At the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, "old man" Efren Reyes created a real "fever" for Vietnamese billiards fans when he turned 68 years old. The matches with the billiards legend always made the Ha Dong stadium packed with people and there was no empty seat. Fans admired not only Reyes' achievements in pool but also his competitive spirit at the age of 68, still competing in 1-cushion and 3-cushion carom events.
'Veteran' Reyes still makes young players watch him practice on the pool table
Because at the age of nearly 70, Reyes can hardly perform many technical moves that require stretching and maintaining a steady center of gravity. Besides, accuracy will be lost when this player's "eyes are getting worse and his hands are no longer steady". However, the world billiards legend still brought home a bronze medal in the 1-cushion carom event when he lost to champion Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu in the semi-finals. In the 3-cushion carom event, Reyes only lost to the world's 3rd-ranked player from Vietnam, Tran Quyet Chien.
Coach Minh Dien of the Cambodian carom team took a souvenir photo with legend Reyes
It was thought that this would be the last time the "veteran" Reyes would participate in a SEA Games. However, fans were once again surprised when he was named in the list of the Philippine 3-cushion carom team participating in the 32nd SEA Games. Present in Cambodia in the past few days, although he did not create a "fever" like in Vietnam last year, Reyes still received admiration from young colleagues who were the age of his children and grandchildren in this year's competition.
Reyes still looks healthy at nearly 70
Efren Reyes is known for his incredible pool shots and is often referred to as Efren "Bata" Reyes or "The Magician". He has won over 100 international titles and is the first player to win world championships in two different pool disciplines. He is a four-time world champion in 8-ball pool and also won the 9-ball world championship in 1999.
Reyes practices in preparation for his opening match in the 3-cushion carom event.
Not only famous for pool, Efren "Bata" Reyes can also play well in carom. His most outstanding achievement is winning a bronze medal in 1-cushion carom at the Asian Championship and 5 bronze medals in carom at previous SEA Games. In the first round of SEA Games 32, Reyes will meet the host country's naturalized player Woo Donghoon.
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