Efren stories,encounters,meetings....

i did go for my whole, but no I did not win, as for those involved yes it was the usual suspects. I remember the while pig being there but not the squid. Yes there was a card game and many pinoys. It was pretty much as you discribed and i was lucky to be there.
 
I've watched "The Great One" many times on tape - tv - and on live stream - but have never had the opportunity of seeing him play in person so I just want to thank everyone here for all the great stories - I really enjoyed them - maybe some day - some where I'll finally get that elusive opportunity -

Jackson:wink:
 
No stories for now but I just came back from watching Efren play for about 5 hours in an action match where he gave a local sharp shooter 10/7. Efren lost the first set and he just kept getting better and better after every hour. Getting accustomed to the table Efren shot shot after shot of jaw dropping genius. Floating his cue ball as if it was on a magic thread. Lightly touching rails, breaking up clusters, and freezing to the rails. After the Derby and what people were saying about Efrens demise I for one do not believe it.
Efren was getting better as the hour wore on and he kept pressuring his opponent. In a long session of one pocket I dont think there is anyone in the world who can beat him. The shots he shot were unbelievable. I couldnt even begin to explain it. Oh he took the next 4 sets. And look like he was ready for more. The shots he came up with no one has thought up yet. A true one pocket genius.
 
1996 at the Florida Flare-Up III...

Efren just lose a match to David Howard <fuzzy memory>, I was in the bathroom doing what we do in the bathroom. While washing my hands, Efren comes out of the stall...his eyes red from what it looked like a sad moment. I looked him, having met him 10 yrs prior through Spanish Mike Lerbon and asked him whats wrong. He said "father die", I didnt know what to say so all I did was say was I was sorry to hear it. I asked him if he was going to go home, he said no and we parted ways.

From there...he ran through the field like Grant took Richmond from the one lose side beating Jaime Goodwyn from Michigan in the finals. From that second foward I always made it a point to watch every Efren match I could, just a class act.
 
Great stories so far. Here's mine:

I rode in an elevator with Efren once. Just me and him. I noticed the number of the button he pushed and realized I had about 7 floors to talk to him. I'm trying to think of something to say as the elevator is picking up speed and the floors are coming faster and faster. My mind is racing. I start sweating. I finally think of something to say and open my mouth and say... "uh". Then "ding" the door opens and Efren gets off. True story. :D

Not trying to hi-jack the Efren thread but I've got a Johnny Archer story too.

Me and my buddy arrive at the pool hall for the Earl & Johnny pool school. We walk in and head for the staircase leading upstairs where the school is. I see Johnny talking to someone near the staircase. I've got my case over my shoulder and I am strutting towards the stairs (thas right, I'm bad). I'm eyeing him the whole time and finally he looks at me. I say "sup Johnny" as I'm starting up the stairs. Then I see it. Somebody F-ing roped off the stairway! I quickly try to straddle the rope but it was too late. I didn't end up ass over tea kettle but lets just say "I fought gravity for a while". It couldn't have been graceful. :)
 
I would love to meet efren in person. I constantly watch him on tv and youtube. On Mondays I have my league and I will sit at work before I leave and watch him on youtube and it makes me play better. Sounds stupid but absolutely true. This is probably a stupid question but does anyone know if he will be in VF this year?
 
The first time I attended the DCC was I think....2004....And, I have to admit....one reason for going was to see Efren up close and personal ....Whenever Efren was playing a match or practicing I tried to be present.....

My most memorable moment was watching Efren practice relatively early one morning when few spectators were around...

He bends down and slides all 15 balls onto the table and precedes to run them in numerical order as in "rotation"....a popular game in the Philippines.

In the first rack....While playing difficult shape on the 3 ball he comes up 1/4" short and takes his cue tip and nudges the cue a tiny bit....

"Hey...that's cheating!"...I teased.....

Efren just smiled and kept going till he ran the rest of the rack making many difficult shots and playing perfect position.....

Then he rolled 15 more balls out and ran them perfectly without missing a ball...nudging clusters by spinning the cueball into them and playing perfect shape on the most difficult shots.

He then rolled 15 more balls out and ran them with relative ease also....By this time I was mesmerized.....

Then after he rolled the next rack out he ran them perfectly to the 9 ball and was contemplating how he was going to break the clustered 11,12 and 13 balls out when they called his name over the intercom to come to the desk.

"I get lucky!" he smiled....then left the practice area.

I didn't realize how big that display was till I counted up his run....It amounted to 50 balls in sequence without a miss.....

He's definately a legend and I feel honored to have seen part of his magic during my life.
 
