Who, is your pool playing hero, and why?

Three Way Tie:

Irving Crane - for his great play, his imagination and his elegance in manner and attire.

Ralf Souquet - for his playing excellence, classiness on and off the table, and for his competitive intensity. I never thought I'd meet a professional pool player as classy as Irving Crane ..... until I met Ralf Souquet.

Efren Reyes - for his all around excellence, for his unparalleled shot conceptualization, and for his smile, which he manages to display whether or not things are going his way in competition. More interesting to watch than any player I've ever seen.
 
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mrsmith1976 said:
Right now I have to say it's a guy named Randy Cole..Not so much my hero, but he's one of the best around here. He's just a roofer. But still plays all road players when he gets off work. He still drives all the nails by hand, usually plays with a bar cue. When he's feeling preppy he plays with the Dufferin that his girlfriend bought him. He is 50 years old now and his eyes aren't that great, and he usually will only play about 200 dollar sets.

He can be an assh***, but everyone can be at times. I don't think there is anybody that works as hard as he does, at his age, and plays his speed, with a bar stick....
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My former teacher is an ex-alcoholic, he still goes to meetings and plays pro tournament with a house cue that the local pool room gave him. He says he likes the feel.

He wins too against greats like Alain Martel and Immonen.
 
compliments to Randy

mrsmith1976 said:
Right now I have to say it's a guy named Randy Cole..Not so much my hero, but he's one of the best around here. He's just a roofer. But still plays all road players when he gets off work. He still drives all the nails by hand, usually plays with a bar cue. When he's feeling preppy he plays with the Dufferin that his girlfriend bought him. He is 50 years old now and his eyes aren't that great, and he usually will only play about 200 dollar sets.

He can be an assh***, but everyone can be at times. I don't think there is anybody that works as hard as he does, at his age, and plays his speed, with a bar stick....
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I agree with everything you said above. Great player!
 
Thanks for your input.

BigCat said:
Like many others, I wouldn't say I've ever had a pool "hero" (heroes are those who put their life on the line for everyone but themselves... imho). But 2 players come to mind when it comes to how I like to play the game:

1 - Oliver Ortmann: For his pure class on and off the table coupled with unbelievable natural talent. He is the epitome of a world class pool player.
2 - Jimmy Mendoza: He's always been my favorite local/regional player to watch... great fundamentals, very strong desire to win, makes the game look so easy.

I would say that I try to incorporate both of their styles into my own play.

Ray Robles
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This is what a hero is: he·ro Noun/ˈhi(ə)rō/
1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for courage or noble qualities.
I like your choices too! Very good.
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
It'll probably embarass the hell out of him for me to say this...but our own horse Robley is a "hero" to me. To overcome his medical problem and shoot at the level he does? Yep...that's "hero" status in my book!
 
I would say Efren. Skill and demeanor...untoppable.

Distant 2nd: that guy w/ first name started w/ 'E.'. Came to town and stayed so lit up the whole time that most men would have been unable to function...while he played the best pool I have ever seen from a non-video player. WTF?!:eek:
 
Hands down it would be Dennis Hatch(for me). Here's a guy who made some real poor choices.... ... . and turned it around and made good of his life and became a class champion. He's a 'underground monster' with the heart of a lion, emerging quietly into the main stream; beating almost 95% of the people in his path. His record speaks for itself. Scary f**king player when he in "dead-stroke" and even when he's not it's hard to phathom him not going out with out a fight, where others may just give up...

Ken
 
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There are not any 'heroes' in this game for me, maybe I will see Efren as a hero if i were a Filipino.

Imo SVB is my pool idol. Some other people have perfect stroke and firm stance as him like Mika but Shane is by far the most flawless player....emotionally.
 
Thanks for your input, Neil.

Neil said:
I wouldn't call any of them a "hero", but the two I admire the most, while others come very close, would be Shane and Efren. Shane because I really admire the way he is at the table. His stroke is similar to what I do, and I feel there are real advantages to it. But mainly because of his demeanor. He makes it look so easy because he has full confidence in his abilities. He shoots a ball in as easily as he walks to the table. And, that is the way it should be. He just looks at what he has to do, and then does it.

