Efren Reyes

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Manalang and
the surname or paternal family name is Reyes.

Efren Reyes
OLD, PLH

Efren Reyes at the 2012 WPA World Nine-ball Championship

Born August 26, 1954 (age 66)

Mexico, Pampanga, Philippines

Sport country  Philippines

Nickname The Magician, Bata

Pool games eight-ball, nine-ball, one pocket

Tournament wins

Major Over 70 major titles

World Champion Eight-ball (2004), nine-ball (1999)

Ranking info

Medal record[hide]
 Representing   Philippines

Men's Eight-ball
Asian Games
2002 Busan Singles

Men's Carom 1 Cushion
Southeast Asian Games
2011 Palembang Singles
2013 Naypyidaw Singles
2015 Singapore Singles
2019 Philippines Singles

Men's Carom 3 Cushion
Southeast Asian Games
2011 Palembang Singles

Efren Manalang Reyes, OLD, PLH (born August 26, 1954), is a Filipino

professional pool player. A winner of over 70 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, the 1999 WPA World
Nine-ball Championship winner, a three-time U.S. Open winner, a two-time World Pool
League winner and a 13-time Derby City Classic winner. Reyes also represented the
Philipines at the World Cup of Pool, winning the event partnering Francisco
Bustamante in 2006 and 2009. By defeating American player Earl Strickland in the
inaugural Color of Money event in 1997, Reyes took home the largest single match
purse in pool history of $100k.
Reyes is nicknamed "The Magician" for his ability on the pool table and "Bata", to
distinguish from a fellow pool player by the same name. Players often consider Reyes
to be among one of the most successful pool players of all time. In addition to pool,
Reyes has played international billiards, specifically three-cushion.

Contents

 1Pool Career
o 1.1Early life
o 1.2Professional career
 2Media and persona
 3Personal life
 4Accolades
o 4.1Major titles and achievements
 5References
 6External links
Pool Career[edit]
Early life[edit]
Reyes was born in Pampanga in the Philippines on August 26, 1954.[1] He moved
to Manila aged five to live with his uncle who owned a pool hall. [2] He cleaned the hall,
and would sleep on the tables.[3] Because he was not tall enough to reach the pool table,
he played while standing on Coca-Cola cases that he moved around. [4]
Gambling from a young age, he won his first match for money aged nine and continued
to compete at 3-cushion billiards in the 1960s and 1970s.[5] After establishing himself as
a winner, he was discovered by promoters. This gave him the opportunity to compete in
larger tournaments.[6]
Professional career[edit]
In 1983, Reyes took on Pepito Dacer in the finals of the Philippine Professional Pocket
Billiards Championships which was played in rotation. The finals was played in race-to-
39, and the players played 11 racks on a weekly basis. On the seventh week of play,
Reyes defeated Dacer 39–32.[7] During the 1980s, when Reyes was considered a top-
class player in his homeland but not yet internationally recognized, he went to the U.S.
to hustle. Reyes claims to have earned $80,000 in a single week, making him a folk
hero back in the Philippines.[8]
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.[9] Reyes became internationally known at the U.S. Open 9-Ball
Championship in 1994. Having finished third in 1985, [10] he defeated Nick Varner in the
finals and became the first non-American to win the event. [11][12]
Two years later, Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland were chosen to compete in an event,
named after the recently released The Color of Money movie.[13] The event was a three-
day race-to-120 challenge match of nine-ball.[14] It was held in Hong Kong, with a winner-
take-all prize of $100,000.[14] Reyes won the match 120–117 despite being 17 racks
behind, to win the largest purse in any professional pool event of all-time. [14] In 1999,
Reyes won the first televised 1999 World Professional Pool Championship. At the time,
the tournament was not recognized by the World Pool Association, who ran their own
event, they later acknowledged the event was an official world championship. [15][16] In
2001, Reyes participated in the 2001 Tokyo Open, with over 700 partipants and a total
purse of ¥100 Million ($850K). Reyes dominated the event, beating Niels Feijen in the
finals 15–7, earning ¥20M ($170K) first prize. At the time, this was the biggest first prize
in a pool tournament.[17]
Efren Reyes after winning the 2005 IPT King of the Hill Shootout

Reyes won the 2002 International Challenge of Champions, defeating Mika Immonen in

a deciding rack.[18] He reached the final of the 2004 WPA World Eight-ball
Championship, where he met Marlon Manalo in the final.[19][20] He trailed 0–4, but won
eight straight racks, and won the final 11–8.[21] The win made Reyes the first player to
win WPA world championships in more than one discipline. [21]
Reyes won the 2005 IPT King of the Hill eight-ball Shootout, which offered the highest
top prize of any pool event to that date – $200K. [22] In the final, he met Mike Sigel in a
best-of-three sets match, winning 8–0 in the first set and 8–5 in the second. [23] That
following year, Reyes won the IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship over Rodney
Morris 8–6, earning $500K—a larger sum than that he earned at the King of the Hill
event. However, due to IPT's financial problems, he has not been able to claim this
sum.[24]
He partnered Francisco Bustamante to represent the Philippines at the inaugural World
Cup of Pool. They reached the 2006 final, where they met Earl Strickland and Rodney
Morris representing the United States.[25] They won seven consective racks to win the
final 13–5.[26] He also won the 2009 event once again partnering Bustamante. [27] The pair
met the German team of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann in the final and won 11–
9.[28][29][30] Reyes is the most successful player at the Derby City Classic, having won the
overall championship on five occasions.[31]