Top 25 BEST POOL SHOTS of All Time 

Many people have suggested that Chris Melling's shot sequence (Shot 2) should be #1 instead of Efren's Z-shot. An argument can certainly be made for that choice, and I was honestly torn with the decision. However, I chose Efren's shot because It wasn't just the shot. It was the match, opponent, situation, shot choice, difficulty level, outcome, etc. For more info, see my "Why EFREN’S Z-SHOT Is So Legendary, and Bending-Kick Follow-Up" video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cwD8rmHHNec.html Some people have also suggested that Jimmy White's long kick bank combo (Shot 22) should be much higher on the list. Some people also think it shouldn't even be in the Top 25 since it was so fluky. Regardless, the shot was certainly spectacular. I had a hard time deciding where it should go, but I can see how some people might think it should be in the Top 5. *CORRECTIONS:* - at 16m17s, it was a 5-8 combo, not a 3-8 combo. - at 1m42s, sorry if I offended any Sid Waddell fans out there with my “British gibberish” comment. Sid was a great commentator and I always enjoyed listening to him, even if I couldn’t always understand what he was saying. RIP Sid. - Shot 16 is missing the full sequence since RU-vid cut out part of the video due to a Copyright complaint. The whole shot sequence is still available here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a-mAxW0k5Qk.html *Contents with Source Video Links:* 0:00 - Intro *0:11** - Shots 25-21* - Shot 25 - Efren Reyes - two-rail kick with carom off three rails: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qKdBhPg01VAt.html=47m18s - Shot 24 - Jayson Shaw - massé kick: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HfQbnr6WdOs.html - Shot 23 - Shane VanBoening - kick jump carom for the win: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S9eOrxwk7H4.html - Shot 22 - Jimmy White - long kick bank combo: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S2uTTVJ2UoQ.html - Shot 21 - Shane VanBoening - jump two-rail bank combo for the win: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UoMxo27ohp4.html *2:24** - Shots 20-16* - Shot 20 - Efren Reyes - jump over obstacle ball for shape: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OBXJ1cDJ-0s.html - Shot 19 - Shane VanBoening - two-way-shot carom for the Mosconi Cup win: facebook.com/watch/?v=520615962017728 - Shot 18 - Efren Reyes - four-rail kick shot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2l2JFOGlntw.html - Shot 17 - Corey Deuel - bank with kiss clearance: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BF8hU5cowMw.html - Shot 16 - Luong Dung - three-foul-rule jump escape sequence: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ja9y8Lv_A1s.html *4:47** - Shots 15-11* - Shot 15 - Jeffrey DeLuna and Corey Deuel - full-table-length power draw: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cgQNOgVo41U.html and ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zq3yKRpCVqQ.html - Shot 14 - Efren Reyes - perpendicular kick off side-pocket point carom shot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zysdNbvvuvk.html - Shot 13 - Earl Strickland - two-rail kick combo for the win: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ecI2mlTnnVw.html - Shot 12 - Efren Reyes - two-rail kick at pocket hanger with a carom for the win: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--g2pF0f-a3o.html - Shot 11 - Corey Deuel - jump draw off the end cushion for up-table position: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--7Mu0o-yTyQ.html *7:37** - Shots 10-6* - Shot 10 - Albin Ouschan - double-the-rail break-out position shot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4Yb0Ox7pJtw.html - Shot 9 - Carlo Biado - reverse spin across the table for shape: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XfRx5w-D3fE.html - Shot 8 - Efren Reyes - amazing safety sequence and one-rail back-cut hide: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-250Xjg2ot-U.html - Shot 7 - Mike Dechaine - hop over obstacle ball with massé break out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8ZOoB9gOOQY.html - Shot 6 - Alex Pagulayan - OB jump to clear obstacle and get position: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L1z0SofLnww.html *10:54** - Shots 5-2* - Shot 5 - Corey Deuel - fancy power draw across the table: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VVDrZK6VpuU.html - Shot 4 - Alain Martel - incredible rail-jump-carom safety escape: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FIn-ZA2R5oQ.html - Shot 3 - Nick Varner - amazing sequence - two-rail kick bank, long one-rail kick, and finesse runout: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9tNR0deq1Jk.html - Shot 2 - Chris Melling - amazing sequence - timed carom kick combo, long massé shot, and four-rail bank through traffic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vKD7EdzMjAM.html *14:57** - Shot 1* - Efren Reyes - famous Z-shot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--g2pF0f-a3o.html 16:10 - Wrap Up 16:44 ---- shot collage *Additional Resources:* - Shot analysis and recreations: ---- TOP 10 EFREN REYES FAMOUS SHOTS ... And How to Shoot Them - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V1czUp9k2Uk.html ---- TOP 10 MOST FAMOUS POOL SHOTS OF ALL TIME … And How to Shoot Them - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a-mAxW0k5Qk.html ---- More MOST FAMOUS POOL SHOTS of All Time … And How to Shoot Them - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S9eOrxwk7H4.html ---- Top 10 GREATEST SAFETIES of All Time by EFREN REYES - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-itnF1DzT-L8.html - Top 10 BEST SAFETIES of All Time … And How to Shoot Them - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Rhv3X9uFEYM.html ---- GREATEST POOL MATCH of All Time - Reyes vs. Strickland - with the Famous Z-Shot - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RhhrlcbnmXA.html ---- Analysis of the MOST SHOCKING POOL MATCH of All Time - Sigel vs. Varner - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9tNR0deq1Jk.html - collection of great one-pocket shots: billiards.colostate.edu/faq/game/one-pocket/ - collection of great safeties: billiards.colostate.edu/faq/safety/examples/ - collection of great pool shots: billiards.colostate.edu/videos/pool-shots/ - “I Got Lucky” shirts, mugs, and posters: drdavebilliardtshirts.com/ *Subscribe to Dr. Dave's RU-vid Channel:* ru-vid.com

