Top five 9Ball Players of all time?

Big Money Mike

Big Money Mike

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Who are your picks for the top five 9ball players of all time, mine are:

1. Earl Strickland-Run Out Machine
2. Mike Sigel-Awsome Firepower
3. Johnny Archer-Never Beats Himself
4. Buddy Hall-Perfect Position Play
5. Nick Varner-Also Never Beats Himself
 
1.Johnny Archer
2.Efren Reyes
3.Earl Strickland
4.Ralph Souquet
5.Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van Boening, Mika Immonen, Francisco Bustamante, Jose Parica just some I couldn't decide between
 
1. lassiter ive heard from alot of old timers he was the greatest ever.
2. mcready most explosive 9 ball player i have ever seen.
3. hall sweetest stroke ever.
4. archer only player i have seen inducted to h.o.f while still on top. nuff said
5. strickland/souquet. earl's high gear cannot be matched. souquet isnt human.
 
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I like everyones lists BUT....I think its age biased! If you asked an older player they would say....Lassitter, Louie Roberts, McCready, Sigel, Buddy, pretty boy Floyd, and a host of road dogs! A younger guy would add Efren, Earl, Archer, Souquet, Alex, Dennis, etc.

this would be an easier question if we asked what era :)

my list?
top 5 interchangeable
Sigel
Efren
Earl
Lassiter
Hall

with varner, Rempe, Hopkins, Davenport and a few others right there.
G.
 
Mike Sigel - 105 Titles he is definitely THE BEST.
Earl Strickland - When he was on, he was unstoppable
Buddy Hall - Poetry in motion.
Nick Varner - The most consistent competitor ever
Jose Parica - He influenced an entire generation, and that changed the entire game.
 
Gerry said:
I like everyones lists BUT....I think its age biased! If you asked an older player they would say....Lassitter, Louie Roberts, McCready, Sigel, Buddy, pretty boy Floyd, and a host of road dogs! A younger guy would add Efren, Earl, Archer, Souquet, Alex, Dennis, etc.

this would be an easier question if we asked what era :)

my list?
top 5 interchangeable
Sigel
Efren
Earl
Lassiter
Hall

with varner, Rempe, Hopkins, Davenport and a few others right there.
G.
Click to expand...

I agree that it is aged biased because I never got to see Luther and Louie play. I also have never really seen Efren play nine ball I always watched his one pocket game. The title to the thread should have been what is your top five picks for the best 9ball players ever.
 
Earl Strickland
Mike Sigel
Buddy Hall
Efren Reyes (He beat Earl in a race to 120 for 100K in Hong Kong)
Johnny Archer (I don't like slow play, but his record speaks for itself)
 
Big Money Mike said:
Who are your picks for the top five 9ball players of all time, mine are:

1. Earl Strickland-Run Out Machine
2. Mike Sigel-Awsome Firepower
3. Johnny Archer-Never Beats Himself
4. Buddy Hall-Perfect Position Play
5. Nick Varner-Also Never Beats Himself
Click to expand...
Welcome to the board buddy.
0. Mike Laney Guy smells like a poolroom. Tough to outrun or be close too. JK
1. Buddy Hall I think buddy was the best. Perfect 9 ball
2. Luther Lassiter loved the tough ball and always wanted to be the winner
3. Earl Strickland hits a high gear likes its an average one
4. Johnny Archer a machine
5. Harold Worst said to be so intemidating when playing
 
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Good Answer

Gerry said:
I like everyones lists BUT....I think its age biased! If you asked an older player they would say....Lassitter, Louie Roberts, McCready, Sigel, Buddy, pretty boy Floyd, and a host of road dogs! A younger guy would add Efren, Earl, Archer, Souquet, Alex, Dennis, etc.

this would be an easier question if we asked what era :)

my list?
top 5 interchangeable
Sigel
Efren
Earl
Lassiter
Hall

with varner, Rempe, Hopkins, Davenport and a few others right there.
G.
Click to expand...
You said it well. I heard a lot about Wimpy from "Cowboy" Jimmy Moore and Fez Kassan, they said he was great which I have no doubts. My list from the ones I have seen and their record speaks for itself are;
Keith McReady-My favorite all time hands down
Buddy Hall
Earl Strickland
Johnny Archer
Mr. Bustamante
This is my nine ball list-different game, different list.
 
modern day 9 ball rules:

1. archer
2. strickland
3. hall
4. sigel
5. varner

old school rules:

1. lassiter
2. mckready
3. strickland
4. sigel
5. hall
 
while I agree that many of the older american legends would be on the short list of greatest ever, I am not convinced that some of the newer players would not beat those guys. In two particular areas, the modern players exceed the older players skills, kicking and jumping.

Can you really think that even at their best, a player like Mataya or Willis or Toby Sweet could have really beaten Orcullo or Yang for the cheese? Im not so sure.

All that said, Buddy Hall definitely should be on that list and so should Earl. All the rest are suspect imo as I dont like their chances to beat the current champions in Asia and the Philippines.
 
The game has changed alot though. I suspect that none of the Asian players could have ever beaten McCready on a bar box in his prime, playing with the big rock. Also the current players might not have beaten Lassiter on the old nap cloth with clay balls. Maybe, maybe not. Take away jump cues and simonis and the game changes alot.
 
I"m an old bastard have seem damn near all of the play at some point. Here is my semi-educated Top 5

1. Harold Worst - Explosive and feared by everybody. Lassiter never wanted to stake his world champion reputation against him.

2. Luther Lassiter - Whimpy was just a gem. I propbably should have him tied with Worst.

3. Don Willis - One the great road men who would have hated today's action because he couldn't have flied under the radar. Was one of the best players when the money was on the line.

4. Efren Reyes - Efren is a throwback of sorts that plays all the games good. He adapts as good as any player I've seen in quite some time.

5. Buddy Hall/Johnny Archer - I couldn't decide between these two. Both have shown the endurance to last in this game which isn't easy to do.
 
This is so subjective sine there are many players who played great for a while. For a year or even a few years they may have been considered the best player (or one of them) in the country. A few like that are Richie Florence, Billy Incardona, Bernie Schwartz, Greg Stevens, Wade Crane, Harold Worst, Ed Kelly, Denny Searcy and Keith McCready.

IMO when it comes to making a list of the best ever, you must talk about longevity on top. So my list has to begin with Luther Lassiter. Then there is Buddy Hall, Earl Strickland, Mike Sigel, Jose Parica, Steve Mizerak, Johnny Archer and Nick Varner. I know that's eight, but I can't take anyone off that list.

If I had to name only five of the best 9-Ball players I ever watched play in order it would look like this.

0. WIMPY!!!
1. Earl
2. Parica
3. Buddy
4. Sigel
5. The Miz and Johhny (see I still have a tie)

Truth be told, the great Taiwanese players, Yang and Wu, are as good or better than any of the above. But they don't have the longevity yet. Same could be said for Dennis O. Efren, as great as he was, turned out to be vulnerable in 9-Ball to the best players (because of his mediocre break). He would still be on my top ten list, along with Ralf.

6. Efren
7. Ralf
8. Dennis
9. Wu
10. Yang
11. Varner gets moved back here when I include these current players.
 
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