EFREN ‘Bata’ Reyes fell short of his first world title in straight pool, bowing to John Schmidt, 200-169, in the finals of the 72nd Predator World Tournament 14.1 straight pool competition in New York City.
The legendary Filipino pool player initially appeared right on target for the title after ousting world no. 1 and reigning world 9-ball champion Darren Appleton in the Final Four, 200-124, to make it to the championship round.
Unfortunately, the billiards icon from Angeles City, Pampanga got ambushed in the finals by Schmidt, who became the first American to win the stamina-testing tournament in the last 22 years.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Reyes, who went undefeated during the tournament until running through Schmidt in the finals.
“This is a big deal to me. I’ll be honest, I want to win this more than any title I’ve ever won or played for in my life,” said the newly-crowned champion.
Schmidt advanced to the title match by ousting Ralph Eckert, 200-60, in the other Final Four encounter.
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