I am a Filipino, Efren is our neighbor. I saw he playing everytime. There are more amazing shots that camera didn't record. I love Efren he is funny and positive all the time. 😊

There is something about Efren saying " I got lucky" that makes me laugh and smile all the time. Boy, he is such an awesome and chill dude.

Love the Efren "I got lucky" voice over on all of his shots!! What a great touch....laughing every time!

Not just one player, not just one game. This a good archive of pool shots.

7 out of 25 coming from the one and only Magician. :D He’s clearly the GOAT.

That 4 rail shot by Efren is worthy of top 5. That side pocket 90 degrees shot by Efren is worthy of top ten for being so unique that it might be the only shot ever attempted.

“Well i got lucken” 😂 literally got me every time I heard it

Dr. Dave highlighting Kaci's response to Jason Shaw's masse shot is the attention to detail we all needed.

The Chris Melling run was the greatest run I've ever seen. The difficulty of shots, and the creativity to find the shots was amazing

That Efren " I got lucky" cracks me up every time! Great video Doc!

Thanks Dr. Dave. I've actually seen every one of those before, but it was nice to seeing them in a compilation like this. Great job, nice to relive these amazing shots.

Efren kicking off the pocket point just shows how much he's practiced his whole life

The "I got lucky" part from Efren reminds me of a phrase my old school teacher used to say "Luck in nothing but the byproduct of Hardwork"

Very good compilation! I was waiting for that Chris Melling runout and you had it ranked well. Of course the "Z Shot" is legendary!

My grandpa loved billiards, I wish he was here to see this channel

The Z shot is famous because its first of its kind. Its like the signature Air Jordan jump from free throw line. Anybody could do it now but none have shown its possible before Efren Bata.

Thank you very much for this well-considered and presented video. I really appreciate the extensive comments and links that you made available to everyone. This is really going above and beyond what would normally be expected. You are the best.

Some nice words at the end there by Strickland for Efren Reyes, thank you for that audio. Strickland may be ornery & a jerk sometimes because of his competitive nature but one can sense the amount of respect he has for Efren. After all, they've had some epic & memorable matches against each other.

What am absolutely beautiful and inspiring compilation! Thank you so much, Dave!

The Z shot on hill hill is just phenomenal.

