Efren Reyes

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Efren "Bata" Reyes, also known as "The Magician".
Efren "Bata" Reyes, also known as "The Magician".

Efren Reyes (born August 26, 1954) is a Filipino professional pool player from Angeles City, considered[attribution needed] to be one of the all-time greats in the games of nine ball and one-pocket. Reyes is often known by his nickname "Bata", and is also referred to as "The Magician" (see "Nicknames and aliases" below for more detail).

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[edit] Background

Reyes was born in Pampanga in 1954 and moved to Manila with his family, at the age of 5. In Manila, he worked as a billiards attendant at his uncle's billiards hall, where he started learning the various cue sports. At a young age, he played for money, and in the sixties and seventies, played carambole billiards (also known as three cushion billiards). After winning very often, promoters around have discovered him. This gave him the opportunity to compete in big time tournaments.

Reyes began winning a number of tournaments in the US, Europe and in parts of Asia. Thus, he started to gained attention and recognition worldwide. By the mid-1990s, he became one of the elite players of the Philippines along Jose Parica and Francisco Bustamante.

[edit] Straight pool mastery

Aside from being a notable player in the game of nine-ball, Reyes possesses a masterful skill in straight pool (14.1). He is widely known as the best 14.1 player in the Philippines. In 1995, Reyes dominated the Maine 14.1 Event besting very well-known names such as Jim Rempe and Earl Strickland. His highest run in that tournament was 123.[1]

In 2000, Reyes competed in the US Open 14.1 Championship. Although he didn't win and had to settle for third. He conquered notable players such as Oliver Ortmann, Thomas Engert and Mike Sigel. He even made an impressive run of 141 which was more than the one he made five years before.[2]

[edit] Great successes in pool

In 1994, Reyes won the US Open Nine Ball Championship by defeating Nick Varner in the finals. For a number of years, he was the only non-American ever to won the event until Ralf Souquet won it in 2002 and Alex Pagulayan in 2005.

A couple of years later, Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland were chosen to face each other in an event called the Color of Money, named after The Color of Money movie. The event was a 3-day race-to-120 challenge match of 9-ball. It was held in Hong Kong and has a winner-take-all prize of $100,000. Reyes won the match 120-117 and the big prize. This was the largest single-winning purse in a pool event until it was equalled by an offer at the Texas Hold'em Billiards Championship, an event won by Marlon Manalo in 2005.

Although Earl Strickland was the first to win the WPA World 9-ball Championship, Reyes, in 1999, became the first to win it broadcast on television.

In 2001, Reyes won the International Billiard Tournament. The event was in Tokyo, Japan, has over 700 players and total purse of ¥100,000,000 ($850,000). Reyes dominated the event by besting Niels Feijen in the finals 15-7 and earned the ¥20,000,000[3]($170,000) first prize. For 4 years, this was biggest first prize in a pool tournament.

Then in 2003 he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame.

Near the end of 2004, Reyes bested Marlon Manalo 11-8 to become the first-ever WPA World Eight Ball Champion.

In December 2005 Reyes won the IPT King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout. Reyes won a record-breaking $200,000 for first place by beating fellow Hall of Fame member Mike "the Mouth" Sigel two sets to none (8-0 and 8-5).

In 2006, Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante represented their country as Team Philippines and captured the inaugural World Cup of Pool at Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom.

That same year, Reyes won the IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship over Rodney Morris 8-6. He earned $500,000, which was the largest prize money tournament in the history of pocket billiards.

[edit] One of the world's most profitable players

As a player in professional pool, Reyes has been known to have a won a number of money-rich tournaments worldwide. This makes him one of the most profitable players around. To prove it, he topped AZ Billiards Money List 5 times; 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. [4][5][6][7][8]

[edit] Film and ambassador

In 2003, Mr. Reyes was featured in the Filipino movie Pakners with the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr..

Reyes was appointed Philippine Sports Ambassador of the 2005 South East Asian Games alongside some of the Philippines' greatest athletes (Allan Caidic, Rafael Nepomuceno) to promote the event throughout the country.

[edit] Nicknames and aliases

[edit] "Bata"

Reyes is often called by his nickname "Bata" (Tagalog for ""youth" or "kid"), given to him by friends at his regular pool hall to distinguish him from an older Efren.

[edit] "The Magician"

Reyes, along with the other "Filipino invasion" players revolutionized the way pool is played by their introduction to the sport of pinpoint precision kicking (going into a rail with the cue ball and then hitting an object ball). Reyes' ability to "kick safe" and to kick balls into intended pockets is legendary. This ability, coupled with his superb skill at other aspects of the game, led U.S. professionals to give him the appellation "The Magician." Before Reyes and his compatriots came over to the U.S., no one there had seen anything like their kicking skill set.

