Pool has a long history filled with players who changed the game. Over many decades, certain players stood out by winning world championships, setting new records, creating new playing styles, or becoming well-known figures far beyond local pool halls.
The majority started at a young age, though a few who entered the game later, and several helped open the sport to more people.
Here’s a rundown of the game’s best, covering their achievements, influence, and place in the sport.
Key Takeaways
- Efren “Bata” Reyes ranks as the greatest pool player of all time, with over 100 professional wins, more than 80 international titles, and world championships in multiple disciplines.
- Ralph Greenleaf, Willie Mosconi, and other early champions set records that still stand today, including Greenleaf’s 20 World Pocket Billiards titles and Mosconi’s 526-ball straight-pool run.
- Modern players such as Shane Van Boening, Allison Fisher, and Dave Pearson expanded the sport through major titles, world records, and global recognition across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
19. Mike Massey
Mike Massey, aka “Tennessee Tarzan,” was born on April 9, 1947, in Loudon, Tennessee. He became known for his work in straight pool and nine-ball, as well as his widely recognized trick-shot skills. Massey was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2005.
His strongest competitive year listed is 1996, when he won the Hall of Fame April Championship, the Dutch April Championship, and competed as part of the USA Mosconi Cup team, which won that year. Massey’s reputation also comes from his large following of fans who admire both his shot-making and showmanship.
18. Cisero Murphy
Cisero Murphy was born in 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, into a large family. He began playing professionally at 15. He won the New York City Pool Championship, followed by the Eastern States Championship in the 1960s.
Murphy faced racial barriers at many major tournaments. The NAACP protested these restrictions and picketed events where he was barred. The protests were successful, and that allowed Murphy to gain entry into the 1965 World 14.1 Tournament in Burbank, California. He won the event, becoming the first African American to win a U.S. national billiard title or world national billiard title, and the first person ever to win a world championship at their first event. His win led to the removal of race-based barriers in national tournaments.
17. Irving Crane
Irving Crane, known as “The Deacon,” was born in 1913 and died in 2011. He specialized in straight pool and built a career on careful, measured play. Crane won six World Straight Pool Championship titles, which established his standing in classic pocket billiards.
He entered the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1978, recognizing his long and disciplined career across several decades.
16. Harold Worst
Harold Worst played many cue sports, including straight pool, one-pocket, snooker, nine-ball, and three-cushion. His career accelerated early: at age 25, he became the World Three-Cushion Champion, and he held the title for the rest of his life.
Worst did not focus seriously on pocket billiards until his 30s, but he still won two American All-Round Pocket Billiards Tournaments, an English Snooker Tournament, and another World Three-Cushion Championship before passing away in 1965.
Worst also opened pool rooms in the early 1960s and introduced cues made by local furniture makers. These cues had colored handles that indicated the cue’s weight, and they remain collectible items.
15. Nick Varner
Nick Varner was born on May 15, 1948, in Owensboro, Kentucky. He won two ACU Collegiate Championships and later built a multifaceted career as a professional player, pool-room owner, exhibition player, author, equipment representative, and video personality.
Varner earned Player of the Year honors in 1980 and again in 1989. In 1988, he earned over $100,000 in a series of sixteen nine-ball events. He entered the Billiard American Congress Hall of Fame in 1992.
14. Steve Mizerak
Steve Mizerak, often called “The Miz,” was born on October 12, 1944. His father owned a pool hall, and he started playing at age four, standing on milk crates to reach the table. He turned professional at just 13.
Mizerak graduated from Athens College in Alabama in 1968 and spent more than a decade teaching history in New Jersey, since pool still didn’t pay enough to support a full-time career. The game remained central in his life, though — even Willie Mosconi showed up at his college graduation, which just goes to show how much respect Mizerak had already earned inside the sport.
He competed in snooker, straight pool, and nine-ball throughout his career and was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 1980.
