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Earl ‘The Pearl’ Strickland:Up close and personal
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
There are times when he may irritate you with his constant verbal joust with fans or his complaints about playing conditions, the way the balls are racked and so on. But nobody in his right mind will ever deny that Earl “The Pearl” Strickland is one of the greatest pool players of all time and that his fierce, competitive mentality is a plus not a minus. Away from the table and out of the tournament environment, he can be one of the most charming people you could ever meet.
Winner of over a hundred major pool events in his career and a member of an illustrious four-man group that includes “The Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes, the venerable Buddy Hall and the incomparable Mike Sigel, Strickland is in Manila for the third time in as many years to compete in the $37,500 LG Flatron Billiards Challenge 2 from Nov. 28 to 30 at the Casino Filipino, Parañaque along with Finland’s Mika Immonen, Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, the man Strickland beat to win the 2002 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, his third such triumph having won the event in 1990 and 1991.
In his three visits to Manila, Strickland won only once and the last time around, ruffled sensibilities when he insinuated that Bustamante gave a match away to Corey Deuel to prevent him from entering the finals of the Motolite World 9-Ball Challenge last May. But despite his occasional differences with players and fans, Strickland enjoys Manila “because I’m more welcome here than anywhere in the world and it’s an honor to play against the greatest players in the world. I think the Philippines has the greatest in Efren (Reyes) and Django (Bustamante).”
Strickland praised the fans, who support pool in the country, saying “I think it’s wonderful with literally thousands of people in the stands. You don’t get that in the United States. And when you walk down the street, people acknowledge you and want your autograph. It’s a wonderful feeling. I feel like Michael Jordan sometimes.”
In fact, Strickland said, “if I ever wanted to leave America I would move to the Philippines.”
The 41-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina, who started playing pool in 1969 and turned pro 10 years later, insists he is now “a different man.”
On a Viva Sports television interview, Strickland insisted “I’m a changed guy. I’m not letting the media bother me. I’m not letting a fan, who is trying to disorient me, bother me. I wish the fans would come out and appreciate everyone equally. I want to try to change my demeanor because that’s important to me. I want to go out on a high note, not a low one.”
For Reyes, Strickland said he was hoping “The Magician” would slip a little because of his age. “But he’s defying aging. I thought when he got a little old, I can contain him, but that’s not true. He just routed me in Poland in the World Pool League finals. He’s a fabulous player. He was making trick shots on me in the finals and you can’t say enough about Efren. He is the smartest player who ever played the game.”
Strickland went on. “Efren is no dummy. He is intelligent. I too slept on a pool table like Efren and used to hang around pool halls with holes in my pocket. But we all start from the same place. I don’t think too many pool players started out rich. It’s a game of hard knocks.”
He plans to play until he’s 60. “If Efren can play until he’s 60, I surely can keep playing too. Physically, you’ve got to stay strong because if you are physically strong, you can be mentally strong.”
Strickland who has won the World Pool Championship three times—in 1990, 1991 and 2002—said he believes the Cardiff event has overtaken the US Open as the “major event to win” saying “the WPA World Pool Championship is far superior than the US Open now.”
“With over 40 countries represented and the “excellent field, it’s just a great tournament,” he said.
While he has nothing but praise for Reyes and Bustamante, who don’t waste time at the table even when confronted with tough situations, Strickland said he has had some disputes with International Billiards Congress “Player of the Year” Ralf Souquet, who edged out Bustamante for the honor.
Strickland’s gripe: “He plays too slow. I think he takes players out of their game by playing too slow. I think we need to put some pressure on him and make him play faster because it’s not fair to the other
players.”
The American stressed that “a long time ago, I made up my mind when I started playing tournaments that I not only wanted to be a great player and wanted people to be entertained. I also think that by playing the game at a certain pace, it entertains the audience and the way Souquet plays is not entertaining.”
Strickland also vows he will stop the running conversation with fans that sometimes results in heated exchanges.
A pretty mean golfer, who shot a one-over par on the front nine but finished with an 80 at the tough Southwoods course during his Manila visit, Strickland regards himself as “a pretty good golfer.” However, he believes that pool is as tough a game as golf. “Pool is right there with golf. It’s just as fickle as golf. Because it’s not outdoors, doesn’t mean its not difficult. Pool is a very minute game. The things that affect you are not visible or where you can feel it. When it rains you know its raining. Sunshine, you know that. With pool, the things are so minute you just can’t detect them.”
Strickland praised corporate sponsors like LG Collins Electronics Manila Inc., for sponsoring the LG Flatron Billiards Challenge 2. “They are helping change the image of this game and proving to the corporate world that pool is a marketable game just like baseball, basketball, tennis and golf which they support. Pool is the most scientific game of all sports. Albert Einstein said there are six million shots on the pool table. He’s a pretty smart guy!”
