No one expected that a name that was almost unknown to the American audience would become the center of attention of the entire US Open that year. When Efren "Bata" Reyes stepped into the stadium, he was just a small man with a humble appearance, holding an old cue, with a calm but profound gaze.
No one knew him. No one paid attention to him. But after just a few matches, the whole of America had to be silent. A shock wave spread from the billiards table, and all eyes began to focus on the man known as "The Magician" - the Magician from the Philippines.
The US Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world of billiards, gathering a series of top players from the US, Europe and many other regions. Names like Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Mike Sigel, or Nick Varner are always the center of media attention. As for Reyes? He was not even in the top predictions. Before the tournament, people only mentioned him as an unfamiliar Asian player - an "unknown challenger" nothing more, nothing less.
However, from the first games, Reyes began to do the unthinkable. He defeated the veteran players one by one with a cold, precise and... magical playing style. No one could explain how he "bent" the cue line, making the white ball move as if it had a soul, touching the dead spots on the table according to the calculation down to the millimeter.
The American audience had never witnessed such a style of play. They were surprised, then gradually attracted, fascinated. The TV commentator had to exclaim: "What on Earth are we watching?!"
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In a memorable match with Earl Strickland - a living legend of American billiards, Reyes was behind 7-2. The whole audience was sure that the stranger would soon be defeated. But the unthinkable happened. Reyes, expressionless, began a miraculous comeback. He won 9 consecutive games with flawless cleans.
His shots flew across the table, he jumped the ball from an impossible angle, he hit a "kick shot" that made the audience stand up and scream. The atmosphere in the stadium at that moment completely changed - from doubt to extreme excitement. Reyes not only won, he crushed the American legend right in front of thousands of home fans.
And just like that, from an "unknown person", Reyes became a phenomenon. The top players began to be wary, and even they could not stop his magic. The situations that the commentators called "impossible shots" - shots that could not happen - were performed by Reyes continuously as if it were a daily occurrence.
His opponents, despite their vast experience, also began to lose their spirit, because they could not read Reyes' strategy. Simply because Reyes did not follow the usual strategy. He played by feeling, by intuition, and in his own creative way that no one could imitate.
The American media began to explode with headlines like “WHO IS THIS GUY?”, “THE MAGICIAN IS REAL”, “REYES SHOCKS AMERICA.” On television, billiards experts sat and analyzed each of Reyes’ cues as if they were dissecting a magic show. Young players began to imitate Reyes, but everyone admitted: “Only he can do that.”
Reyes did not celebrate when he won. He just bowed slightly, picked up the cue, and left the table to cheers. Reyes’ modesty and simplicity made Americans admire him even more. Some spectators approached him, asking for his autograph. Others just stood and watched him pass by, as if they had just seen a supernatural phenomenon coming out of a legend.
When Reyes won the US Open, breaking all predictions, defeating everything people knew about traditional billiards, a new era of the sport officially began. The name Reyes has since resounded throughout the world. But in the US - where he was once an "unknown", that victory had a special meaning. Because he did not just win a tournament. He changed the thinking of a billiards community that was famous for being conservative and highly technical.
The shock that Reyes created was not just the victory. It was the way he won - by miracle, by magic, by a genius instinct that no one could explain. The whole of America had to admit: "No one knew him - until he came and destroyed everything."
