Efren Reyes

Crime, entertainment or professional sport are the more traditional paths followed by those seeking an escape from poverty. Thankfully for the Philippines and the game of pool, Efren Reyes opted for the third of these routes. It might not have been the case — growing up dirt poor in Angeles City, Pampanga, presents a man with countless ways to go awry. But Reyes possessed so miraculous a talent that nothing, ultimately, could deviate him from his true calling.

At the age of nine, Reyes began hustling for pesos at a pool hall owned by his uncle. Forty-two years later, he would collect the richest prize the game had ever seen — $500,000 in the International Pool Tour World 8 Ball Championship in Reno, Nevada, which Reyes won in September. Connecting those two events is a career trajectory that moves in only one direction: up. Reyes has won almost every major title, leveraging a repertoire of creative shots that is as legendary as his genial temperament. Humble, soft-spoken and flashing a toothless smile, he is beloved even by his rivals: in a poll during the last World Pool Championship, over half of the competitors named him as their favorite player. But he is especially idolized by impoverished Filipinos, to whom he is still Bata, or “the kid,” and the embodiment of their aspirations. They know, too, that he has shared his winnings with needy friends and relatives.

These qualities have earned Reyes the kind of adulation normally reserved for film stars. He has even featured in advertising campaigns by the likes of McDonald’s and San Miguel beer. But if there’s one thing the man has been advertising since the day he first picked up a cue, it’s this: the odds-defying ability of a poor Pinoy to parlay hard work, skill and guile into fame, fortune and respect.