What is it about Efren Reyes?

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crawler486

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What is it about this Filipino guy? I was browsing the WPC website and in the players list profiles, I noticed so many of them has Efren as their favorite player.
I also noticed that whenever Efren finishes a match whether win or lose, more people will always approach him for an autograph. I have checked the career stats of the top pool players and many players like strickland,chao etc has more world championships than reyes. Sorry for my ignorance, I just got myself into pool lately.
 
class

He can play any game great and he's got class. He doesn't blow up when something goes wrong and never says anything bad about anyone else. So even if he played like a mortal he would still be many of the pro's and fans favorite player.


Dawg
 
crawler486 said:
What is it about this Filipino guy? I was browsing the WPC website and in the players list profiles, I noticed so many of them has Efren as their favorite player.
I also noticed that whenever Efren finishes a match whether win or lose, more people will always approach him for an autograph. I have checked the career stats of the top pool players and many players like strickland,chao etc has more world championships than reyes. Sorry for my ignorance, I just got myself into pool lately.
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Based on your statement you really just got into pool lately:D
Efren Reyes, though he just won the WPC once and the US open once too (compated to earl who has 3 and 5 respectively) plays with a lot of class. when he came over to the US in the 80's he was already popular or feared but top US pros that he even played under the name of Cesar Morales :D

He accidentally signed an autograph with his real name and that's when they found out who he really is. He revolutionized 9-ball with his safety play, positioning and kicking ability and made the game look so simple. Aside from this, the man is very friendly, approachable and humble.

If you want to see how really good Efren plays, catch him playing 15-ball rotation on a money game.

Ask around knowledgable pool buffs they'll tell you more of Efren's tales
 
crawler486,

Efren's terrific shot-making abilities (pocketing, safeties, etc, as hadjcues indicated) are but one aspect which makes Efren an easy top favorite of most pros, if not already their top favorite. It's the way he thinks around the table - simplifying the game of pool, again as hadjcues mentioned - which really makes Efren great. Johnny Archer underscored this fact in one of his commentaries during last year's WPC. His humble and approachable character are also what makes Efren great. You mentioned Earl Strickland...in one interview, he himself acknowledged Efren as the greatest pool player on the planet.
 
His biography should be done.

The biographies of many lesser players have been done. Admittedly for the most part they were much more flamboyant than Efren, but isn't it about time for a GOOD writer to do Efren's biograpy? I'd buy it in a heartbeat for sure.
 
What a great book.

catscradle said:
The biographies of many lesser players have been done. Admittedly for the most part they were much more flamboyant than Efren, but isn't it about time for a GOOD writer to do Efren's biograpy? I'd buy it in a heartbeat for sure.
Click to expand...

I wonder how long that book would be. There are a lot of biography's I would buy. Grady's would be one. Another guy full of great stories would be Buddy Hall and of course his one time stake horse, concrete John. There's a lot of great pool stories around this country from the unknown shortstops and semi-pro caliber players too. Efren is without a doubt {in my mind anyway and a few thousand others} the greatest all around player to pick up a cue. Sam
 
When you see him play in person, you'll know why he's so popular. I've never seen him or heard of him ever getting out of line with people. He's a great player and an even greater competitor. I watched him playing up in Reno and Earl was playing someone else on the next table. Earl was complaining about the rack and something else. He was just being Earl and I caught Efren glance over and he just smiled. You won't ever see Efren act like that. He accepts whatever adversities that are in front of him and he usually finds a way to overcome them and if he doesn't, he handles it with class and dignity. What is there to dislike?
 
Maybe it's just that he is older than most competition
right now. And these young pool players has been seeing Efren when they were just kids starting out.

Strickland is better than Efren but Earl is like a psycho.
Maybe its his being a psycho makes him immune to pressure.
 
Efren is a great player and a great human being.
Chao has more world championships than Efren? Must be all WPA variety.
Efren has 3 world-8 titles. He went the finals of US Open 4 times in a row.
 
Not only is he an awesome pool player, but hes also an actor now. I read somewhere he teamed up with the #1 actor in the phillipines and made a movie called "Pakners" or something like that. Filipino posters can verify this...
 
Efren has advanced the science of the game of nine ball in three ways: 1) his shot conceptualization is more insightful than any player of the last fifty years, 2) he has used inside english in ways that haven’t been seen before, and 3) he has used billiards knowledge to greater advantage than any player of the last fifty years.

