Efren Manalang ReyesOLDPLH (born August 26, 1954) is a Filipino professionalpool player. A winner of over 100 international titles, Reyes was the first player to win world championships in two different pool disciplines. Among his numerous titles, Reyes is a four-time World Eight-ball champion, the1999 WPA World Nine-ball Championship winner, a three-timeU.S. Open winner, a two-timeWorld Pool League champion, a four-timeAll Japan Championship winner, a seven-timeAsian Nine-ball Tour champion, and a thirteen-timeDerby City Classic winner. Reyes also represented the Philippines at theWorld Cup of Pool, winning the event with partnerFrancisco Bustamante in2006 and2009. By defeating American playerEarl Strickland in the inauguralThe Color of Money event in 1997, Reyes took home the largest single match purse in pool history of $100,000. Many analysts, fans and players consider Reyes to be the greatest pool player of all time.
Reyes is nicknamed"The Magician"—for his ability on the pool table—and "Bata" (Filipino for "kid or child"), to distinguish him from an elder pool player by the same name. In addition to pool, Reyes has played internationalbilliards, specificallyone-cushion andthree-cushion.
Reyes was born inPampanga, Philippines, on August 26, 1954.[1] He moved toManila at age five to live with his uncle, who owned apool hall.[2] He cleaned the hall and slept on the tables.[2] Because Reyes was not tall enough to reach the pool table, he played while standing onCoca-Cola cases that he moved around.[3]
Gambling from a young age, he won his first match for money aged nine and continued to compete atthree-cushion billiards in the 1960s and 1970s.[4] After establishing himself as a winner, he was discovered by promoters. This gave him the opportunity to compete in larger tournaments.[5]
In 1983, Reyes took on Pepito Dacer in the finals of the Philippine Rotation Championship. The finals were played in race-to-39 and the players competed over 11 racks on a weekly basis. On the seventh week of play, Reyes defeated Dacer 39–32.[6] During the 1980s, when Reyes was considered a top-class player in his homeland but not yet internationally recognized, he went to the United States tohustle. Reyes claims to have earned $80,000 in a single week, making him a folk hero back in the Philippines.[7]
Reyes began winning a number of tournaments in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia, garnering attention and recognition worldwide. At the start of his career, he used aliases such as "Cesar Morales" to hide his identity so he would be allowed to compete.[8] Reyes became internationally known at theU.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in 1994. Having finished third in 1985,[9] he defeatedNick Varner in the finals and became the first non-American to win the event.[10][11]
Two years later, Reyes andEarl Strickland were chosen to compete in an event, named after the recently releasedThe Color of Money movie.[12] The event was a three-day race-to-120 challenge match of nine-ball.[13] It was held in Hong Kong, with a winner-take-all prize of $100,000.[13] Reyes won the match 120–117 despite being 17 racks behind, to win the all-time largest purse in any professional pool event.[13] In 1999, Reyes won the first televisedWorld Pool Championship that was hosted byMatchroom Pool, earning $60,000, which was the largest first-place prize in a pool tournament. At the time, the tournament was not recognized by theWorld Pool-Billiard Association, which ran their own event, although they later acknowledged the event was an official World Championship.[14][15] This made Reyes the second Filipino player afterJose Parica to win a world championship in pocket billiards.[14][15] In 2001, Reyes participated in the 2001 Tokyo 9-Ball Open, the event had over 700 players participating. Reyes won the event, beatingNiels Feijen in the finals 15–7 and earning $163,000 first prize. At the time, this was the largest first prize in a pool tournament.[16]
Efren "Bata" Reyes (left) after winning the 2005 IPT King of the Hill Shootout
Reyes won the 2005International Pool Tour King of the Hill Eight-ball Shootout, winning $200,000, which was the largest first-place prize of any pool tournament at the time.[21] In the final, he metMike Sigel in a best-of-three sets match, winning 8–0 in the first set and 8–5 in the second.[22] The following year, Reyes won theIPT World Open Eight-ball Championship over Rodney Morris 8–6, earning $500,000.[23] However, due to IPT's financial problems, he has not been able to claim this sum.[23]
Reyes partnered withFrancisco Bustamante to represent the Philippines at the inauguralWorld Cup of Pool. They reached the2006 final, where they met Earl Strickland andRodney Morris representing the United States.[24] They won seven consecutive racks to win the final 13–5.[25] He also won the2009 event once again partnering Bustamante.[26] The pair met the German team ofRalf Souquet andThorsten Hohmann in the final and won 11–9.[27][28][29]
In 2019 Reyes was still actively competing in international professional pool.[30] Overall, he is the most successful player at theDerby City Classic, having won the overall championship on six occasions.[31] He has also won five bronze medals at theSoutheast Asian Games and an eight-ball bronze medal at the2002 Asian Games.[30][32][33] Despite suggestions that his skill had declined by 2019, his games still attracted large crowds at the 2019 and 2021Southeast Asian Games.[34][35]
Reyes continues to play professionally. In 2023, he once again participated in the Derby City Classicone-pocket tournament, held in Southern Indiana, placing third. He had won in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2014.
