Any Ideas on the most skilled, player who could win (mostly) no matter what game being played? "Boston Shorty" had a rep of being able to play *any game well, including Billiards.
I'm talking about playing for $. Reyes, in more recent times seems to have a pretty good range.

p.s. Anybody know about the famous three day (night) battle between "Shorty" and "Jersey Red", at the notorious 7-11 sometime in the '50s?

It has to be Efren Reyes. Also, I wouldnt want to play Steve Davis in any cue sport. He plays them all well and is a 6x world snooker champ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocXrswOU1o
'All I can tell you is, if I shot that ball, I probably woulda had a heart attack.'

BATTA! Have youse all seen his 9-ball match against Strickland from early '90s Reno? Hill-hill then Reyes hits a three railer, which knocks an on the rail ball in, with cueball rolling down the table and stops right behind the 9 near corner pocket.
Stunned Strickland, just walked over to "Batta" and raised his hand in victory.

Is this what you're referring to?
Some of the sickest shots of all time, right here.

YES! Even Jersey Red woulda been impressed with that match winner. Red had a one pocket rail shot where he could spin a ball away from opponent's pocket, down the rail into *his pocket.
Don't know if there's any film of that. But he famously made it playing Harlem legend, James Evans (one of 'Fat's heroes).

The thing about Reyes is he once played 3 cushion at the top level so if we were to gather all the big name pool players and run them through a cue sport decathalon, Reyes is a lock to win 3CC and highly likely 1 pocket as well. How many other big name pros have played 3 cushion before?

Reyes pays 8 and 9 ball extremely well. Obviously must be a fine (at least) banks player; not sure about "Straight" or One Pocket.

p.s. The "Jersey Red" shot is a double kiss on the object ball, sending it away from opponents pocket into the shooters hole.
There's a video on YouTube with a young man making it (in a *non game situation).

Fast Eddie

Steve Davis?

Actually most of them have probably played it a lot. Lots of poolrooms have tables, especially in the midwest and northeast. I'm sure all the Europeans (at least the pool players) have dabbled at it as well.

Efren is considered one of the best one pocket players ever. He's great at all games. Has played competitively against champions in 3 cushion and snooker.

For the time span of the 1980's and 1990's he would have to be considered the most well rounded of all players.

Glad to see that pretty much everyone agrees that Efren takes the cake...

...But let's all not forget a guy name Willie Mosconi either

Yeah, I agree with Reyes, but another to put on the list is Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter.

Sorry but both Lassiter and Mosconi would get crushed by Reyes. Mosconi would probably have a chance only at straight pool, but if they played for like a week straight Reyes would probably come out on top there too.

Sorry but I dont think so. Mosconi V Reyes would be a hell of a match. Mosconi played all games not just str8 pool. Even though he is famous for his str8 pool run of 526 balls. WHICH BTW if you didnt know, he didnt miss the 527th ball, after 526 he just put his stick down and said "that'll be enough to hold the record"!!!!

How freakin awesome is that!

Don't get me wrong, I have much respect for Reyes, but I don't think Reyes would crush Lassiter or Mosconi.

Lassiter was a top notch nine-ball player and played others games well. It's also really hard to compare players from different generations.

Im not to sure about this record, considering todays pro standards for tables are played on 4.5 X 9 foot tables with shimmed pockets just over 4inches wide. While Mosconis record was on a 4 X 8 foot table with pockets over 5inches wide. Its a sick record but, over time, Im sure any of todays top ranked players could come close to breaking it, if its played on the same type of table Willie was on when he set the record.

No one ever seen the like of Efren Reyes, until Efren Reyes came to America and started winning everything.

Efren Reyes and it isn't close at all. Best player to touch a cue ever - better at his sport than Jordan or Tiger.

Best one pocket player in the history of the game by far. Among the best ever in 9ball, 10ball. Won Derby Banks and just plays banks like the champ he is. Probably one of the best if not the best rotation (15ball) players ever... 8ball? won every title you can imagine, and also won 3 of 4 of the biggest prize pools in pool history (the IPT events) in 8ball.
I don't think there is any player in the world who doesn't consider him the best (at least up until the last few years) player.

Oh yeah, straight pool? He was never really a straight pool player but picked it up and won events like he was playing the game forever.

Played 3 cushion at world-class level as well.


There are some old timers who will say Eddie Taylor, Crane, Mizerak, Mosconi, or one of those guys was better but I know some real players who have seen those guys play and say they were great but not as great as Efren.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPj20afa1M8

Nuff said....
Even Earl, one of the best 9ball players ever, plus the most disrespectful ignorant player in the game, applauded this shot and showed the respect it deserves.

Talk about micro precision and accuracy..

Its magic only a magician can do

Meh, I'm more impressed by Johnny Archer winning the US Open straight pool tournament after only a week of practice having never played the game before, and then Efren winning the Maine event with NO practice. The 526 is quite a feat but I really have to question how hard that game really is when you play it a lot. Running a number like that is more about being able to stay interested long enough to do it than it is about total skill in my opinion. I think Hohlmann's or Schmidt's 400+ runs are just as impressive, and they're two of the few who have even bothered to try to run that many balls. If 14.1 was still the game of choice I'm pretty sure the record would have fallen long ago.


Actually it isn't that hard, because Efren isn't all that far removed from that era. Don't forget that him and Parica started coming to the US in the early 80's and they literally beat everybody they played. Hell when Strickland burst onto the scene in the late 70's no one had ever seen nine ball played with the authority and power he had, but then out of nowhere comes Parica and he beat Strickland over 100 times gambling -- and Efren was better.