13. Johnny Archer
Johnny Archer was born on November 12, 1968, in Acworth, Georgia. His career includes wins at the 1999 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, the enjoyable.com Open, and four Turning Stone Classic titles. He also co-owns a pool room in Marietta, Georgia, with fellow pro Kim Davenport.
Archer is best known for his run of 16 straight selections to the American Mosconi Cup team — the longest streak in the event’s history. He was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2009.
12. Mike Sigel
Mike Sigel was born in July 1952 and became one of the top competitors in straight pool and nine-ball. At age 35, he entered the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame, making him the youngest inductee at the time.
Sigel won three U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, five World Pocket Billiards Championships, and 102 major pool tournaments. He was named Player of the Year three times by Pool and Billiards Magazine and Billiards Digest.
11. Luther Lassiter
Luther “Wimpy” Lassiter was born on November 5, 1918, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He earned his nickname because he frequently ate orange sodas and hot dogs, similar to the Popeye character Wimpy.
Lassiter won the Jansco Brothers All-Around Titles, four 9-ball titles, one one-pocket title, and five straight pool titles between 1962 and 1972. In 1967, he won both the All-Around Title and the Congress of America’s U.S. Open.
He entered the BCA Hall of Fame in 1983 and died on October 25, 1988.
10. Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante was born on December 29, 1963, in the Philippines. He earned the nickname “Django,” inspired by the 1966 film character, and was often called “Bustie” during his years competing in the United States.
Bustamante collected more than 70 major international titles across his career and twice represented the Philippines alongside Efren Reyes at the World Cup of Pool, in 2006 and again in 2009. He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2010.
9. Jeanette Lee
Jeanette Lee was born Lee Jin-Hee on July 9, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York. She became known as “The Black Widow”, a name she chose because she dressed in black and said she liked “eating people alive” during matches.
Lee won over 27 national and world titles, the WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in 1994, and the Tournament of Champions twice. She earned the WPBA Sportsperson of the Year Award in 1998. She also played high-level matches against men, including top players such as Efren Reyes.
Lee joined the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2013.
8. Earl Strickland
Earl Strickland was born on June 8, 1961. He picked up a cue when he was eight and was already playing in pro events by sixteen. His first big breakthrough came in 1983, when he beat Steve Mizerak to win the Caesars Tahoe Billiard Classic.
Over the years, Strickland built one of the strongest résumés in the game. He won the PCA $1,000,000 Challenge in 1996 — the biggest payout the sport had seen — along with three WPA World 9-Ball titles, two U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, the World 8-Ball title, the World Pool Masters, and the World All Stars Invitational Team Cup. Altogether, he’s collected more than 100 tournament wins.
He was also on the table for one of the sport’s most replayed moments: the June 11, 1995, match where Efren Reyes pulled off a two-rail kick at 12–12. Strickland was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2006.
7. Rudolf Wanderone (Minnesota Fats)
Rudolf Walter Wanderone was born in 1913 and became widely known as “Minnesota Fats” and “New York Fats.” Although he never won a major event under the “Fats” name, he became the most recognizable billiards figure in the United States.
His nickname came from Jackie Gleason’s character in the 1961 film The Hustler. The association led to book deals and many television appearances, including several matches with Willie Mosconi. He entered the United States Billiards Hall of Fame in 1984 and died in 1996.
6. Shane Van Boening
Shane Van Boening was born on July 14, 1983, in Rapid City, South Dakota. He grew up with a hearing impairment, but in a family where pool was everywhere, he quickly became a wiz at the game. His steady, disciplined approach has been part of his identity from the start.
Across two decades on tour, Van Boening has put up numbers few modern players can match. His major wins include the 2022 WPA World Nine-Ball Championship, the 2023 WPA World Eight-Ball Championship, two World Pool Masters titles, five U.S. Open Nine-Ball crowns, the 2024 U.S. Open Ten-Ball, and the 2024 Premier League Pool. He has more than 100 professional titles to his name.
