlemen and is my favorite player, just my two cents, Barney
There is no one who disputes that Efren is the greatest pool player of all times for all the games, not even Shane !!!!
8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball, 14.1, Rotation, One Pocket, Caroms and Three Cushion, who wants to play this Champion called the Magician.
Titles, who has more?
While older and starting to get "UNLUCKY....grin", he is still winning titles today.
FEAR, who doesn't shake when they play Efren.........
We have all had the fear of God, when playing a Monster player, we are all human.
Gambling with your "Own Money", against any Filipino is suicide.
Not even God would gamble with his own money against Efren.
I would however bet on God with Marsman staking him.
Shane is a great player and he plays the Filipinos to get better, nuff said.
"He can't Beat Me"?
Not sure Shane say's this anymore, huh Earl (5x10).
SVB is a credit to Pool and a Gentlemen and is my favorite player, just my two cents, Barney
You must be on drugs. Like I said change the equipment, Either give the guys of today the old stuff or the old guys the new stuff.
New guys won't like it.
I would put my money on Efren if they played NOW.:thumbup:
1985, Houston:
-Some say Efren's camp decided it was best to let Buddy win so they could leave with the $.
-Some say Efren's play was notably worse during his session with Buddy as a result of fatigue.
-Some say Buddy beat his azzzzzzzzz.
I say one can't formulate a trend from one event.
The fact that they played one match in their lifetimes on sloppy pockets doesn't mean they don't have the ability to play on tight equipment. You probably bet on Shane in the TAR match with the 10 ft table.
I really like your avatar, btw.
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Yeah, and Earl would have no chance against Shane on a 10 foot table with tight pockets.
Efren Reyes is probably the greatest all-around player who ever lived. I feel honoured to have seen him in his prime, and yes of course, he's no longer his former self. I still love watching him whenever and wherever I can.
To answer your question specifically, I never saw him play 10-Ball in his prime. We can only speculate what his break would have been like if 10-Ball had been the game of choice back in the nineties - of course it wasn't, but since Efren's no doubt the greatest Rotation player ever, we should not underestimate how well exactly he could do in all related disciplines.
"Overcome SVB's break" implies something that as an instructor I have to remind my students of all the time: one doesn't need a monster break, that is, one doesn't need to be able to make several balls and get a cosmo in order to do well. Make one ball and get shape on the 1 is well within the reach of most good breakers, and it would be silly to suggest Efren was any less than a very good breaker in his prime. And I'd estimate his chances of getting out from there as greater than anyone else's "cosmos".
(On an unrelated note, if I had one wish free, it wouldn't be for a monster break of my own - one object ball each time plus shape on the lowest-numbered ball would serve me just fine!)
Admittedly, the break may be the relatively speaking weakest weapon in Efren's arsenal, but think about it: how could he have been so dominant in 9-Ball for decades if indeed his break were as "bad" as some say? It's just that he does everything so well that he makes his break look like his Achilles' heel.
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
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