2005 U.S. Open 9-Ball: Efren Reyes vs. Earl Strickland 

--- Earl Strickland and Efren Reyes are two giants who have exceptional expertise in chronicle, and they both are world legends in the billiard sport forever ---

I don't understand the disrespectful comments these guys are both legends in a game we all love.

Love watching Earl play he has such a concentrated attitude when he plays that's what makes him a great player striving for perfection.

This has to be the grratest rivalry in the history of pool. In my opion arguments can be made for both and they both were at the top of their games when they played and it lasted for years. Wish we could build another rivalry such as this.

Masterful jump shot on that first rack on the 2 ball.

It's awesome that you've got so many complete matches posted. Thanks BCLub.

I see a match with two legends.... immediately watch 👍😊

He is Bill Incardona. A professional player as well. One of the best commentators. He is known to for his ability to take the viewers through the game by describing the shots and strategies, players' psychology backed with massive experience and knowledge.

pool players of today evolved because of efren reyes... the skill, the talent, the strategy and the ATTITUDE...

Efren is my favorite player and I absolutely can’t stand Earls attitude when he’s losing. BUT, he can shoot one hell of a pool game, that’s for damn sure.

Good to see Strickland keep his emotions in check for once, a great performance.

I have to say that I always like Bill Incardona when he commentated. He makes intelligent, useful comments, you can tell he was a great player.

I never tired of watching Efren Bata Reyes play pool again n again..❤❤❤

Both players played a great game. But Earl Strickland was shooting great in this tournament. Now this is the Earl Strickland who is Playing excellent pool. Notice his mind is strictly on the game only! Thanks to the Pool Association and RU-vid.com for allowing us to view theses Pool Games. 👍🇺🇸

This is the exact pool table I hope to have one day, absolutely gorgeous

NICE WORK, PEARL!!! Wish I could've seen you play the bushwhacker in the late 80s...

the best 2 players ever that have ever picked up the cue on a pool table

Most of the game Earl had the cue ball on a string.....some really nice strokes, too.

i agree, but when Earl plays like this? elegant, powerful, every shot ya' feel it in your gut.

EFREN IS THE BEST PLAYER EVER!!!

Efren was having a bad day, and Earl was on fire. When Earl plays Efren he concentrates more than usual.

my two favorite players by far!

My left ear is loving this match

Im a fan of Yang Ching Shun but these top players are absolutely at to different level. Their shots are accurate and They dont need much time to consider what they're gonna do next. True pool masters.

when earl is on he is unstoppable.

i love how humble efren is. he is completely the opposite of earl. IMHO i'd never want to see strickland beat reyes.

actually I did jump the gun a little quick and forget about how strong shane's power break is as he demonstrated against donny mills. I would actually like to see bustamante in that match with SVB... both very productive off the break or maybe johnny archer?

You're very luck that you get to watch him for free. It's like watching Jordan shoot hoops at your local gym. The game you described sounds like Rotation, similar to 9-ball but played with all 15 balls. They say that's why filipino players kick so well.

9-ball and snooker are so different. I think one of the key problems with the snooker players and 9-ball is the break required. Having grown up with snooker and the soft break, I think they just can't get that kind of power with control like the 9-ball greats: Bustamante, Strickland, Hall, Varner, Reyes, etc. They definitely have no problem making balls, or working the cue, although I think 9-ball position play is completely different than that of snooker play.

Rack 10 took Strickland 1:09 seconds from break to pocketing the 9 ball, and he even took time to talk for a few seconds about making 3 balls on the break!

i love mosconi, but he did miss his 527th (a one in the corner)

i never noticed that earl lines up his shots more under his right eye/right side of face.

My two favorite pool commentators.. Ever.

thanks, thats interesting, cant understand the princip though...you got some experience? i mean, does it help you to improve your skill? i "feel" the shot with slow aiming quite comfortably..

Strickland: One of the greatest that ever held a cue. Reyes: THE greatest that ever held a cue.

That has got to be the first time that I have ever seen Efren Reyes shoot a jump shot.

What champions!!! Such a joy to watch!

22:30 first time i saw reyes use a jump cue.

