Top 100 pool players in the world
A extensive poll was taken on AZB to determine the Consensus “Greatest of All Time” (GOAT) List. Here are the results, with voting scores:
- Efren Reyes – 252
- Earl Strickland – 126
- Shane Van Boening – 119
- Alex Pagulayan – 118
- Nick Varner – 104
- Mike Sigel – 103
- Buddy Hall – 56
- Francisco Bustamante – 53
- Johnny Archer – 52
- Dennis Orcollo – 51
Here’s another Top 10 List, including more players from the past:
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10 Greatest Pool Player Of All Time (2025 Reviews)
Key Takeaways
| Player | Nickname | Notable Achievements |
| Efren “Bata” Reyes | Bata (Child) | – Over 100 professional tournament victories – 4-time WPA 9-ball champion – 3-time U.S. Open champion |
| Ralph Greenleaf | Bank Shot Wizard | – 20-time World Pocket Billiards Champion – 14 consecutive world championship titles |
| Allison Fisher | Duchess of Doom | – 12-time World Champion – 53 WPBA titles in 2009 |
| Dave Pearson | Ginger Wizard | – 4-time Guinness World Record holder – Performed in 33 countries |
| Willie Mosconi | Mr. Pocket Billiards | – 15-time World Champion |
| Shane Van Boening | – | – 2-time WPA World Champion – 5-time US Open Nine-ball champion |
| Rudolf Wanderone | Minnesota Fats | – Most recognized U.S. billiards player – Inducted into the U.S. Billiards Hall of Fame |
| Earl Strickland | – | – 3-time WPA World 9-Ball Champion – Over 100 major pool tournament wins |
| Jeanette Lee | The Black Widow | – Over 27 national and TOP 100 WORLD NINEBALL TOUR PROS CONFIRMED FOR THE WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIPThe World Nineball Tour are delighted to confirm the highest 100 ranked players qualified to play in the crown jewel of WNT, the World Pool Championship in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. BUY SPECTATOR TICKETS HERE The thrilling final of the 2024 UK Open Pool Championship cemented the top 100 WNT ranked professionals gearing up for the World Pool Championship in the Green Halls, Jeddah between 3-8 June, in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation (SABSF) and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sport. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz maintains his status as No.1 on the rankings, and is joined by other stars including Shane Van Boening, Fedor Gorst, and Albin Ouschan in a pursuit to claim another World Pool Championship title next month. Ruiz said: “I am so happy to retain my No.1 ranking, especially as we head into this year’s Planet Pool Championship in Saudi Arabia next month. My goal is not only to maintain my top position on the Society Nineball Tour but also to defend my World Pool Championship title. I am determined to showcase my best game IPA Professional Rankings 2024Rank Image Name Designation Short Description Social Links Points Unlike high jumpers, who have height, swimmers, who have time, and javelin throwers, who have distance, pool players –pocket billiard players—have no absolute measure of act. Skill at pool, like technique at chess, must be based on relative performance—upon who beats whom. FargoRate rates pool players worldwide on the same scale based on games won and confused against opponents of known rating. We compute the optimum put of ratings—also known as maximum likelihood ratings—as those that leading predict the outcome of all of the games amongst all of the players. Professional players generally have ratings between 700 and 800. A random company holiday party might have many players rated between 50 and 200. Most people who play pool in leagues and tournaments are between these ranges, i.e., between 200 and 700. There is no top and no bottom to the scale. The rating difference between two players determines the chance each will win a game. Two players with the matching rating, i.e., a 300 and another 300, or a 600 and another 600, have same chances of winning a game between them. If the two players play multiple games, they will tend to win them in a ratio of 1:1 (one to one). When tw |