I have too admired Efren for many many years. He is the player that I most enjoy watching, it’s not like he ever shoots a shot, instead it’s like the cue ball is floating around the table on an invisible string. He is so fluid, and enjoyable to watch. I go to the DCC almost every year and thoroughly enjoy watching as many of his matches as I possibly can.
This year, I once again made it to the first few days of the DCC to watch the action and participate in the banks division. I did not make it too far but was fortunate to play a couple of my favorite players. One of course, being the magician.

I only made it to round 3 but got a chance to play Efren that round, of course it did not go my way but who cares, I got to play the greatest player in the world IMHO. It was a complete thrill for a working guy that LOVES the game to play Efren Reyes..

If that was not sweet enough, I also got to play Rodney Morris in round two and I won. Going into the match, I was not defeated mentally by either player, I just played my game and stayed relaxed and made the most of it. I was not concerned with the outcome, just one shot at a time. Even though I had gone further in past DCC tournaments, this one was my favorite.
Best of all, I got them both on tape, and posted them on Youtube. If anyone is interested in my mediocre pool game vs. two champions, feel free to view them at your leisure.
That’s my Efren story and he was a very nice guy to play against. What a thrill for me to play each of them.

My Youtube Videos
 
My Efren Stories....

I remember my first US Open. I was 18-19 and got to Chesapeake on Thursday afternoon around 1pm. I go to the boards to see when Efren is playing as I have only see him play on tv. I go over to table 1 and I'm watching someone play when I feel someone walk up next to me. I look and do a double take. It was The Magician! He was wearing a polo with long johns underneath of it, a pair of jeans that the excess bottom had been walked off and flip flops. I was amazed. Just an average guy. 8 hours later he shows up looking like a crisp Ben Franklin; ready for a match.

A few years later, I go down to The Masters with a friend of mine who hadn't been to an event like that before. We see Efren warming up on a table so we go and watch. He has a ball hidden behind 2 others balls about 3-4 inches off the long rail in between the side and corner pockets. He goes over the the ball he wants to hit and lays his cue on the rail on a side of the ball and looks down it and back. He goes back to the rail where the cue ball is and kicks 2-3 rails, hits the ball and re-safes himself. He then goes back and does the same thing on the other side of the ball and shoot sthe same shot. Then I realize what he is doing. He is lining up the angle to which side of the ball he wants to hit so he re-safes the shot and makes a good hit. He did it 2-3 times! It was sick. My friend as I was in awe of it; as many others have been before. And wouldn't you know it, he wins the tournament!

My favorite Efren story was I believe at my 2nd or 3rd US Open. It was back when Barry had a practice room with 4 tables in it for the players. Efren in in there playing a 4 way 10 ball ring game with a 20 something guy from Japan, a poolroom owner from Chicago and 1 other guy. $10 a man if I recall. Efren is laughing, talking and having a blast. His laughed reminded me of the yee haw from "The Dukes of Hazzard". When he won and broke the next rack, he'd just barely break it. When asked what he was doing, he'd say "That's my filipino break." He'd either make a ball and break the rack out slowly or wait for someone else to do it and mess up; then he'd win. On the rare time he'd lose a game and have to rack, the breaker would break as hard as he could and the rack would do NOTHING! When asked what that was; he'd say "That's my filipino rack! You NEVER make a ball!" YEE HAW!

I thought I would die from oxygen deprivation from laughter. :)

I have talked to him a few times and is a complete gentleman each and every time!
 
Where?

yobagua said:
No stories for now but I just came back from watching Efren play for about 5 hours in an action match where he gave a local sharp shooter 10/7. Efren lost the first set and he just kept getting better and better after every hour. Getting accustomed to the table Efren shot shot after shot of jaw dropping genius. Floating his cue ball as if it was on a magic thread. Lightly touching rails, breaking up clusters, and freezing to the rails. After the Derby and what people were saying about Efrens demise I for one do not believe it.
Efren was getting better as the hour wore on and he kept pressuring his opponent. In a long session of one pocket I dont think there is anyone in the world who can beat him. The shots he shot were unbelievable. I couldnt even begin to explain it. Oh he took the next 4 sets. And look like he was ready for more. The shots he came up with no one has thought up yet. A true one pocket genius.
Click to expand...

Where was this?

Did those 5 hours fly by? What better use of a poolplayer/fan's time could there be. I'm not sure we 'learn' from watching, but we get treated to some amaazzing thinking and execution by the one who can perform this magic.

I'm jealous.