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
There are times when he may irritate you with his constant verbal joust with fans or his complaints about playing conditions, the way the balls are racked and so on. But nobody in his right mind will ever deny that Earl “The Pearl” Strickland is one of the greatest pool players of all time and that his fierce, competitive mentality is a plus not a minus. Away from the table and out of the tournament environment, he can be one of the most charming people you could ever meet.
Winner of over a hundred major pool events in his career and a member of an illustrious four-man group that includes “The Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes, the venerable Buddy Hall and the incomparable Mike Sigel, Strickland is in Manila for the third time in as many years to compete in the $37,500 LG Flatron Billiards Challenge 2 from Nov. 28 to 30 at the Casino Filipino, Parañaque along with Finland’s Mika Immonen, Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, the man Strickland beat to win the 2002 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, his third such triumph having won the event in 1990 and 1991.
In his three visits to Manila, Strickland won only once and the last time around, ruffled sensibilities when he insinuated that Bustamante gave a match away to Corey Deuel to prevent him from entering the finals of the Motolite World 9-Ball Challenge last May. But despite his occasional differences with players and fans, Strickland enjoys Manila “because I’m more welcome here than anywhere in the world and it’s an honor to play against the greatest players in the world. I think the Philippines has the greatest in Efren (Reyes) and Django (Bustamante).”
Strickland praised the fans, who support pool in the country, saying “I think it’s wonderful with literally thousands of people in the stands. You don’t get that in the United States. And when you walk down the street, people acknowledge you and want your autograph. It’s a wonderful feeling. I feel like Michael Jordan sometimes.”
In fact, Strickland said, “if I ever wanted to leave America I would move to the Philippines.”
The 41-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina, who started playing pool in 1969 and turned pro 10 years later, insists he is now “a different man.”
On a Viva Sports television interview, Strickland insisted “I’m a changed guy. I’m not letting the media bother me. I’m not letting a fan, who is trying to disorient me, bother me. I wish the fans would come out and appreciate everyone equally. I want to try to change my demeanor because that’s important to me. I want to go out on a high note, not a low one.”
For Reyes, Strickland said he was hoping “The Magician” would slip a little because of his age. “But he’s defying aging. I thought when he got a little old, I can contain him, but that’s not true. He just routed me in Poland in the World Pool League finals. He’s a fabulous player. He was making trick shots on me in the finals and you can’t say enough about Efren. He is the smartest player who ever played the game.”
Strickland went on. “Efren is no dummy. He is intelligent. I too slept on a pool table like Efren and used to hang around pool halls with holes in my pocket. But we all start from the same place. I don’t think too many pool players started out rich. It’s a game of hard knocks.”
He plans to play until he’s 60. “If Efren can play until he’s 60, I surely can keep playing too. Physically, you’ve got to stay strong because if you are physically strong, you can be mentally strong.”
Strickland who has won the World Pool Championship three times—in 1990, 1991 and 2002—said he believes the Cardiff event has overtaken the US Open as the “major event to win” saying “the WPA World Pool Championship is far superior than the US Open now.”
“With over 40 countries represented and the “excellent field, it’s just a great tournament,” he said.
While he has nothing but praise for Reyes and Bustamante, who don’t waste time at the table even when confronted with tough situations, Strickland said he has had some disputes with International Billiards Congress “Player of the Year” Ralf Souquet, who edged out Bustamante for the honor.
Strickland’s gripe: “He plays too slow. I think he takes players out of their game by playing too slow. I think we need to put some pressure on him and make him play faster because it’s not fair to the other
players.”
The American stressed that “a long time ago, I made up my mind when I started playing tournaments that I not only wanted to be a great player and wanted people to be entertained. I also think that by playing the game at a certain pace, it entertains the audience and the way Souquet plays is not entertaining.”
Strickland also vows he will stop the running conversation with fans that sometimes results in heated exchanges.
A pretty mean golfer, who shot a one-over par on the front nine but finished with an 80 at the tough Southwoods course during his Manila visit, Strickland regards himself as “a pretty good golfer.” However, he believes that pool is as tough a game as golf. “Pool is right there with golf. It’s just as fickle as golf. Because it’s not outdoors, doesn’t mean its not difficult. Pool is a very minute game. The things that affect you are not visible or where you can feel it. When it rains you know its raining. Sunshine, you know that. With pool, the things are so minute you just can’t detect them.”
Strickland praised corporate sponsors like LG Collins Electronics Manila Inc., for sponsoring the LG Flatron Billiards Challenge 2. “They are helping change the image of this game and proving to the corporate world that pool is a marketable game just like baseball, basketball, tennis and golf which they support. Pool is the most scientific game of all sports. Albert Einstein said there are six million shots on the pool table. He’s a pretty smart guy!”