Shot Conceptualization
The basic situations (other than the break) in nineball are running the table, defense, and kicking. Most of us focus on only one of these at a time, but all accomplished players understand that there are interrelationships between the three. We’ve all considered these fairly complex questions at times:

1) Can I and should I give up some position to manage the downside if I miss the shot?
2) Can I and should I play the safety in a way that manages the downside if I don’t get the snooker?
3) Can I and should I play this kick in a way that will produce a safety?
4) Can I and should I kick try to kick this ball in and, if so, can I get position? Can I manage my downside if I miss the kick?

Nobody has ever considered and sorted through these types of questions more thoughtfully than Efren.

Inside English
Most of us are downright scared of using inside english, but we use it. Far fewer of us use it in defensive play, and even fewer of us use it when we slow roll the cue ball. Efren has demonstrated the power of inside english in a way that no other player of the last fifty years has. The great John Ervolino, a former world one-pocket champion, has watched every player since Greenleaf, and he once told me that Efren, in his view, is the greatest inside english player that has ever played the game.

Use of Billiards Knowledge
In position play, kicking and defense, Efren has set a new and higher standard for judging and creating cue ball and object ball paths, and his application of billiard knowledge in the kicking game surely qualifies him as the best kicker that has ever played nineball.

So why do we love to watch Efren? It is because he sees the table in a way that nobody has ever seen it, and for that reason, there’s always a chance that, by watching him, we will see something that is so innovative, creative, and brilliant that we will be inspired. He leaves us intrigued by the possibilities that stand before us when we play pool, and thereby motivates us as pool players. Simply put, he has more different ways to win than any other player in pro pool.

Long live the Magician!
 
dooziexx said:
Not only is he an awesome pool player, but hes also an actor now. I read somewhere he teamed up with the #1 actor in the phillipines and made a movie called "Pakners" or something like that. Filipino posters can verify this...
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Yes , he did. They even reviewed the movie on BD magazine last month.
The movie sukked. Efren did the movie b/c the lead guy is his idol.
 
Efren is just one cool cucumber.

I will share a shot with you that he played against me at the Derby City last year in the one pocket division.

The score in games was 1-0 Efren at this point.

Efren was winning this game 6-2, but I had him totally locked up. My pocket is A, and his pocket is B.

START(
%AJ9L6%BK3X6%CD0F3%FI4O5%IO2U3%KJ0Q8%NF5Z7%PC8D7%QA8[4%RA8B0

)END

Its Efren's shot and It looks like I got him in jail, right? Well, here is what he left me when he was finished shooting...

START(
%AJ9L6%BK3X6%CD0F3%FI4O5%IO2U3%KJ0Q8%NF5Z7%PD1H9%QA8[4%RA8B0

)END



------------------------



He jacked up 90 degrees and masse'd right around that ball. He fouled, but got out of the trap. As a matter of fact, he left it so I could not even comfortably kick behind that ball again. I had to kind of half-spin it, and I sold out on that shot. I clipped the ball very thinly going in.

Anyways, Efren executes these types of shots (and many other "non-standards" ) with great regularity, accuracy, and control.

He is the best.
 
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Strickland is better than Efren....."
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Crawler486

Well, Earl is arguably a better shot-maker (arguably!), and he does seem to exhibit some extreme lack of anger management, at a minimum. :p But the proof of the equality of their 9-ball games is in the "Color of Money" race to 120 for $100,000 in 1996, with the final score being 117-120 in Efren's favor!! (Available at accu-stats.com -- it's worth every penny!!) Earl actually shot a teensy (but statistically irrelevant) bit better than Efren: Earl's Accu-Stats rating was .912, Efren's .911. Now that's close, folks!! :D Anyway, the bottom line is that Efren is clearly the better overall player as he can play any form of pool/billiards at a championship level, but their 9-ball games are as close as it gets.
 
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Besides being a really nice guy, Efren has the best mind for pool that there is today and in my opinion of all time. I"ve seen just about all of his major matches that he has played since 94 and the man is just awesome! He plays shots and postion that other pros would never even think about, What makes him so special is that he plays all games very well. I think when he hangs up his cue the pool world will lose the best player to ever play the game!
 
hey zigzag, do you have the link to that pool table were you copy and paste that code you put in your post?
 
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