On March 26, 2024, he added another Premier League Pool victory, earning $20,000.
5. Willie Mosconi
Willie Mosconi was born on June 27, 1913, in Philadelphia. Known as “Mr. Pocket Billiards,” he became one of the central figures in bringing the game to a national audience and spent part of his career working on improvements to cues and billiard balls.
He won 15 world titles, including the World Straight Pool Championship, the U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, and the World 14.1 Continuous Championship. He won the National Straight Pool Invitational in 1958.
Mosconi set the straight-pool world record with 526 consecutive balls. One record lists him as winning 15 championships between 1941 and 1957. He entered the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968, and another source names him among the first three inductees in 1996. He passed away on September 17, 1993.
4. Dave Pearson
Dave Pearson, known as the “Ginger Wizard,” has spent more than 30 years in professional pool. His best-known achievement is pocketing 16,499 balls in 24 hours.
Pearson said, “The secret thing about the pool is not to move your head.” Bernie Endres, General Manager of Massé, said, “No one was able to beat him, no one came close. I don’t think people realized how hard it is until they tried.”
Pearson performed in 33 countries, earned four Guinness World Records, and created the Pearson Cues brand, which is sold in over 120 countries. Another record states he holds 20 Guinness World Records, making him one of the top pool entertainers worldwide.
3. Allison Fisher
Allison Fisher was born on February 24, 1968, in Cheshunt, England, though another record lists Peachaven, Sussex. She began playing snooker at age seven and won her first world title at 17. She later moved to the United States because she felt that female players in the UK did not receive equal recognition.
Known as the “Duchess of Doom,” she won 12 world titles, three World 9-Ball Championships, 53 WPBA titles in 2009, and over 80 national titles. She was ranked No. 1 in the WPBA from September 1996 to June 2001, and again every year from 2002 to 2007.
Another record credits her with 50 WPBA titles, including four world championships, and multiple “Player of the Year” awards in 2007. Fisher entered the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame on June 8, 2009.
2. Ralph Greenleaf
Ralph Greenleaf was born in 1899 and learned the game in his father’s billiards hall in Monmouth. Nicknamed the “Bank Shot Wizard,” he built his reputation on long, controlled matches and the ability to make tough bank shots look routine.
Greenleaf dominated the World Pocket Billiards Championship from 1919 to 1924 and then again through a long run of titles between 1927 and 1940. Historical records credit him with 20 world pocket-billiards crowns, along with a National Billiards Championship and a World Balkline 18.2 title.
Given his sheer amount of success, he had a major impact beyond the sport; The New York Times once placed him in the same company as Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and Bill Tilden. Greenleaf was among the first three inductees into the American Billiards Hall of Fame in 1966. He died in 1950.
1. Efren “Bata” Reyes
Efren “Bata” Reyes was born in the Philippines and learned the game early, often taking on adults while he was still a boy. People around the pool halls began calling him “Bata,” meaning “child,” both because of how young he was at the table and to tell him apart from an older Efren Reyes, who played in the same circles. “The Magician” came later, once his shot-making and creativity drew international attention.
Reyes has won more than 100 professional events and over 80 international titles. He is the first player to win world championships in two different disciplines, earning four WPA World 9-Ball titles and a World 8-Ball Championship. His résumé also includes three U.S. Open Championships, two World Championships, and thirteen Derby City Classic victories.
His 1996 Color of Money win over Earl Strickland earned him $100,000, the biggest prize in pool at the time. He beat Strickland again in their 2001 rematch. Reyes also won four Sands Regency 9-Ball Opens and competed across straight pool, nine-ball, three-cushion, one-cushion, and balkline.
He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2003 and continues to appear in exhibitions and tournaments today.
Bonus: For another look at all-time talent in a different sport, here’s our breakdown of the 20 Best Soccer Players in History.
