The Magician does it again!

“The Magician” has done it again. Filipino cue artist Efren Reyes, pool’s most feared player, won a historic half-a-million dollars in the International Pool Tour’s World 8-Ball Open in Reno, Nevada, USA. He has an uncanny knack for winning big money events.

Early in his career, Reyes defeated American Earl Strickland in a $100,000 winner-take-all “Color of Money” 9-ball pool duel. He won the $60,000 World Pool Championship in 1999 when it shifted to its current format and broadcast worldwide. In 2001, he pocketed a then-record $160,000 as he won the Tokyo International 9-Ball Open. It’s amazing how he keeps on getting better as he grows older. Sure, there were some problems with his deteriorating eyesight. But this was resolved when he had a laser eye surgery last year. Since the operation, he is on a tear in the pool world. It was as if he was reborn. In December last year, Reyes beat Mike Sigel in the finals en route to a $200,000 triumph in the IPT King of the Hill in Orlando, Florida. This year, he has once again dominated the Asian 9-Ball Tour. He has bagged top honors in the 2006 San Miguel Beer Asian 9-Ball Tour by winning the Jakarta and Vietnam legs (the other two legs were won by Filipinos also). And finally, about a month ago, Reyes combined with buddy Django Bustamante as Team Philippines defeated Team USA (Strickland and Rodney Morris) in the inaugural staging of the PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool. The two kumpadres split the first place prize of $60,000. As Reyes correctly observes, “It’s funny that every time there is a new big tournament, I win it.”

And then there was yesterday. The pool world saw the richest purse in its history in the $3 Million IPT World 8-Ball Open. The winner would take home a record $500,000. Reyes met Morris in the Finals for a showdown between two survivors from a starting field of 200 players representing 27 countries. It was an error-filled pressure-packed finale. In fact, the final match saw a combined 10 dry breaks and which saw neither player ever able to gain any momentum. For one, Morris seemed to be real shaken. His normally reliable break abandoned him when he needed it most, scratching three times on the snap to hand Reyes easy run outs. The Filipino icon, on the other hand, was far from the player pool fans used to seeing as his position play kept him in trouble in some stretch of the match. He later admitted that his nerves made his arm feel "strange" and he just could not control the cue ball. "I missed two eight balls, I think, but they were both corner pockets. It made me feel nervous — when I’m shooting that, I’m shaking a little bit. That’s why I missed those two eights," said Reyes in Filipino. But overall, it was Morris who crumbled. "Di ko rin talaga malaman kung bakit ako ang nanalo dito," said Reyes in jest in a TV interview, humbling himself even after he had humbled the best in world pool. In the end, Reyes didn’t have to dish out a perfect game to dispose of Morris and win the biggest purse offered in the sport.

Trailing 2-4 at the start, the man known in the world of pool as “The Magician” elevated his game to win six of the last eight racks. After exchanging dry breaks and splitting the next four racks, the score was tied at 4-4. Reyes had changed his break-cue shaft while sitting in his chair, next to cornerman Santos Sambajon, and in the next rack, he shot with a slow-medium speed, with only two balls rolling beyond the side pockets. Morris wasn't daunted by the dense clump, and ran out as fans yelled "Rocket!" "Alriiight!" He answered their support with another scratch on the break, and soon the score was tied again, 5-5. Efren broke dry, but Morris was foiled by a trouble ball again, as the 5 was locked up near the side pocket, and he missed the 6 trying to free it up. Reyes had a difficult layout as well, but managed to run out, nudging the ball before the 8 into the daunting black ball to attain perfect position. At 6-5, Reyes had his first successful break, pocketing one ball. Three balls in, his errant cue ball acted up again, and he looked to the sky for answers as he worked his way through a series of bad lays. Once again, it caught up to him at the 8, and "Bata" botched it again in the corner pocket. Morris played a masterful safe, and Reyes fouled, hitting a stripe before the 8, though he was able to miraculously pocket the 8 and the crowd went berserk! The score was tied again at 6-6, and a race-to-2 would determine the winner of $500,000. The pressure penetrated Morris' focus, and once again, he scratched on the break. You could see the relief in Reyes, as he masterfully ran out the rack to get on the hill. In the final rack, he rose above his previous breaking problems, and connected perfectly, knocking one in. His one problem ball, the 6, he confidently stroked left-handed, kissing the 13 as it fell into the corner pocket. The crowd could feel the end was near, and the murmurs grew into a frenzy as he pocketed the final 8.

Once again, Efren Reyes has made me proud to be a Filipino.