greatest living player

There are so many great players today. I'd probably have to give Efren the nod because he truly is "The Magician". But Earl Strickland is my favorite player. He's a joy to watch. The man has magic in his cue. He plays so quickly and so precisely that you can't help but admire his talent. Bustamante is another player that is a joy to watch. He may not be the greatest but he's tops in my book too. Love to see him stroke.
 
I would have to vote for efren reyes.The player with the most talent is earl strickland but he could be very weak mentally at times and it destroyed his game. When he was in the right frame of mine during the late 80's and 90's nobody could beat him. He was a ball making machine. If he would have been mentally as strong as reyes he would have won twice the tournaments that he did. Mike seigel once said when commentating a match that earl was the best he ever played. Seigel said he could be in a race to 9 and be up 8 to 3 and if earl was breaking he did not like his chances. But all the players mentioned in this thread are truly great great players. Johnny Archer would have to be honerable mention here. Bustamante even though he has not faired as well in major tournaments has been another great player.Jeff
 
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He's probably in Asia somewhere and until the money is right, will stay at home.
 
I personally think Sigel is the man. I don't think he had the capacity to play all games as well as a guy like Efren, but I do think he could have been the best (yes, better than Efren) at any given game, if he put his mind to it. I think Efren was more talented, but Sigel had more of a winning spirit in him.

As noted, the interesting aspect to me would have been if everybody was a one pocket player, and that's where all the money and tournaments were. If that would have been the case, like I said, I think Sigel would have just gotten there, however he had to, and found ways to beat everybody.

Also of note, one time Efren was asked how Mark Tadd played, Efren said "he plays like Sigel." I love all around players, and I think Tadd's overall game is a little underrated -- we are talking some top tier stuff here.
 
The greatest living senior player has to be Ray "Cool Cat" Martin. :cool:
 
I played a champion the other day and he said Keith and Ronnie drew each other. The entire room waited 30 minutes for a late Keith.....just to hear him talk. That's greatness.
 
Buddy Hall

Buddy Hall had a standing offer for ANY pool player to come and play for any amount.

To me, if you make that offer, and offer them the freaking 7 and they wont play, to me, it tells me who the best is really.

Louie got the 7 and got busted repeatably, Keith tried it and didnt like it either.

The nitty ones who talked alot wouldnt play....:rolleyes:.

What would you call it?

Ken
 
Ken_4fun said:
Buddy Hall had a standing offer for ANY pool player to come and play for any amount.

To me, if you make that offer, and offer them the freaking 7 and they wont play, to me, it tells me who the best is really.

Louie got the 7 and got busted repeatably, Keith tried it and didnt like it either.

The nitty ones who talked alot wouldnt play....:rolleyes:.

What would you call it?

Ken
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Everyone has their day in the sun. Buddy got a tan.............
 
there seems to be a lot of doubt. In this thread we've had a lot of names brought up, and a case can be made for any of them. I believe the only real measure is what they did heads up. If Mike Sigel beat Efren Reyes in 9 of 12 matches, as someone quoted earlier-I'll go with Mike
 
Mole Eye said:
there seems to be a lot of doubt. In this thread we've had a lot of names brought up, and a case can be made for any of them. I believe the only real measure is what they did heads up. If Mike Sigel beat Efren Reyes in 9 of 12 matches, as someone quoted earlier-I'll go with Mike
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I have 2 matches with sigel vs reyes, and reyes plays like a little girl in both.
 
I have to laugh about tournament wins. Lets just say that in the pool world that "sometimes when you lose, you win".

For some of the pros of that era winning the tournament was all it was about, for some pros it was how could I make the most with the smallest amount of risk.

There were savers, cuts, dumps, and lots of other things. But trust me I have heard many stories and seen several in person.

Sigel may have the most trophies, but others may have profited more...

Just saying,

Ken
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What a great reply from (I believe) an experience man in pool world....

POOL world is a hustler world....you can Give up your position to your opponent to gain some dollar to your pocket...Many good player here in my country don't want anybody notice their skill ability.....especially in a tournament....My friend never want to raise his level from C player to B Player although his skill is already in B level...because he got advantage to his level now...He can set up money game to player at C level...Imagine if he show up his true skill...

That is why.... i always believe Yang Ching shun is atleast 5 Big in the world if not the best offcourse...


For the OP ...i believe Efren Reyes is the greatest living ever....follow by Earl strickland.....Mike sigel...I'm sorry, i don't think he qualified enough to be standing beside Reyes and Strickland....He just gain his trophy most in USA...not in the world. There are many many many BIG tournament outside US....
 
Mole Eye said:
there seems to be a lot of doubt. In this thread we've had a lot of names brought up, and a case can be made for any of them. I believe the only real measure is what they did heads up. If Mike Sigel beat Efren Reyes in 9 of 12 matches, as someone quoted earlier-I'll go with Mike
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If one player is coming up while the other is his prime that can leave the wrong impression. I have one match where Sigel plays like a little girl and gets killed by Efren.
 
if you all mention hall and siegel and dont consider jim marino i must be missing something. he was once considered the best 9-ball player in the world. also, didnt reyes beat strickland in 1996 in the " color of money" 9-ball challenge...

billiards is a streaky game. in my opinion steve mizarak was the best of all time when he was at his best. better than mosconi. but were talking about living. assumably still competeing...strickland would be my choice.
 
Why did Sigel stop playing big time tournaments? He seemed to have stopped a relatively young age.

I know he plays an occasional tournament here and there, but didn't he essentially stop playing on a full-time basis in the early '90s?
 
I guess none of you heard of jr. Norris. He's still living in Wichita falls tx and was one of the greatest money players in his time. He's shown me pictures of him and Luther Lasiter, UJ Puckett and a few other of the old timers. His stories will amaze you. He's got one story about him and Norm Hitchcock that is just awesome.
 
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