jay helfert said:
It's an unfair comparison. Efren didn't come to the USA until he was already 32 years old. From most accounts by people who knew him before, his best days at Rotation and 9-Ball were when he was in his 20's.
He certainly would have won more tournaments if he had come over here sooner. Sigel might have got a good roll, that Efren wasn't able to come any earlier. All I know is that when he arrived, HE was the monster!
Jay, that was an accurate reply and assessment of Efren.
During my college days when I was still playing Efren, his game was absolutely phenomenal!! Simply amazing that he had to switch disciplines so he can gamble and earn a living. Nobody wanted to gamble with him anymore in rotation from the 60's to the 70's; he was forced to learn three cushion or billiards as they call it here in the western hemisphere.
He even retired at least a player or two that I know of because he beat them so bad they lost a lot of face, and losing face back home is a big thing!!
I have seen Sigel, Rempe, Incardona and a lot of other road players and champions play and they pale in comparison to Efren's skill and knowledge of the game.
I would state unequivocally that if Efren was able to come here during the 70's (his peak years) he would have changed pool history books dramatically as far as accomplishments in gambling and tourney plays. Although I seriously doubt that he would be joining tournaments because there be would lots of easy pickin's to be had from these unwitting "champions".
Even after he learned three cushion billiards, the games to be had were few and far between because players were already wary of him. The only player who could hang with Efren during those years was Leonardo Andam.
Andam came to Manila "undercover", so to speak, he started robbing players but he started from the third tier players and worked himself up until he was playing the first tier players. There were a couple of instances that Andam and Efren played even, but he was beaten both twice by Efren. It was close though, but for Andam, it was enough for him to back off a little. After all, he was after the money, not the glory.
You have to realize that during those years, Efren et al, were naive as to the term "champion", or "world champion". Shoot, even I never heard of the word or term "world champion" during the 70's, and I consider myself educated both in school and in the street.
Now, with Alex, when he entered the scene during the 90's, times were different, or shall I say, have changed a lot because of the advent of instant communications: cell phones, emails and what have you, that it would be really difficult to hide or disguise your speed because somebody will remember you from some place, call his buddies next state and and so on and before you know it, you've been made!!
Let me just put it this way...
"There is only one Efren Reyes!!!"
The others who came after him are all wannabes......
bayawak aka tirador
"You got the 8 for life!!!!"
