‘The Magician’
Efren Reyes, considered the best pool player in history was nicknamed ‘The Magician’. It is not
by chance that someone gets such a nickname. Here too, there is a story behind. Efren Reyes
hailed from a small town in Philippines. He was sent by his parents, to live with his uncle in
Manila who owned a pool hall. Efren was an attendant at the hall and would often clean up and
watch players play. So much was he fascinated by the game that he would dream of
combinations and tactics while sleeping on the pool table, in the night. He would stand on Coke
crates, to shoot two hours in the morning and two in the night. Six months after winning his first
money game, he became the pool player in Manila. After that there was not stopping him. He