The so-called Filipino Invasion players consist of a group of fine Filipino players all of whom came to the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s and quickly took the professional pool world by storm. The first of these innovators was Jose "Amang" Parica, followed (not necessarily in chronological order) by Mr. Reyes, Francisco "Django" Bustamante and, to a lesser extent, Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat and Leonardo Andam. There are many other fine professional players who have followed in their footsteps, including Ramil Gallego, Santos Sambajon Jr., Antonio Lining, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo and Alex Pagulayan, current 2005 US Open Champion and 2004 World Pool Championship winner, but only the first three original "invaders" are consistently considered among the small elite who dominate the very top of pool's professional rankings.

[edit] "Cesar Morales"

"[The] first time I came over to the states, I used an alias of Cesar Morales. Pool players in the US already knew Efren Reyes as a great shooter from the Philippines, but they [hadn't]...seen...[me]...in person." — Efren Reyes [9]

[edit] Career titles

  • WPA World Nine-ball Championship (1999)
  • WPA World Eight-ball Championship (2004)
  • Derby City Classic Master of the Table (2004, 2005, 2007)
  • Derby City Classic One-pocket Event (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
  • World Pool League (2001, 2002)
  • AZ Billiards Money List Leader (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)

[edit] Others

  • 2006 Asian 9-ball Tour, Jakarta Leg
  • 2006 IPT World 8-ball Open Championship
  • 2006 World Cup of Pool
  • 2006 Asian 9-ball Tour, Vietnam Leg
  • 2005 IPT King of the Hill 8-ball Shootout
  • 2005 Derby City Nine-ball Championship
  • 2005 IPT King of the Hill Eight-ball Championship
  • 2005 Asian 9-ball Jakarta Leg
  • 2005 Japan Open
  • 2004 On Cue Intercontinental Conquest
  • 2004 Asian 9-ball Tour, Singapore Leg
  • 2004 Asian 9-ball Tour, Vietnam Leg
  • 2004 Asian 9-ball Tour, Taiwan Leg
  • 2003 Mid-Atlantic Nine-ball Championship
  • 2003 All Japan Championship
  • 2003 Asian 9-ball Tour, Manila Leg
  • 2003 Las Vegas Nine-ball Open
  • 2002 Asian Eight-ball Tournament
  • 2002 Cafe Puro Challenge of the Masters
  • 2002 International Challenge of Champions
  • 2001 International Billiard Tournament
  • 2001 Accu-Stats 8-ball Invitational
  • 2001 Color of Money II Challenge Match (vs. Earl Strickland)
  • 2001 Masters Nine-ball Championship
  • 2000 US Open One-Pocket Championship
  • 1999 ESPN Ultimate Nine-ball Challenge
  • 1999 ESPN Ultimate Shootout
  • 1999 Sands Regency Open 29 Nine-ball Championship
  • 1998 World 8-Ball Championship
  • 1998 Camel South Jersey 10-Ball Open
  • 1997 PCA Shooters Challenge
  • 1997 PCA Treasure Island Resort Event
  • 1996 The Color of Money Nine-ball Champion (Reyes vs Earl Strickland)
  • 1996 PBT World Eight-ball Championship
  • 1996 PBT Legends of Nine-ball Championship
  • 1996 PBT Western Open
  • 1996 PBT Florida Flare Up III
  • 1995 Sands Regency Open 21 Nine-ball Championship
  • 1995 PBT World 8 Ball Championship
  • 1995 Pro Tour Nine-ball Championship
  • 1995 Maine 14.1 Event
  • 1994 US Open 9-ball Championship
  • 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

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dialog with Reyes
  2. ^ US Open 14.1 Championship Press
  3. ^ Press of the Tokyo Open
  4. ^ 2001 Money List
  5. ^ 2002 Money List
  6. ^ 2004 Money List
  7. ^ 2005 Money List
  8. ^ 2006 Money List
  9. ^ Efren Reyes interview, AZBilliards.com; accessed 2006

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Nick Varner		 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Champion
1999		 Succeeded by
Chao Fong-pang
Preceded by
Inaugural champion		 WPA Men's World Eight-ball Champion
2004		 Succeeded by
Wu Chia-ching
Preceded by
Earl Strickland		 US Open Nine-ball Champion
1994		 Succeeded by
Reed Pierce


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