I can't believe Efren won 3-cushion against Blomdahl! *shock*

That's the thing about Efren, he plays ALL the billiard games well, even snooker.

He's definitely not elite in snooker or 3-cushion - but he can play anything at a pro or semi-pro level. He could play on any of those circuits and be a pro doing well; whereas, most pocket-billiard (American style) players would be an embarrassment in 3-cushion or snooker.

As we already know, he can play any of the pocket-billiard games at the elite top level, whether it's 8,9,10 ball or 14.1 or one-pocket...doesn't matter. He's a threat to win anything on a pool table.

That's why he is considered the greatest.


However, I still believe Earl was the greatest 9-ball player of all time. The U.S. Opens and World Championships he has do not lie.
 
Forgot to add, now you know why Efren's kicking game in 9/10 ball is exceptional. There's a reason he wins the majority of the kick-safe battles.

While the kicking game in 9-ball has increased in level dramatically (thanks to Efren), even to this day he's still a step above the rest. There's still an excellence to his kicking game that is not yet seen by others. The rest of the players are catching up, but they're still behind. Their kicks are slightly crude compared to Efren.

If you don't agree with that, watch plenty of 9-ball matches from the late 70's through the 80's. Kick-safe battles were either rare or crude in comparison. In many safety situations, they never even happened.
 
The exact same kind of cueball control off multi-rails that made Efren so dangerous of a safety player is what makes him a pretty solid 3-cushion player. Alot of the shots are akin to Efren Reyes safeties in rotational pool, only hit a wee bit harder.

That said this match is the same as pool players getting beat in short sets in rotational pool by snooker players, much more possible in short races. In a race to 31 points Reyes would be a big underdog against Blomdahl in 3-Cushion just like Blomdahl is a huge dog against Reyes in a race to 21 10-ball.

Still fun to watch though, I love 3-cushion for it's simplisity of rules and yet such depth in the skills and shot types to master the game.
 
I find it more difficult that Efren can't master every game given the time.
 
It is amazing for sure. No question who is the better 3C player, but that's why tournaments are exciting... players you might least expect get a chance to shine. I think it's awesome efren enters these things, even though it's far from his specialty.
 
He was playing a lot of 9 ball center table position routes....

Lord knows I'm not trying to take anything away from him, not at all ... but he went extra rails on a few points, knowing his ball was gonna go through a center table route to get the point. It just shows if you have great control you can be godly on most tables, regardless of the game. :)
 
Kuroky said:
Efren won:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz6cK8JwrD0


Efren did also lose to Blomdahl in 3-cushion and 9-ball!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh3r1_DIyTg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm2vSjJkypY&feature=related
Click to expand...

First, Efren is awesome and the best all-around player that may have ever lived (Harold Worst is right there with him). But he cannot beat Blumdahl at 3-cushion in the long run, but he plays well enough to win once in a while. But Efren can play!

While in Chicago area for a pool tournament a long time ago, Efren entered a big 3-cushion tourney held at Chris' Billiards. It had top international players as well as the top USA players. They played round robins to see who makes it to the finals in two divisions: the A round robin bracket and the B bracket, I think both were 8 players. Most all of the international players made it to the A bracket, and the top USA players were in the B bracket, including Efren. This is not an insult to be in the B bracket because the international play was so much superior to the USA play - The B bracket would have been the finals in any USA tournament, so it was not filled with cupcakes. Well, Efren had time to get in billiard stroke because of the prelims and won the B bracket with an average of 1. This means he averaged 1 billiard for every turn at the table. Excellent average.

The man can play! Just sharing. (I think the finals brackets are still on the wall at Chris')

Dave
 
Nothing Efren does with a cue surpises me anymore. He is the greatest and always a pleasure to watch.
 
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