The game pool is one of the very few indoor games that was invented centuries ago and still one of the favorite games a lot of individuals. The game has a very unique and complex ranking system with the other games. That is why it is quite hard to produce a precise ranking of the best players. However, below, we will let you know about the most popular and best pool player ever.
Top 15 Best Pool Players of All Time
Now we will discuss the best pool player ever in details so you could know about them that you didn’t know before ok than let’s start
1. Efren Reyes (famous pool player)
When it comes to the best and most significant player in the pool, the name of Efren Reyes comes in first. Though there are arguments about this, most of the fans, former players, and coaches consider him as the best player ever in the pool. He is the only player in the history of the pool who wins the World Championships in two disciplines. More so, he earned around seventeen international pool championships, including the Derby City Classic and World Pool League Championship.
Efren Reyes is also nicknamed Bata and Magician. Before becoming a professional player, he worked as a billiards attendant at his uncle’s billiard halls. He learned the game from there and started the professional career during the early ’60s.
2. Rudolf Wanderone
Rudolf Wanderone is one of the most popular American pool players. He is also known as “Minnesota Fats” to the fans. The name comes from a character in the movie named The Hustler, which is believed to be based upon him. People loved Rudolf Wanderone most mainly because of his entertaining behavior during the game. He is one of the few pros in the list of top pool players though never won a championship.Rudolf Wanderone started playing at a young age in New York City. Initially, he becomes a traveling pool hustler. He played his first prominent match during 1926 versus the former nine-ball champion “Cowboy” Weston and won the game.
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3. Ralph Greenleaf
Ralph Greenleaf is another famous American pool player who was loved by the fans for his charismatic sportsmanship. He is remembered as one of the most dominant pool players the world ever saw. Ralph Greenleaf is the only player in the history of the pool, which holds the record of winning World Pocket Billiards Championships for twenty times. As per the Billiard Digest Magazine, he is ranked in third place in the list of 50 Greatest Players of the Century.
Ralph Greenleaf won his first world title during 1919. He also won the title from 1919 to 1924 at a row eleven times. Ralph Greenleaf was one of the first three members of “Hall of Fame” of the Billiard Congress of America.
4. Willie Mosconi
Willie Mosconi or William Joseph Mosconi is popularly known as “Mr. Pocket Billiards.” The professional pool player was born in America and played an essential role in popularizing the game. He is also one of the top people who worked dedicatedly to establish pool as a national game. During the time of Willie Mosconi, the game was known as the straight pool, and he won the World Straight Pool Championship fifteen times. Willie will be remembered for his contribution to the game as well as his crazy trick shots and records.
5. Earl Strickland
Earl Strickland, known as Earl the Pearl Strickland, is an American professional player pool player. He is considered as one of the best nine-ball pool players the world ever saw. Earl started playing the game at the age of 9 and played the first professional tournament at the age of 16. He won a large number of championship titles and also a “Hall of Fame” player inducted by the “Billiard Congress of America.” One thing that made him unique than the other player is his controversial and volatile behaviors.
6. Jeanette Lee
Jeanette Lee is one of the very few women superstars in the pool game. Apart from being her amazing in-game skills, she is also famous for her impressive appearance. The “beauty with the brain” won around 28 world championship and national championship titles. She is also known as “Black Widow” in the right. Jeanette Lee is American though she was born in South Korea. She started playing the game in 1989 and ranked the number one female pool played in 1990.
7. Mike Sigel
Mike Sigel is another famous American pool player who is better known as ‘Captain Hook” to the fan. He got this name due to his capability of hooking the opponent while playing defensively. He is still in the ring and currently playing the international pool tour. Sigel has won more than 108 professional titles, including ten world pocket billiard championship and three U.S. open Nine-Ball championship titles. He was selected the player of the year by Billiards Digest three times.
8. Allison Fisher
Allison Fisher is one of the very few famous and successful pool women players from Britain. He began playing pool at the age of 7 and won the first trophy at the age of 17. More so, she has own around 11 world championship titles with more than 80 national titles. Unfortunately, she loses the professional title due to the changes in the ranking system in 1997. However, she comes back as more potent and owns several titles and player of the year in 2007.
9. Luther Lassiter
Luther Lassiter is a popular and well-known pool superstar from America. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of nine-ball for his wizardry playing style. The also earned a place in America’s Billiard Board Association “Hall of the Fame.” He won six world champions and a considerable number of other titles as well. He is at the ninth position in the list of “Greatest Players of the Century” by Billiard Digests.
10. Johnny Archer
Johnny Archer is an American pool player nicknamed Scorpion as per his Zodiac sign and sponsor “Scorpion Cues.” He is inducted in the list of “Hall of Fame” By Billiard Congress in 2009. Johnny Archer started playing pool at the age of 12. He won multiple national and international titles in his career. Though he proved his capability in all the variations of this game, he was most successful in the nine-ball pool. His title list includes WPA Nine-Ball Championship, World Summit of Pool, International Challenge Championship, and much more.
11. Mike Massey
The real name of Mike Massey is Micheal Massey. The American pool professional is also well-known as trick-shot assist from the early ’70s. He won both international and national professional tournament of trick-shot competition as well as in eight-ball, nine-ball, and straight-ball. Apart from being an aesthetic and successful pool player, he was also a very influential sportsman as a trainer, consultant, and fundraiser. He is also inducted in the Hall of the Fame by American Billiard Congress.
12. Ronato Alcano
Ronato Alcano is a professional pool player from Filipino who is also known as The Volcano and Ronnie Calamba. Alcano came from a low-income family, and he didn’t continue to study after elementary school. Back then, he started playing pool for a living. He was first noticed during the Rising Stars Tournament in Philippine during 2000. He won several titles, including WPA Eight-Ball Pool Championship and WPA World Nine-Ball Championship.
13. Shane Van Boening
Shane Van Boening is another American pool athlete with a successful journey. He is better known as “The South Dakota Kid” as he was born at the Rapid City of South Dakota. He is a former number one ranked U.S. pool player as per UPA Tour. He was from a family with a pool background as both of his grandfather and grandmother were former players. One of the impressive things about the player is he is hearing-impaired and require using a device for this issue. He is also well-praised for his behavior and attitude during the games.
14. Kim Ga-young
Kim Ga-young is also known as “Little Devil Girl” for his versatile skill in the game. She was born in South Korea and started playing at the age of 12 with the help of his father. She played her first professional event at the 2003 BCA Open. In her career, she had won a huge number of international and national titles. The titles include U.S. open Nine-Ball Championship, Amway Cup, International tournament of Champions, WPBA Tour Championships, and much more.
15. Darren Appleton
Darren Appleton is an English pool player with the title name Dynamite. He starts playing the game at the age of 12 and initially becomes ranked number one player at British-style Eight Ball Pool. He won the WPA World Ten-Ball Champion by beating former world champion Wu Jia-Qing in 2008. He also won the World Pool Masters in the same year. He also won the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship in 2020.
The game pool is different than the other games in every way. It is a game where the professional players can play more than 50 years, which is quite impossible in the other sports. Above, we discussed the greatest players in the pool the world ever saw. Though there can be arguments about the ranking, the list will remain incomplete with these players. if you ever wonder what are the most popular sports in the USA read this guide.
