In the history of world billiards, there are unforgettable moments, moves that make the whole audience silent, then explode into long applause. One of them is the "unbelievable" moment of living legend Efren "Bata" Reyes - a shot that is likened to a miracle in real life.
It was a match held at a major tournament in the US, where the audience was mostly native people, cheering for their country's top player. But no one could have expected that, at a fateful moment, the opponent they feared the most - a man from the Philippines - would make the whole stadium stand up and applaud, an extremely rare thing for a foreign opponent.
The match took place in a suffocating atmosphere. All eyes were on the central billiard table, where Efren Reyes faced off against one of the best players in the US at that time. The match was not only a contest between two talents, but also a confrontation between two different schools of thought – one side was standard technique, logical calculation; the other side was instinct, creativity, and full of surprises – a “magic” that could only be seen in Reyes.
Right from the first games, the American audience cheered for their idol. Reyes was calm, composed, not swept away by the crowd. He let his opponent take the lead, appearing quite quiet, even a bit inferior. The commentators began to doubt: “Maybe Reyes is losing his form,” one said. “Or is age starting to affect him?” But those who knew Reyes well knew that when he was quietest, he was ready to explode most violently.
And then, that fateful moment came. The match entered a tense moment when Reyes was trailing by 2 balls. The American played a safe shot, pushing the object ball into an extremely awkward position, leaving Reyes in a “dead end” – that is, with no clear path to play.
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The crowd gasped, many thinking that this was the end of the game for Reyes. But Reyes – with a cold gaze and an unflinching expression – walked to the table, picked up the cue, and bent down to observe every angle.
He stood up. Instead of playing safe, he decided to play a trick shot – a backspin shot that went through three cushions, using just enough force to send the cue ball through an impossibly narrow gap, then back to the exact position of the object ball. “He can’t do that!” exclaimed one spectator. “No one can do that!”
However, as if holding the secrets of physics and art, Reyes slowly swung the cue. The sound of the cue hitting the ball was gentle but absolutely precise. The ball started rolling, hitting the edge of the table once… twice… three times… then, as if guided by magic, it returned to the sweet spot and tapped the object ball, sending it straight into the pocket. The entire stadium was silent for two seconds, no one could believe their eyes.
And then – boom! – a clap, then two, then three… and the entire American stadium, thousands of people standing up, breaking all boundaries of nationality, language or sporting belief. All of them gave Efren “Bata” Reyes a long, loud, emotional applause, as if they had just witnessed something beyond common logic.
The commentator could not keep his composure: “I have never seen a shot like that in 20 years of commentating on pool,” he said, overcome with emotion. “That is no longer technique, that is art – that is genius!”
Reyes – still maintaining his usual modesty – just bowed his head slightly, smiled and returned to the table. But from that moment on, he was more than just a player from the Philippines – he was an icon, an artist on the pool table, someone who made the whole of America bow in admiration.
After the match, the video recording that shot went viral on social media. People called it “the shot of the century”, “the magic that came to life”, or simply “Efren – the one who doesn’t belong to this world”. A series of young players shared the video with admiration. Many admitted that they learned to play billiards because of Reyes’ shots like that.
And his opponent in that match – an American who had been very confident before – also had to step up to shake Reyes’ hand and admit: “I thought I could win, but with that shot… I knew I was playing against a living legend.”
Efren Reyes has long been beloved in Asia, but this moment was the moment that completely won him over the hearts of fans in the United States, one of the most demanding and competitive billiards markets in the world. The admiration comes not from the titles or the number of victories, but from the ability to make people believe the impossible – something that only a few individuals in the history of the sport have ever achieved.
And then, when the spotlight dims, when the match is over, people still talk about that “goosebump” shot. Because it was not just a brilliant play – it was a declaration: that art, magic and emotion still exist on the smooth green table, thanks to one man – Efren “Bata” Reyes – The Magician.