Yeah there's no doubt in my mind, both Lassiter and Mosconi would not only have lost to Reyes, they probably could have gotten weight, and I know that because when Efren did come to America he gave weight to everyone he played, and he beat them all. Mosconi and Lassiter would have just been two more in a long list. The guy is just the best the game has ever seen.

It's hard to compare because by the time the Parica and Reyes came to the US, Lassiter was past his prime. During his peak in the 50s and 60s hardly anybody would play him. Yes, Strickland burst on the scene with a powerful game, but most of the old timers I knew said that Lassiter was better than Strickland. Buddy Hall, who was one of the few people of that time to beat Reyes for cash, said that Wimpy was the best 9-ball player he has ever seen.

No way Reyes could give Lassiter weight playing 9-ball. In the Color of Money challenge Reyes beat Strickland 120-117 and Strickland fell apart on the last day to lose a something like 20 game lead. I'm not dismissing Reyes skill at all. It is hard to dispute him being the best, but I don't think he is so far above everybody else as some in this thread are saying.

freeshot, there are a very, very, few people on this planet who have been as good as Efren in 9ball, and yes I think a few of them were arguably better than him at 9ball - none of them good enough to give him a spot, in fact none of them favorite enough to have to like being in the game at all.... and you're talking about possibly efrens worst main game (mostly because of his break).

not a soul who has lived on this planet could beat him playing 1pocket. he probably could give anyone ever 9-8, or if not be the clear favorite even.

Off on a tangent, but Ronnie O became a legend today. Well done, sir!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/18346651

Efren Reyes.....

2011 US Open One Pocket Championship[16]
2010 UPA International Ten-ball Championships
2010 Hard Times Billiards, 3rd Annual Chuck Markulis Memorial Tournament
2010 Predator Ten-ball International Championship[17]
2010 Derby City Classic Master of the Table[18]
2010 Derby City Classic Fatboy Challenge 10-ball[19]
2010 Derby City Classic Nine-ball[20]
2009 World Mixed Doubles Classic (with Rubilen Amit)[21]
2009 Galveston Classic One Pocket[22]
2009 World Cup of Pool (with Django Bustamante)
2007 Derby City Classic Master of the Table
2007 Derby City Classic One-Pocket
2007 Pool & Billiard Magazine Top 20 Favorite Players (number 2)
2006 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Jakarta Leg)
2006 IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship
2006 World Cup of Pool (with Django Bustamante)
2006 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Vietnam Leg)
2006 Derby City Classic One-Pocket
2005 IPT King of the Hill Eight-ball Shootout
2005 Derby City Nine-ball Championship
2005 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Jakarta Leg)
2005 Japan Open
2005 Derby City Classic Master of the Table
2005 Derby City Classic Nine-ball
2005 Derby City Classic One-Pocket
2004 WPA World Eight-ball Championship
2004 On Cue 3: Intercontinental Conquest
2004 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Singapore Leg)
2004 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Vietnam Leg)
2004 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Taiwan Leg)
2004 Derby City Classic Master of the Table
2004 Derby City Classic One-Pocket
2003 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
2003 World Classic Billiards Tournament
2003 Las Vegas Nine-ball Open
2003 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (Manila Leg)
2003 Mid-Atlantic Nine-ball Championship
2003 All Japan Championship
2002 Asian Games Eight-ball singles (bronze)
2002 World Pool League
2002 Asian Eight-ball Tournament
2002 Cafe Puro Challenge of the Masters
2002 Shooters Labor Day Weekend Open Nine-ball
2002 International Challenge of Champions
2001 World Pool League
2001 Tokyo Nine-ball Event
2001 US Masters Nine-ball
2001 International Billiard Tournament
2001 Accu-Stats Eight-ball Invitational
2001 The Color of Money II Challenge Match (vs Earl Strickland)
2000 U.S. Open One-Pocket Championship
2000 PBT World Eight-ball Championship
2000 Camel Pro Eight-ball Championship
2000 Pennsylvania State Nine-ball Championship
2000 USA Billards Challenger Event 2
1999 ESPN Ultimate Nine-ball Challenge
1999 ESPN Ultimate Shootout
1999 Sands Regency Open 29 Nine-ball Championship
1999 WPA World Nine-ball Championship (Cardiff, Wales)
1999 Derby City Classic Master of the Table
1999 Derby City Classic One-Pocket
1998 World Eight-Ball Championship
1998 Camel South Jersey Ten-Ball Open
1997 PCA Shooters Challenge
1997 PCA Treasure Island Resort Event
1996 The Color of Money (vs Earl Strickland)
1996 PBT World Eight-ball Championship
1996 PBT Legends of Nine-ball Championship
1996 Camel World Nine-ball Championship
1996 PBT Western Open
1996 PBT Florida Flare Up III
1995 Sands Regency Open 21 Nine-ball Championship
1995 PBT World Eight-ball Championship
1995 Pro Tour Nine-ball Championship
1995 Maine 14.1 Event
1995 Bicycle Club VII
1994 U.S. Open Nine-Ball Championships
1994 PBT Bicycle Club Invitational
1992 International Nine-ball Classic
1992 World Nine-ball Open (Tokyo)
1990 World Cup (Taipei)
1988 PBA McDermott Masters Nine-ball
1986 Sands Regency Nine-ball Championship
1985 Sands Regency Nine-ball Championship
1985 Red's Nine-ball Open
1985 Tar Heel Open
1985 Willard's Open
1985 Chicago Billiard Cafe Open


MEH..