Two things....
1. Louie Roberts did NOT win the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships back to back, Nick Varner did in 1989-1990. Roberts won it in 1979 only.
2. An earlier thread said that Earl Strickland and Archer had records that "were pretty close." Well, Archer has 2 US Open 9 ball titles, Earl has 5.
Archer is a 3 time World 9 ball Champion and Strickland is a 6 time World Champ. Earl also has a World 8 ball Championship in his credentials.
In my opinion, the all time greatest TOURNAMENT 9 ball players are 1. Strickland 2. Lassiter 3. Sigel. (Probably in any order!)
In my opinion, the all time greatest ALL AROUND players are 1. Efren Reyes
2. Nick Varner (World Championships in 14.1, 9 ball, 8 ball, 1 Pocket and Banks) *Reyes does not have World Titles in 14.1 or Bank Pool 3. Allen Hopkins.
I love reading threads such as these and I am very interested in other posters opinions of their top 3 in both catagories.
This is so fun debating and talking about the greats of our time honored sport!