06/09/2026
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐓
After 🇩🇪 Joshua Filler won his second UK Open title, some pool personalities and fans started declaring him as the new GOAT of pool.
Ah, the good old “greatest of all time” debate in sports.
Pool is unique because 🇵🇭 Efren “Bata” Reyes is widely recognized as the greatest player to ever hold a cue. Some fans believe Earl Strickland also has a place in that conversation, but even Strickland himself has openly acknowledged Efren’s greatness.
Filler is an incredible player. At only 28 years old, he is probably already one of the greatest players ever at this stage of a career, which says a lot.
That said, I would like to understand the thinking of those who already believe Filler is worthy of the GOAT label. I am not saying their opinion is invalid. I am genuinely interested to know if their measure of greatness is based mainly on championships, achievements, and records.
My opinion, probably a slightly biased one, is that nobody will ever take the GOAT mantle from Efren Reyes.
Most of the current generation only witnessed Efren’s greatness when he was already in his 40s. Many of us never saw his younger years, when he had to hide his identity or accept absurd handicaps just to get a match.
Efren and Filler also played in very different eras. The pool boom of the early 2000s opened the door for more tournaments, while the current resurgence of pool has created a more stable calendar and more opportunities for younger players to win major titles.
For me, what makes Efren the GOAT until the end of time is his lasting impact on the game.
His imaginative way of seeing the pool table will never be replicated. He changed how the game is played with the way he kicks from impossible positions, creates safety plays out of nowhere, and finds solutions that most players would never even consider.
His brilliance may never be equaled. His influence can be seen in the players who studied him, the fans who fell in love with the sport because of him, and the countless people who became lifelong followers of pool after watching just one match from “The Magician.”
Beyond the titles, that is how I personally measure greatness.
In any sport, the greatest players are not remembered only for what they won. They are remembered for how they changed the game, how they inspired generations, and how their greatness continued to matter long after the trophies were handed out.
Just imagine what billiards would be like if Efren Reyes had never been born.
