Can we consider Efren Bata "The Magician" Reyes a hall of famer? If you rank him, among?

Question

billiard greats, what will be his standing? Pls explain a bit bros.....Thanks.

Answer 1

efren "bata" reyes should be remembered as the greatest pool player of all-time ... most of the top pool players of today agrees that efren may well be the best to ever hold a cue stick ... whilst his accomplishments in tournaments will suggest that he's the best, he will also go down as the greatest money player ... and one of the things that separates him to all these top-notch players is that, he's great in 9-ball, 8-ball, rotation, carom, snooker, one pocket, name it ... he's the michael jordan of pool!

Answer 2

Reyes has certainly established himself as one of the best and definitely among the greatest of all time....read once that he ran 8 straight racks of 8 ball and finally lost the 9th....what happended they asked....."I lost the flip for the break"....they flip each time for the break in his country.......point here is that I think there is still some luck involved with these guys......with no seedings it involves a lot of luck of the draw....I made this point before that there needs to be some seedings......how to be determined I have no idea......these "pros' are so stinking good....all of them!! ...so how do you rate them?.......one thing for sure no one in the past.....absolutely no one.....Fats....Masconi..Paul Newman or Tom Cruise come close to todays players.......the game today is just that much greater......it would be like saying bring "Jim Brown" back as a 20 year old and see what he would do in today"s game........he would have never made the "Hall of Fame"............rambled a little too much.....Bata is truly one of the greatest ever......but will you say this 20 years from now

Answer 3

Okay, I'll give up. I used to say that Willie Mosconi was the best. I now say that Reyes is tied with Mosconi. (Ok!!!!)

Answer 4

One of you should just go out there and write a book on this debate.  You could probably just copy and paste all of the questions and answers from Yahoo and you'd have a decent sized text.  I'm kidding.  Seriously, you might just want to write Billiards Digest and get a letter printed.  Otherwise, I think this has been covered sufficiently.  M.D.-BCA Instructor/Referee.

P.S.  I would like to make a point about how the game is different today than it was back in the 40's.  The players today have better playing equipment than anyone would have imagined back in depression-era America.  Perfectly rolling Simonis cloth, perfect cushions, perfect lighting, perfect pool balls, etc.  Not to mention devices like the Sardo rack, which gives players not only a perfectly tight rack every time, it gives them the exact same rack every time.  That's why pro 9-ball puts the rack forward with the 9 ball on the spot, not the 1.  Players were making the 9 on the break too often.  This is not to slight today's pros.  In terms of pure talent, I think today's players are superior, thanks in part to the much wider availability of instructional tools.  Back in the 40's there were no lessons and only a few books.  You had to learn by watching good players and usually giving them a lot of money in the process.  Additionally, straight pool is so different from 9-ball.  It seems like folks who only play 9-ball don't understand the real complexity and challenge of straight pool.  Likewise, people who only shoot 14.1, don't appreciate the extreme shotmaking skill needed for 9-ball.  Both Mosconi and Reyes were skilled in many different games.  They were both very well-rounded players.  They had their own specialties and both deserve their places in the BCA HOF.

Answer 5

He's already in the hall of fame! He ranks first to me. No one's more exciting and imaginative than Bata.

Answer 6

At 52 and probably the richest Billiards Player in The Planet, Bata shows signs of slowing down. But The Wash Up version of Bata is good Enough to win Major a Chapionship.

I'll pick Bata Over Mosconi that is Because nobody in the history Billiards who made such Impact that it Elevates the game in to new Heights. anybody who canelevate This sports to new heights Deserve to be the greatest.

Yes is a Hall of Famer and He is the Greatest.

Answer 7

Most definitely, not sure of where in the pecking order, but he'd be right up there that's for sure.

Answer 8

I think Efrem is a lock to get into the hall of fame. He is one of the greatest of all time. His shot making and kicking ability are fantastic. A lot of people say he is awful lucky , but I say that great players make their own luck. I would rank him among the best ever 9 ball and 1 pocket players. I still believe that Willie Mosconi was the best ever pocket pool player mainly because he played straight pool , which is a tougher game than 9 ball. 15 world championships and a 526 ball run are hard to argue with. And Willie was also great at 9 ball , 8 ball , 1 pocket and just about any pocket pool game you can think of. Not to take anything away from the magician because he is definitely a hall of famer. He has done a lot for the game of nineball and pool in general, especially in the Phillipines. Head to head , both in their prime , My money is on Willie.