3railkick
real jealous
Thanks
 
3RAILKICK said:
Where was this?

Did those 5 hours fly by? What better use of a poolplayer/fan's time could there be. I'm not sure we 'learn' from watching, but we get treated to some amaazzing thinking and execution by the one who can perform this magic.

I'm jealous.

3railkick
real jealous
Thanks
Click to expand...

This was in Santa Monica, CA where Efren has a couple of guys willing to play him just for the sport of it. Oh a little mistake; the spot was 11/7.

A little Rodney Morris story. I played Rodney up in SacTown at Hard Times when Chuck was running the Jamboree. It was the one pocket tournament. Being from Hawaii myself it was a pleasure playing him. He shakes my hand and says "Be easy on me brah! I dont play one pocket". I dont know what to say as I have seen this champion play brilliantly. For the next 3 racks I get to the shot first. He doesnt move too good but as soon as I would leave him long he would fire in a ball and run 8 and out. He proceeded to dp that for every game in under 30 minutes. Im like "Rodney you lied. You play the best type of one pocket." Filipino Gene then says to me "You know Rodneys from Hawaii but he got some Filipino in him too". I say to Gene "Pare now you tell me!". LOL!
 
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Two stories...one not so pleasant.

Sorry for one of my stories being negative but these are my only "Efren" experiences so here goes:

Story # 1:
There was a 9-ball tournament in Baltimore years ago, and quite a few champions were present (Earl, Mika, Efren, Santos etc.). At one point between matches, Efren decides to warm up on the back table. Well, as you would expect, people started gathering. What was impressive about this warm-up was that he had his jacket on, was stopping in-between shots to have his picture taken...oh...and did I mention he ran two racks of rotation in the process, at certain points he touched the table with his cue to indicate where the CB would land, and yeah...he was dead on!

Story #2:
I may have the dates wrong, but I think this was the year at the U.S. Open in Chesapeake when Earl won for the 5th. time (2000?). Anyway, the old Q-Masters was still open, and my buddy and I were in the back room watching Efren play Frost 11-7 for $200/game. It was my first time seeing Efren gamble in person, so naturally I was mesmerized. It was a fantastic night of pool. In the same room Corey was gambling, as was Neils. Alex gave Tony Watson the 7-out for big money, and there was a $50/man 10-ball ring game on the next table!

Efren's match however, had the most spectators. There were so many people standing around the table it was like a human rubber band, constantly undulating to make room for the shooters. Efren made amazing shots, of course, and at one point even Scott was grinning at some of the bank shots that were being pulled off. My buddy and I were pinned up against a post, eating steak-um sandwiches, in total pool heaven. Efren did two strange things during this session. At one point he had a shot where the butt of his cue hit the cue rack on the wall, so he puts down his cue and takes a house cue off that rack to make the shot. Kinda weird. Then at one point he played a safe and exclaimed to Scott, "Come to me before you say good-bye!" It was a strange statement to begin with, but add his thick accent and the stigma surrounding The Magician and it seemed surreal.

Now for the negative part:
I mentioned they were betting $200/game right? Well, Scott was betting at least $800 on the side with various onlookers. As the night turned into dawn, Mike LeBron decided that he was tired of waiting and asked Scott to change the game to play a race, or a head-set or something. Scott tried to explain how much he was betting on the side but Mike had no interest in this. To compound matters, when Efren returned from the restroom Scott claimed that Efren forgot to pay him for the last game. Efren said he did pay him...but Mike LeBron decided to get in Scott's face about it, and Scott was *not* about to back down! So the shouting ensued between Scott and Mike until the owner came over and threw Mike out of the room! I believe Allen Hopkins was present and another pro, forgot his name, real big guy. He asked the owner how come Mike gets thrown out and Scott does not and the owner angrily stated, "It's my place!"

So now Efren is stuck, because his backer is gone, and he exclaimed loudly, "What am I gonna do?"

After everyone calmed down Scott looked at Efren and said, "Hey Efren, good game." It was cool for him to acknowledge that even in the face of the financial adversity, he still respected and appreciated the competition. So Efren then left and Scott went over and joined the 10-ball ring game.
All the spectators were disappointed, but at least we got to watch about 5-6 hours of world-class 1P, and Scott did win quite a few games as well.
 
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First time I ever saw Efren in person was at the US Open about 15 years or so ago. I was warming up at the next table over from him. He throws 15 balls out and runs em off in rotation....no big deal, it's THE man. Next he does it again LEFTY!...I'm standing there in awe giggling like an idiot.