Reyes is known for his highly creative play.[36][37] Reyes is often called by his nickname "Bata", a Filipino word which means "kid" in English, given to him by close friends to distinguish him from an older Efren who also played pool.[38][39] Reyes' ability to playkick shots led to his gaining the nickname "Magician".[40][41] When Reyes first arrived in the United States, he took the name Cesar Morales as he knew that players had heard his name but not seen what he looked like and he wished to continue hustling.[8]
In 2003, Reyes was featured in the Filipino moviePakners with actorFernando Poe Jr., which was Poe's last film before hisrun for presidency and then death later in 2004. Reyes also appeared in the 2007 short filmNineball.[42] In one episode of the TV seriesMagpakailanman, the story follows a young Efren "Bata" Reyes (portrayed byAnjo Yllana) in his early pool-playing days as he progresses from a money player to a tournament contender.[43]
Numerous fellow professional players have credited Reyes with being the greatest living player in the world.[46][47] DuringESPN television commentary on a semi-final match between Reyes and Mika Immonen at the 2000BCA Open Nine-ball Championship, veteran professionalBilly Incardona stated that Reyes was "indisputably the best player in the world—especially when you consider all games—he can play any game as well as anyone, maybe better than anyone ... In my opinion we're watching probably the greatest player in my lifetime and I've been watching pool for the better part of forty years."[47][48]
In 1995,Billiards Digest magazine named Reyes the Player of the Year.[49] The following year, when Reyes was ranked number one on the United States' Pro Billiards Tour, the June 1996 issue of the magazine featured a poll of "billiard cognoscenti"—pro players, billiards writers, industry insiders and the like—to pick the best in billiards in various categories.[49]Billiards' own elite named Reyes the bestone-pocket player of all time.[49] The magazine wrote, "While a bevy of one-pocket geniuses abound, Efren Reyes, whose prowess in one-pocket is sometimes obscured by his 9-ball [sic] stardom, was the popular pick. Is there anything Bata can't do?"[49]
Reyes has topped theAZ Billiards Money list five times: 2001,[58] 2002,[59] 2004,[60] 2005,[61] and 2006.[62] He also holds the record for highest recorded earnings of any pool player, being the most amount of money won in tournament play in a season, winning $645,000 in 2006.[62]
In 2024, Reyes was inducted into the inaugural World BilliardsHall of Fame held at the newly opened World Billiards Museum inYushan, China. Reyes was among the five inductees announced in the greatest players category.[63] An annual five on five tournament between Asia and Europe was dedicated in Reyes' name, titled theReyes Cup.[64] Reyes captained Team Asia in the first edition, while Bustamante was the captain of the 2nd Reyes Cup, which is contested by Asia vs. Rest of the World.
^ab"2000 Billiard Congress of America Open Nine-ball Championship, playoff round 1 playoff: Efren Reyes against Mika Immonen.".BCA Open Nine-ball Championship.ESPN Classic. February 13, 2009.
^abcdMangahas, Mahar (September 2, 1996)."Pinoys in Billiards' Best".Manila Standard. Manila. p. 25B.Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. RetrievedAugust 23, 2020.
^"The Order of Lakandula".Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. RetrievedJuly 23, 2016.
^"Executive Order No. 540, s. 2006".Official Gazette. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. June 13, 2006.Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. RetrievedNovember 9, 2012.
.jpg)