Speaking not as a fan but as decades-long Chicago pool gamer, that players have to know the diamond system and english well enough to get positions to shoot the next ball as in 9-ball but Chicago is 1 to 15. Efren has style: he has an excellent posture shooting and smooth strokes. His shots are crisp, precise and fluid. If you have the ear you could even differential his shootings to others. Sure! there are numerous pros out there win more finals or ran more racks than Efren, but when it comes to the best all-around pool player Efren is #1 hands down. Efren is revered not only by fans but also other pros.

I'm only 11 minutes in but let me guess: Earl breaks at least one cue during this match?

Greatest 9 ball players vs Greatest all round pool player. Match between 2 pool gods.

both are my idols

Wow Earl Strickland fast and accurate Willy impressive

The greatest pool players ever, face to face. each of them have diferents ways to play of cours. Earl is agressive and fast. Reyes is more a thinker player.

The camera work was atrocious but the play was exceptional.

efren is so good.. his shots are like so soft..when you watch em.. other players looks like they hit it so hard.

it is so good to see earl not talking

haha i guess he's amplifying the importance of every single rack here, since for 2 competitive players, every match counts :p

Efren is one of the greatest to ever play the game but when Earl is in Stroke....there is no one on this planet that is better than him. In golf, the players are judged, not by their wins, but by their majors. With 5 U.S Open and 2 or 3 World titles, Earl is simply the best to have played this game.......................so far

@kristiantheheathen thx for ur 'support' man didn't even notice ppl where giving thumbs down

very strategic game of pool ... each player gets a corner pocked and the objective is to sink 8 balls in your pocket before ur opponent... interesting game ... played it a few times ... its a lot harder than most other pool games

As of today Reyes is history's best pocket billiards player. Whatever this might mean to you personally, it does not mean he is far and away superior to every other player living or dead. The measure of ability which separates Reyes and Strickland is extremely small... too small for most to surmise without watching a great number of taped matches.

These two are the best in billiards! ...

Earl plays like he's double parked.

COG is right, Efren is a master of ALL billiards games, including straight pool, 14.1, 3 cushion, 1 pocket, etc. etc. etc. Earl is strictly a rotation player.

2 of my favorite players But Efren Reyes is the better player

Reyes has $1.6 million in tourney wins since 2000. Strickland has under $500,000. So as far as this decade goes, it's no comparison.

I feel like asides from the missed 4-6 billiard, Efren lost because of the break format. He has an overall bad break and can really only pot consistent balls off the break when breaking from the side. He wasn't allowed to break from the side and because of Earl being great at pretty much every aspect of his game (except mental), capitalized on his break to keep running out. Also when Earl broke dry, Efren tended to not have a shot on the 1.

It wouldn't let me post my whole post, so I'll continue here. Notwithstanding these harsh realities which make it so intimidating for beginners, snooker does not necessitate the degree of positional play that nine ball outright requires. Rotation pool is defined by position; potting is not meant to be difficult, because that's not what the game entails. What it does entail is workable shape, each and every shot.

@husttler007 what do you think about johnny archer then?

If anything, positional play is more difficult in snooker; the physical demands are much greater, due to tighter pockets and greater area of play.

@nusux A "nine-foot" table measures 50x100 inches from cushion edge to cushion edge. I'm sure you can use a conversion tool to covert inches to centimeters.

wow thanks a lot for the reply mate :) Highly appreciated :)

Before the 9 is pocketed every time you're like "quick turn down the volume or my left ear will be destroyed by the applause!

lol that made my day. Didn't catch that when I was watching.

Is this the final round?

How can chalk off get you table "cleaner than new?" Thats an insane claim?

I was wondering why Earl was well behaved and calm. At the end you can see his mother gives him a hug. Perhaps having his mother there keeps him well mannered.

could anyone tell me the official dimensions of a pool table ? if possible in centimetres cause everywhere i search it's in feets !

I would have reserved that comment for a match that Efren actually won, and not posted it until Efren had 5 us open wins, 5 world championships and 6 player of the year awards under his belt.