I certainly couldn’t have picked any better shots, or better order. Awesome stuff, as always Dr.

Every time Efren say "well, I got lucky on that" make me smile... Ty. for sharing this awsome video.. Efren is the GOAT of billiard.

Imagine all the great shots, from great players, that unfortunately, we'll never get to see. At least we have these to watch. Thanks to Dr. Dave, this compilation saves us from having to search through RU-vid for hours. (Days? Weeks?)

Thousands of awesome, truly incredible shots happen in bars and pool halls every week, they just don't get filmed. It's part of what makes the game so awesome.

This was one of the best "top X" videos I've ever seen, very thorough and detalied, organized. Great video!

Thanks Dave! That was fab!! So super! I enjoyed that video great work! 😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩🤣🤣🙂🙂🤖

I haven’t watched or shot pool in 30 years. These are amazing

Efren is the GOAT. It's gonna be a sad day when he leaves us 😭

Glad to see Chris Melling near the top, prolly the best clearance I've seen. Efrens shot deserves the no 1 slot though. Great selection.

I mostly watch snooker, having just discovered your yt channel after playing pool for 6 years is such a reward, thank you.

Efren is the best of all times. This ranking was a lot of fun. Thank you!!

Im filipino and im happy that dr dave always features great pool players here in the philippines. thank you dr. dave!

"I got lucky, nhehe" lmaaaaaaaaooooo!!

Great choices on the 25. Spectacular shots by everyone. Most folks don't realize how awesome those shots actually were.

Some increasable talent in this vid. I love me that it's all in and under comparisons.

The Z shot was great and 2 of the shots on the list were from this same game. However, the tables at the Sands had buckets for pockets in this era. You could literally hit quarter way up the rail and still make it with pocket speed. Nice compilation Dave!

Such a very nice collection. Great job. Well, I think “I got lucky” to stumble onto this video. 🎱😁 Still amazed to see the score was dead-even before Efren made that Z shot. All at stake.

Absolutely top compilation of great pool shots. The thing with top players is being able to play the sublime shots regularly. And play good shots most of the rest of the time. I was a bog standard 9 ball pool league player in a pool hall in Rotherham that had a dozen 9 foot US pool tables. I'll tell you now that I've played shots as spectacular as most of these single shot ones in my time. And sometimes I even meant to do it lol. The thing with pool is that if you just go for the most ridiculous shots all the time, sometimes they work. And mostly they don't. But bog standard pool players can't always capitalise on your mistakes.

Omg! Those were amazing. Thank you for sharing them!

Dr. Dave, I would say the only thing you missed was the priceless reaction Chris Melling had after that runout. He sat down, looked over at Mika, giggled and shrugged his shoulders like, "I don't know what happened." It's my favorite part of that video.

#2 was epic and great shots one after the next, #1 one was well #1 for a reason

Hindi ako tagahanga ng billaird...pero ng makita ko sa youtube ang pag lalaro ni efren humanga ako at napabilib...and that is you call " Magic"...ang galing talaga !!...

Great video Doc, love these kinds of compilations

So inspiring! Loved this! Oh yeah and “I got lucky!” Hahaha

Earl Strickland admitting that anybody is even good says a lot. He actually tells us all that Efren is the best he’s ever played. Case closed.

“The commentary sounds like British gibberish, but is still fun to listen to.” LOL 😂

Great video, love the context you gave when necessary

Muy buena selección, gracias por el video

"The more i practice the luckier i get" - Efren

That was excellent, like all your other work. Thank you.

Excellent compilation. Alvin Martel's shot is one of the sickest, considering the level of difficulty

Fantastic list.

As a fan of Efren.. I must admit that Melling's run was by far the sickest of all. In fact, his first shot after the break was the craziest.. But the one of the yellow.. Thats pure intuition how to use force in order to bend the cushion like that. Regardless of that, amazing vid.. I consider myself as someone who watched so manyyy vids on pool, but some of these shots u showed, Ive never seen.

Nice compilation. Good job Dave. If you can do top 100 best pool shots of all time, I swear to God you will have at least 10m views in that video.

Great video Dr Dave!

