Strickland edges old rival Bata Reyes in WNT Legends

Earl Strickland

(Matchroom Pool / World Nineball Tour)

MANILA, Philippines — The rivalry between Earl Strickland and Efren “Bata” Reyes remains alive in the big 2026.

This time around, “The Pearl” reigned supreme, defeating the Filipino pool legend, 11-6, in their race-to-11 WNT Legends matchup Thursday at the Gateway Mall in Quezon City.

Strickland thus recovered from a tough 9-11 defeat against Django Bustamante on the first day of the showcase.

“The first day, I played okay but a little shaky. I thought I should have won the match… I knew I had to come back today and play smart and try not to miss too many shots,” Strickland told reporters after their matchup.

“Neither one of us were the player we used to be. Our nerves played a big part of it. Even in the safety, he missed on his safeties today, that’s rare, for him. I wasn’t,” he added.

The American icon started the match searing hot, going up 3-0 as he cleared the table.

Reyes then put himself on the board, 1-3.

He had a chance to creep closer and make it 2-3, but “The Magician” missed on the straightaway 9-ball as Strickland finished the job, 1-4.

The same thing happened in the sixth rack, as Reyes fumbled the 9-ball.

These racks spelled the difference, as Reyes tried to catch-up, but to no avail.

Strickland is expected to take on Bustamante, who had a meltdown against Ralf Souquet also on Thursday, in the final on Friday.

Bustamante had a 7-2 advantage over “The Kaiser” in their match.

But Souquet slowly climbed out of the hole and met the Filipino at the hill, 10-all, before the foreigner secured the victory in the 21st rack.

“Ganun talaga ang bilyar, pagka once na sumablay ka, kakalabanin ka na ng bola. So, at least kami ni Earl ang final bukas. Bahala na kung sino mananalo, basta gagawin ko ang makakaya ko,” Bustamante told reporters in a separate interview.

He added that it will all boil down to who has the better shots during the game.

“Hindi ko alam, siyempre iba rin ang tira niya sa akin. Kaya naman gumanda ang tira [ni Strickland] dahil masama ang tira ni Pareng Efren kanina. Siguro, huwag lang sasama ang tira natin, e malaki ang talo niya sa atin,” he said.

“Matanda na rin siya katulad ko, 'di ba? So, buwenasan na lang kami.”

Reyes will take on Souquet in the third-place match. There is also a doubles’ matchup set Friday at the same venue.