Master of the Table

To become Master of the Table is to win or figure consistently in the three contested events in the Derby City Classic held in Louisville, Kentucky which is not quite an easy thing to do considering the depth of the field and the quality of the opposition which is a veritable who’s who in the world of poll.

Efren “Bata” Reyes once again showed the sports world who is the real King of Pool when he ruled the 2007 edition of the Derby City Classics and was now crowned as the Master of the Table for four consecutive years in a row.

He did it this time by topping the One-Pocket and placing second in the Banks while placing a decent one in the 9- Ball whom he admitted is the weakest one in his arsenal despite having been crowned as the world 9- Ball Champion in 1999 and ruling lots of big -time 9- Ball tournaments worldwide for ages.

Ask any professional pool player around today who their favorite pool player and they will always say that it is Efren Reyes which is a testament of how good a player you are when your peers chose you among other else and was even honored recently by the Billiards Digest Magazine with the Men’s Most Outstanding performance Award for winning the 2006 IPT 8- Ball Championships where he won $500,000 the highest prize in the history of pool, despite the hullabaloo surrounding its promoter Kevin Trudeau and all.

With his legendary shot-making skills and his cool demeanor on the pool table he is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, player that ever wielded a cue stick by his peers and critics alike. He is one hell of a billiards player, bar none. He thrives well under pressure where in this particular sport, nerves of steel are a must. He showed once again that the higher the stakes, the chance of beating him is nil. He did not top the money lists of the billiard circuits for nothing and he’s been at the helm since, no mean feat for a man who first break into US consciousness as a person named Cesar Morales in Las Vegas, the gambling Capital of the world.

Bata have been dominating the billiards scene for ages now and he will continue to do so as the 55- year old toothless Magician from Angeles City, Pampanga in the Philippines showed no signs of slowing down as he greeted the new year with a bang that earned him the top prize worth $37,000, a good start for one who scaled down on some of his tournament particpation in the past years because of age and health issues.

The Filipino magician will continue to weave his magic for years to come...