To top it off....I'm trying to hit a 3 rail inside spin draw shot and keep over cutting it. I guess I looked pitiful enough that Efren walked over and pointed to what I was doing wrong :) For some strange reason I extended my arm out and nodded for him to show me with my cue. He smoked it in like nothing 3 times in a row....then he said....goood cue....bad aim! LOL:)....so, in short Efren liked my Black Boar!

my game.....not so much :embarrassed2:
 
The Master of the Table.

My thread on meeting Efren on the plane coming back from DCC can be seen in this thread.

It is kind of strange but just like that trip, as I was headed home to New Orleans, I was waiting for the plane to load, when I spotted Efren and Francisco laying low waiting for the same plane.

I thought about the coincidence but decided not to mention it to Efren.

Our flight was for some mysterious reason, cancelled and we all had to book a different flight about 30 minutes later. Efren and Busty were anxious about missing their connecting flight in Houston to Las Angeles.
I told them that they would be placed on another flight at not extra cost to them if they missed their connecting flight and that helped their frame of mind for the moment.

As I was waiting in line with Bustamante (while Efren took a nap like the King he is), I mentioned to Bustamante that this was a good thing. It is better to have a flight cancelled than for the flight to fail while in progress. I paraphrased that and he eagerly smiled and agreed. I asked if they were headed to Hard Times and he said they were. Busty mentioned that he and Efren knew both the current owner and the previous owner and they always go there and would be there for a couple of days for sure.

Everything went well and Busty, Efren and I made the same flight to Houston and we put another year of DCC behind us. ( I decided not to push the envelope and make Busty find another seat on the plane so I could savor another piece Efren's kingdom.)

JoeyA
 
jimmy-leggs said:
I'm a huge fan of Efren and after his great accomplishments at this weeks DCC I wanted to start a thread and hear about some Efren stories,sightings,meetings,you know,just real-life stories to enlighten all of us Efren fans.:)
IE:JoeyA story a few years back of sitting beside Efren on a flight after the DCC.And Roy's story couple of years ago of backing Efren in some tourny at the DCC.(sorry,cant remember exactly,but thats why of this thread).
Heres my tiny encounter with the Great Reyes...........
A few years ago my team won a trip to the BCA's,we checked in,grabbed our sticks and headed down to check out the tables.After some practice time we head to the casino area to grab a beer(our team loves to drink)LOL.
Standing around checking out the sights I happen to notice Efren playing some Roulette.I say to my team mates "thats Efren Reyes".To my astonishment they say "Who's that?".I felt like going upstairs,packing my bags and heading home.LMAO.
Well right there I knew I had to get his autograph or something BUT on what?.What better thing to get signed by the greatest player of all-time.........My CUE.So there I was running from work station to work station looking for someone who happened to have a Sharpy.Nothing!!!!
Then I ran to the little store they have at the Riv,they were out of Sharpies but I practically begged the counter lady to see if she had one somewhere.....SHE DID.
Ran back,grabbed my shaft out of my case and kindly asked Efren if he could sign my cue.Without hesitation,he did.A very humble guy.That made my whole trip that year special.
I had hoped Efren would do well this DCC,BUT again the guy amazes me.WOW,congrats again Efren,you are trully a "MAGICIAN".
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i dont know if this is what you are looking for, but i heard when he was playing rich in LA he "magically" made a ball disappear from rich's side to his in a one hole game.

i must say i think erfren is one of the best guys in pool, but i did hear this story so thought id put it out there.
 
Just wanted to chip in my thanks for these great stories - I read them all and found myself smiling the whole time.

I hope to share one of my own someday :)
 
One time I drew Efren in a tournament. Efren was leading me 8-0 in a race to 9. Finally after weaving his way through a tough rack, he missed a 9 ball, leaving me straight in. I got up to the table to shoot, when I noticed a burning sensation in my foot. I looked down and saw that Efren had lit my shoelaces on fire. I ran over and grabbed my bottled water and poured it on my shoe, only to see the flames get much bigger. Efren had replaced the water in my bottle with gasoline.

When I got back from the hospital, I went back to the tournament and pulled Efren aside. I asked him why he did that, and he smiled politely, then tripped me and body slammed me. He finished it off with perfectly executed rear-naked choke hold. When I woke up from the sleep he put me in, I decided that trying to talk to him was bad for my health.

True story.
 
Efren's style on and off is awesome....great guy and great champion.

I did have to play Efren during the IPT tour...if I can remember correctly he was my first match. When our eyes met...he looked at me and chuckled...it broke the ice...and I enjoyed racking the balls for him.

Nice thread for a great Champion!
 
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