Efren Manalang Reyes, famously known as Efren Reyes, is a pool legend and professional pool player from the Philippines. From his childhood, Efren Reyes was working with his uncle’s billiards hall as a billiards attendant.
He was called “Bata,” which means “kid” in the Tagalog language just to distinguish him from another older pool player named Efren.
Since then, he started learning the billiard game. He used to play on Coca-Cola cases because he was very short at that time to reach the billiard table.
Efren Reyes, emerged as a rising star in 1960-70 when he won his first-ever three-cushion billiards game. The talent of Efren Reyes caught the eyes of promoters, and he started to represent team Philippines in local tournaments.
Efren Reyes’s first international appearance was in 1980 when he went to the USS to hustle. During his first week, he earned the amount worth $80,000 in a single week, which gave him recognition as a world-class player not only in the Philippines but all over the world.
He was the first pool player ever to win the World title in two different categories. Using his unorthodox cueing technique, Efren Reyes also considered being a pioneer in the art of “kicking”, a method in which the player tries to escape from a snooker, which gave him the nickname “the magician” for this exceptional and extraordinary skill.
Efren Reyes Net worth
The net worth of Efren Reyes is not verified, but it is claimed that he has assets of the net worth of 2.5 to 3.0 Million USD.
Efren Reyes was on the crest of a wave when he won the 1994 USS Open Nine Ball Championship, defeating USS world-class and hall of fame inducted player, Nick Varner in the finals.
The title gave him another international recognition as “first non-American to win the event”.
Among many other outstanding game-winning performances, Efren Reyes holds the world record of winning the prize of worth 100,000 USD, the highest single-event prize in the history of pool till now.
Apart from that, he has gained almost 80 international titles, including four-time World Eight-ball Champion, three-times US open Champion, two-times World Pool League, and a record winning of Derby City Classic 14 times.
The success stories of Efren Reyes also include the winner of the International Billiard Tournament in 2001, having a total prize worth 170,000 USD.
In 2002, he won the International Challenge of Champions, grabbing a 50,000 USD prize. In December 2005, he won the International Pool Tour King of the Hill 8-Ball Shootout, acquiring the prize amount worth 200,000USD.
AZ Billiards Money ranked him as top-rated on five different occasions. In 2006, Efren Reyes set another record, claiming a single year earning worth 646,000 USD.
Conclusion
The exceptional and unique gameplay style of Efren Reyes was also admired by his fellow professional players, who declared him the indisputably greatest living player in the world.
Considering the remarkable performance, Efren Reyes was awarded the highest civilian orders of the Philippines, The Order of Lakandula, the Philippine Legion of Honor award, outstanding Filipino Awardee of the United States Junior Chamber, “Jaycees”.
His hard work to reach the top of the world is an inspiration for young players. Remember, everyone has a time of success and satisfaction. You may become successful in your career someday.
Interesting Articles to Read