I was just waiting for the magical Chris Melling rack 🙌🏻 Great video! As always Dr. Dave 🎱

I kept hearing “like a dragon” 😂

So many magical shots by Efren

Elaine Martel's is the winner for me. The creativity, skill and balls to play it were magical!!!

Great video again, Dr Dave. How about recreating those you hadn't done so far? To give us the real insight.

I shot a lot of pool in the late 80s and early 90s, including them, truly an era...

Some of Jayson Shaws shots are outstanding.

Even after 100 years, Bata will always be the ultimate player of all time

Wish I could've seen more of Efren Reyes in his prime, remember being mesmerised by Francisco Bustamante/Earl Stickland when I 1st started watching 9 ball but my fave current player is Jayson Shaw

Thank You for posting this!!

Thanks for that compilation Dave. I'll take more. They don't have to be ranked or "the best" just great shots.

I think there was a couple from Efrens farewell tour and a couple from earl strickland but other than that, this really is the best 25 shots ever in pool history great job.

Awesome shots!! Idk how Shane’s double bridge jump shot in the US Open against Dennis didn’t make the top 25.

i like pool as an outsider and didnt know about all these terms so it was interesting learning as i watched, also unfamiliar w some of the rules but this seems like a great channel, subbed

Really nice compilation. Thanks.

Well done , highly entertaining stuff . I wish I had 10% of Reyes' talent . This man is so good and relaxed , not like these loudmouths Sigel and Strickland. I watch them only on mute, and playing music . Saw almost all my favorite shots . Couple of new ones too .

Efren the magician is the most skilled player

Great video. Great commentary. Thanks for this.

Thanks for the vid. Keep it coming

The greatest pool player of all time, the Magician Efren "Bata" Reyes!

That Sigel/Varner match is my favorite match ever I think. So much drama. Sigel jumps out to a crazy lead, Varner has that rack we see in this highlight, then the last rack is sooooo dramatic.

Such a great video! Was sooo interesting to watch 😍😍

Great pick of best shots!

Hmm… not surprised I’m not on here.

The timing on Corey’s 8 ball combo/kiss is so unbelievably impressive. Most people would look at that and not realize what it takes to accomplish that shot

Great video Doc !!!

The cue ball graphic make these videos more than enjoyable but informative. Best pocket billiard training online.

Alain Martel's shot is my favourite all-time shot and should be placed at number 2 or 3 imo, but a great selection of super shots all the same.

Jimmy white,did have a fricking AWSOME SHOT.

After # 5 he said "Listen, I'm gonna have to throw my eyes away" I laughed for 5 minutes.

Hyped him self up "look at this shoot" lol

”I got lucky on that one.”, 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Yah, 👌🏻. 😎

This Efren guy looks pretty good. He sould join more tournaments

Great video! Thanks

Great vid. Well explained but not too much. Perfect. Cheers

Ooohhhh.... I gotta see the Doctor's list of best shots. There may be a few I've seen not mentioned.

Mr. Reyes did get lucky. As hard as he has worked, he was lucky to be born so gifted. And we are lucky he didn't waste that talent, instead becoming possibly the greatest to ever hold a cue stick. He is so fun to watch.

Great video! One question though, Dr. Dave. Regarding the #11, Corey's jump from the cushion with great shape: Do you think it really was draw, or was it a slight hop onto the short rail to send the white back up table (which is what I think it was)?

I gotta work in the morning. Every time I watch these videos, it's so hard to not go play "a couple games"......which actually means about 30 games

I knew it had to be the “Z” shot as soon as I started watching. Lol. Considering the hill hill score and how he inadvertently put himself in that situation, no question the greatest shot ever!! There are a couple of other completely amazing shots I didn’t see on here. I’ll try to find them and get them to you. Excellent compilation. Thank you for putting it together!!!

You know you watch too many pool videos when you already saw all 25 shots...

Very nice compilation, Great job 😄😄💫 🔝 🔥 💣

Great video and editing! I picked up on a lot of your jokes in there too...thanks for the good video

I think most of us have made similar shots as those in this video……But I’ve never done it in the situations that these masters have done it…..The pressure is truly amazing…..