Efren because he actually takes the time to watch people much lower than himself (if he didn't, he wouldn't watch hardly any pool.:rolleyes:) and see what shots they come up with or accidentally come up with. Then, he takes the time to incorporate the same principles into his game. He's not afraid to go out of the norm to achieve his goal.
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I like your choice of players myself. I appreciate your post in my thread.
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
Vincent Lauria. That guy could've made it huge in video games playing Stalker, but he stayed with pool and paid his dues on the road. I heard he once told Keith "Up yours with the spot." How cool is that? I even heard he dumped playing his own backer, just so he could get games in the green room. And legend has it his backer was none other than Fast Eddie Felson!
 
My pool playing hero

My hero is Efren "Bata" Reyes for a lot of reasons. !. His wonderful record 2. His zen-like attitude. 3. His unbelievable longevity, in fact at the age of 57 he has won the World Series One Pocket and The Villars Cup this year!
 
Thank you for your input.

diamondave13 said:
My hero is Efren "Bata" Reyes for a lot of reasons. !. His wonderful record 2. His zen-like attitude. 3. His unbelievable longevity, in fact at the age of 57 he has won the World Series One Pocket and The Villars Cup this year!
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Very good description of Efren. Thanks again.
Regards,
Lock N load.
 
PoolBum said:
Vincent Lauria. That guy could've made it huge in video games playing Stalker, but he stayed with pool and paid his dues on the road. I heard he once told Keith "Up yours with the spot." How cool is that? I even heard he dumped playing his own backer, just so he could get games in the green room. And legend has it his backer was none other than Fast Eddie Felson!
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Quite impressive story!

I heard he quit playing pool though. I think I've seen him on tv in a trailer: Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol...I guess he didn't have it for pool anymore.

What a career change this Vincent has done....:D
 
The late great Steve Mizerak. I've said it before and I'll say it again, that guy made whitey move around the table as smooth as a sail boat on a calm summer day.
 
I haven't been playing Pool long enough to have Hero's but those I would love to play in a Tournament would be: Johnny Archer, he's a friend yes, but I would also love to play him in a Tournament setting it would be fun. Dennis Hatch, I met him at the last Mosconi Cup in London and he is just a really nice guy and a truly great player. Alison Fisher, I played her at Snooker a few times before she moved here to the US I'd love to play her at Pool. All the pro's here at AZB that post I would love to play you all and get my arse kicked, I really appreciate your input it birngs a different perspective to the posts. There are too many of you to mention individually but thanks for being here.:bow-down:

Lastly I would like to just give a shout out to a guy I played snooker with a good few years ago. He was one awesome player and one of the nicest guys you'd ever wish to meet. He was, I believe about to become World Champion in the next few years, when sadly he was diagnosed with Cancer and eventually passed away. Paul Hunter if you are looking down from up there everyone truly misses you buddy, you showed true class and that nice guys do win and do rise to the top.
 
Very good post.

Georgia Boy said:
I haven't been playing Pool long enough to have Hero's but those I would love to play in a Tournament would be: Johnny Archer, he's a friend yes, but I would also love to play him in a Tournament setting it would be fun. Dennis Hatch, I met him at the last Mosconi Cup in London and he is just a really nice guy and a truly great player. Alison Fisher, I played her at Snooker a few times before she moved here to the US I'd love to play her at Pool. All the pro's here at AZB that post I would love to play you all and get my arse kicked, I really appreciate your input it birngs a different perspective to the posts. There are too many of you to mention individually but thanks for being here.:bow-down:

Lastly I would like to just give a shout out to a guy I played snooker with a good few years ago. He was one awesome player and one of the nicest guys you'd ever wish to meet. He was, I believe about to become World Champion in the next few years, when sadly he was diagnosed with Cancer and eventually passed away. Paul Hunter if you are looking down from up there everyone truly misses you buddy, you showed true class and that nice guys do win and do rise to the top.
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You are the first to mention Johnny Archer. He is a very nice guy. Sorry about Paul Hunter passing. RIP. Thanks again for your input.
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
just another roofer !

mrsmith1976 said:
Right now I have to say it's a guy named Randy Cole..Not so much my hero, but he's one of the best around here. He's just a roofer. But still plays all road players when he gets off work. He still drives all the nails by hand, usually plays with a bar cue. When he's feeling preppy he plays with the Dufferin that his girlfriend bought him. He is 50 years old now and his eyes aren't that great, and he usually will only play about 200 dollar sets.

He can be an assh***, but everyone can be at times. I don't think there is anybody that works as hard as he does, at his age, and plays his speed, with a bar stick....
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Sounds like my kind of guy... check my profile :grin:
 
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