So who was (is) the Greatest Player ever ?

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PoolBoy1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Who was (is) it?? We'll need some historians to step up and help out. This one is out of my knowledge base. Who is the Ruth, Nicklaus of Pool? Answers with facts would be best.

Just one Google search spat out 10 different names. If so records would have to have a lot of weight.
 
Harold Worst always comes to my mind.....
...although he didn't live long enough to make it indisputable.

And I ignore the Billiards Digest top 50
 
Efren Reyes or Willie mosconi

or Ronnie o Sullivan,he is snooker but he is outstanding
I believe he could be the best of anything
 
Rotation: earl or efren maybe Shane eventually
Straight pool: obviously mosconi
Banks: Eddie Taylor or bugs
One pocket: efren
Three cushion: Willie hoppe (I'm probably wrong here though)
Snooker: Ronnie o
All around: probably efren
 
No one else comes close to Efren Reyes for sure! He's the guy that changed the way 9 ball was played. He also showed a different way of kicking including his kick-safeties. Even to this day he still comes up with shots that "wow".
 
When the time comes to assess Shane's position in history among Earl, Efren and Willie, I think he will be considered the best pool player of all time. However, until that time, I would say it's a tie between Earl and Efren.
 
Efren is the best all around. I never saw harold worst so I couldn't say. But Here is a few things to consider.

Efren's prime was say, 88-97 (ish) in 9 ball. He might be the best of all time but he wasn't the best of that era. EARL WAS!!!!!

More so, Earl had the highest gear. Earl at his best could not be match by anyone, ever!

I think there is little dispute that if the question was, who is the best all round that would go to efren. He is the master of the table. But, the highest level of play I think was achieved by Earl.
 
Raymond cuelemans, 3 cushion & other disciplines. check the records. he dominated for so long, the format of tournament play was changed.
 
jschaefer said:
Raymond cuelemans, 3 cushion & other disciplines. check the records. he dominated for so long, the format of tournament play was changed.
Click to expand...

I've told this story before on AZB.

Back in the late 80's, we would have Willie Mosconi down a couple of times a year for exhibitions.

Willie came in the night before his exhibition. Willie, the owner of the poolroom and myself went to dinner. On the drive, I asked Willie who was the best pool player in the world.

He said "Besides me?" and started chuckling. Then he said "Seriously, the best player in the world doesn't even play pocket billiards. Raymond Cuelemans. He is a three cushion player from Belgium."

And that, my friends, was straight out of the horse's mouth.

As far as pocket billiards, I'd have to give Efren the edge over Willie in an all around.


Stones
 
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Anybody ever read "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell? Was there a era that was conducive to outstanding play, maybe it was Efren and Earls hey day. Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to master anything but he also explains why certain time frames offer ideal conditions for success, ie Bill Gates and Steve Jobs being born around the same time and Pro Hockey Players being born in a certain time of year. If you don't get this concept do not respond, just wondering. My guess is one pocket players will respond to this post. THx
 
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