Earl Strickland: Efren Reyes ‘still puts fear’ in opponents

Earl “The Pearl” Strickland has never been known for soft edges. Blunt, brash, and famously irritable, the two-time world champion has built a career on saying exactly what’s on his mind — whether people like it or not.

But mention Efren “Bata” Reyes, and even considered in his most cantankerous moments, Strickland’s tone shifts.

Not into nostalgia. Not into sentimentality. But into something far rarer from the American icon: unfiltered respect.

For all his firepower and bravado, Strickland readily admits that one of the most important parts of his game was shaped not in isolation, but across the table from the Filipino legend he battled for decades.

“I didn’t play safe good until I learned them from Efren. I learned all my safeties from Efren and you can tell that, you know?” Strickland said.

The irony isn’t lost on pool fans. Strickland, the sharpshooter known for fearless shot-making, credits Reyes not for teaching him how to run racks, but for helping him survive the quiet wars between shots — the chess matches that often decide games before a ball is pocketed.

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THE MAGICIAN VS. THE KAISER

Efren “Bata” Reyes and Ralf “The Kaiser” Souquet are now facing off in the second and last match of the first day of #WNTLegends.

Reyes currently has the 2-1 lead over Souquet. | via @PaigeJavier pic.twitter.com/g4fhD1FyuA

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 21, 2026

“I can plant that ball pretty good in some tough spots, but the things I learned from Efren are amazing. He didn’t teach me how to pocket balls. but he taught me a lot of other stuff.”

It’s praise forged through years of collision, not camaraderie. Their rivalry — immortalized by the iconic 1996 Color of Money showdown in Hong Kong — was never polite. It was competitive, combustible, and at times downright hostile. But it was also honest. And honesty, for Strickland, is everything.

Now reunited with Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, and Ralf Souquet in the WNT Legends event, Strickland doesn’t sugarcoat reality. Time has collected its dues. Reflexes are slower. Nerves don’t always cooperate. Even the great Efren occasionally misses shots that once felt automatic.

“Neither one of us are the player we used to be. Our nerves play a big part of it. Even on the safeties, (Reyes) was missing his safeties and that’s rare for him.”

Age, Strickland insists, is not an excuse — it’s a fact. Reyes is 71. Strickland is 64. Bustamante is 62. Souquet is 57. Legends, yes, but mortal ones.

“You’ve got to remember that Efren’s seven years older than me, ok? Let’s don’t forget that. He’s still playing a remarkable role for his age, but you can see that his age shows up on certain shots and he decelerates, and I do the same thing but I’m not quite as bad as him yet, you know what I mean? But I’ll be there.”

Yet even in decline, Strickland believes Reyes carries something that numbers and age can’t measure — presence. Aura. Fear.

“I still think Efren plays phenomenal and he can still put the fear in a guy. And that’s what I like about him.”

For two men who have lived their lives bent over green felt, the endgame isn’t trophies or rankings anymore. It’s continuation. Showing up. Competing. Living where they always have.

“Efren and I are going to keep playing until we die. We’re lifers, you know? It’s a prison term. We’re going to die on the table. Simple as that.”

Grumpy or not, that’s Earl Strickland at his most genuine — acknowledging that even rivals who slow down together can still share the same destiny, one rack at a time.

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