who is the best all around pool player?

[JustPlay]

1. Efren Reyes

2. Nick Varner

3. Mike Sigel

4. Allen Hopkins

5. Corey Deuel

6. Johnny Archer (Straight Pool & 9-ball)

7. Ralf Souquet

8. Steve Mizerak

9. Shannon Daulton

These are my top 9 All-Around players.

 

[Fred Agnir]

To me it's either Mike or Efren, Since I have seen Mike beat Efren a few times I'm going to say Mike Sigel is the best to ever play the game.

It's tough for me to say this, since I think Efren is currently the best all-around active player, but...

I'll agree mostly with this. Sigel dominated the game when the game was in a transition from 14.1 to 9-ball. In the mix, he won a major one-pocket event and a bank pool event. He even was dominating Efren 20 years ago when Efren was arguably in his prime.

The big question mark was the travel. Efren always had to travel and he simply traveled less then. But in those days, in the 80's and up to the early 90's, Efren was known as "Mr. Second Place." A lot of today's fans have no idea that he simply couldn't win the big one, not until mid-90's. He is a lot like Phil Mickelson and Andre Agassi. Those that only have caught Efren in the past 10 years have seen his collection of titles, but may have never have seen him at his best. And at his best, he was losing to Sigel.

Fred

 

[Fred Agnir]

1. Efren Reyes

2. Nick Varner

3. Mike Sigel

4. Allen Hopkins

5. Corey Deuel

6. Johnny Archer (Straight Pool & 9-ball)

7. Ralf Souquet

8. Steve Mizerak

9. Shannon Daulton

These are my top 9 All-Around players.

Excellent list. IMO, you need to squeeze Jose Parica in there as well as Rempe. And if Archer and Ceuel gets a nod, Buddy Hall gets a sport for his one-pocket prowess.

Fred

 

[Fred Agnir]

I think the largest bias in these debates stems from people unable to look past 20 years ago and the absense of footage of the old time greats like Mosconi or Greenleaf

I think the largest bias is that old-timers can't read the words "is" as in "current present tense" and "all-around" as in not proven in just one game.

I think it's fair to say that if these two weren't specifically in the question, then there'd be more than one obvious Efren answer. Simple.

Fred

 

[Celtic]

I think the largest bias is that old-timers can't read the words "is" as in "current present tense" and "all-around" as in not proven in just one game.

Fred

Wow Fred, and now you know why I said it was a loaded question, want a cookie?

 

[JLW]

1. Efren Reyes

2. Nick Varner

3. Mike Sigel

4. Allen Hopkins

5. Corey Deuel

6. Johnny Archer (Straight Pool & 9-ball)

7. Ralf Souquet

8. Steve Mizerak

9. Shannon Daulton

These are my top 9 All-Around players.

I think I would also have to add Luther Lassiter to that list.

 

[JustPlay]

Excellent list. IMO, you need to squeeze Jose Parica in there as well as Rempe. And if Archer and Ceuel gets a nod, Buddy Hall gets a sport for his one-pocket prowess.

Fred

Buddy Hall, Rempe and Parica are great players as well as great human beings, but not my personal top 9 players for all around, they are in my top 15.

Rempe after 1985 never really competed in any one pocket events and has only played in a DCC once or twice. Buddy Hall has played solid 9-ball as well as one pocket and could definitly be tided with Shannon Daulton on my list. Jose Parica is always solid, but has never won alot of major events like Rempe....

 

[JustPlay]

I think I would also have to add Luther Lassiter to that list.

Lassiter was a generation before my time, so I just know of him by what other people had to say about him. Of his generation, he could have been the best...