I like Efren Reyes he is one of my favorite players but it's cool watching Earl Strickland Beat him. I always thought Efren was unbeatable but you can definitely tell he was off in this match.

title of the song after the match??? Thanks

Strickland, greatest 9 ball player of all time. Reyes, best player of all time. If Reyes had a better break I believe he would be better than Strickland. As it is, it's razor close between them in 9 ball. And for the life of me I don't know why the commentators, not just this match, but almost all of them are almost shouting after each game declaring the winner. It's supposed to add excitement to the match I suppose but I find it very annoying.

Earl Strickland is an incredible player when he's focused and not busy crying. He can make the game look effortless. However, he is such a baby that when he's down by even a rack he'll throw the game. Until he learns to cope with his problems I don't think he'll ever when another major title.

go to 8:40 and read the subtitles for about 20 seconds

25:20 that guys got his hands full

It seems to be a recurring theme that Earl hasn't been to semi's and final's in a while. One reason for this is poor health. His back has been really bad among other things. I've heard he feels like he's about to make a big comeback and that his health is improving. Another good Earl stat besides the championships is that he has the best Mosconi Cup record ever.

I agree Efren is a great player and no doubt one of the best kick shot artist EVER. However Earl also has some skills that he excells at better than anyone else, such as the jump shot, which is not even in Efren's arsenal, and shooting long off the rail. he's got that down better than anyone. Earl has finally accepted the jump cue and now keeps one in his case. If the guy could ever keep his antics under wraps he'd still pose a threat.

I'd like efren to be in the snooker community. He just fits in.

@toshiru07 i been watching this forever the 2 best 9 ball player of all time,, Strickland & Reyes! U.S.A Philippines!

I'm sure you don't actually believe professional snooker players don't play shape. They do. They definitely, definitely do.

kniehk, that's called a push. After the break he has the option to "push", or hit it as he did. His opponent then has the choice to take the shot or give it back to the one who pushed. So pretty much you wanna leave a safe shot on a push, but not too safe. It's a tough thing to pull off correctly.

Cuetec ended the contract with Earl before it ran out. Strickland now plays with Gulyassy cues

You'd figure that such a class game would have class comments instead of so much childish bickering.

43.29 - i thought he said he almost fouled the ball with his ... nevermind

of course he said stick. I was just laughing because the first time around it sounded the other way to me. Uptight Namecaller.

it's called feeling the shot I think. There's the same in snooker but it's much less pronounced or visible.

Earl the Pearl. Good one👍 Amazing player.

I've never been a fan of Earl's personality but I do admire his game when he leaves all the shit aside and just plays pool. This is a good example of Earl the pool player. He could come back to his former glory, and probably dominate again, if he just controlled that goddamn temper he has.

the push is only available after the break the following player can either play the ball or let the other player (the one that initially started the push) play the push out.there's no foul called even if the player doesn't hit the object ball after calling the "push out" but the push out is only available once after the break shot.

BCn advertisement on the front of the screen says pro-players prefer Diamond pool tables, but this is not true statement. Maybe some pro-players have this preference, but many do not such as Rodney Morris prefers anything but Diamond pool tables was his comments. Steve Mizerak commented that Brunswick pool tables are the professional tables of choice.

@WolfieTed Not if there is usually some residue or film characteristic of a new felt/table. Like a coating or stain guard? Otherwise, I agree, it's a stupid thing to claim.

I have respect for both men. However, if we are talking about 9-ball and only 9-ball only. Earl Strickland owned Efren Reyes, especially early in Strickland’s career. He was clearly the better player.

Who is the guy commentating with Wych? Is it the Rainman?

does Earl use a cuetec cue or a custom cue?

16:30 "Just a quick look to check that the balls are all touching" heheheh.... sigh, ball-jokes.

yeah!! I agree to you dude!! I play both Pool and Snooker and I found Snooker is really hard while Pool is easy in terms of pocketing. But how about Position play and Safety play.... Snooker is really bad at this concept....the fact that cheating the pocket is almost impossible in Snooker table make it impossible for player to make incredible shot in Snooker..

oh come on earl , respect your equipment

You could be right but i spoke to his wife Flora and met his son at the Skins in Atlantic City in 05 and it was the only question i asked her about the 526,she said he got tired.

oh right, thanks!