Rafael is just so impressive, so confident and committed to each shot; a serious, unemotional, fearless, down to business player makes him so intimidating. Thanks for the upload Pat.
in the late 90s he came over to germany, i played a few racks with him. once he took a house cue, borrowed a white shirt and won quite a big tournament with it , where he ran out 11 racks in a row to win the final, what a guy
RAFAEL MARTINEZ... What a great player! His confidence and short way of time in each shoot is incredible, I didn't see him miss a shot. Amazing Player! I ❤ Pool 🎱 Curiousities.... This game was in 1994, I was 28 years old, it's how I look in the photo and I was dressed the the way how Rafael Martínez is dressed. I was surprised when I saw his gold chain with an eagle because I had one just like it. Wow! The 90's Great times! 🕺
The man is a legend. If you log onto the forum section of AZbilliards, you can read all about him. There's also another video of him on UA-cam where I believe Billy Incardona comments at the very beginning of the video, "this man is one of, if not the best 9 ball players I've ever seen. And I've seen them all"
Rafael is my favorite player. Its Incredible how good he plays. I saw him run a 9 pack in about 20mins in Sacramento! All tough shots, kicks/banks and he speared them all in like it was nothing!
... Right now the score is 8 to 5 and I just wanted to leave this comment and say thank you to Pat & Accu-Stats . This video has it all ... Great play and great commentary . I have to note how pleasant and complimentary Buddy & Grady are in this video . Just listening to both of them it seems like they are both " Right with the world " at this exact moment in each of there lives . To tell you the truth I truly wish I was at that tournament and it actually makes me sad . As the decades have swept by I find myself with far less years ahead of me then behind and I sure do miss the good times . As has been said ... " Gather ye' rosebuds while may " ... And ... " Nothing gold can stay " ...
🙏♥️🙏 I am leaving this comment before I even watch 5 seconds of this video ... Thank you sincerely for uploading this video and allowing us the pleasure and opportunity to watch this piece of history 🙏♥️🙏
Grady said that Rafael’s dad was a billiard champion, very interesting. Rafael is definitely one of the most unique players IMO, heard he was a much better money player than a tournament player.
His dad was a very good player. Maybe not champion speed.. but he learned to play at 21 and became very good. He opened a pool room eventually and that's how Rafael grew up. I can't remember when it happened, but the Mexican Mafia wanted money from his dad and they messed up his pool room over it.
I played Rafael in my second or third match in a ten-ball tournament. In the first game, he hit a shot that was the most incredible shot I have ever seen. I still tell people about it and try to demonstrate it, but I have never pulled it off even though I have tried it a hundred times or more. I ended up beating him because I got some great rolls. He was an absolute gentleman about it, and I felt bad about beating him. I apologized when we shook hands. I told him that the one thing I don't like about pool is that there is so much luck involved. I said that I could play another 30 years and never make it to his level, but I beat him because I got some good rolls, although I played as good as I can play. That was 20 years after this tournament. He and I played several more times after that and I never beat him again. I learned a tremendous amount watching him play but I also developed a bad habit from watching him play. Rafael uses a lot of english...a whole lot. From that point on, I started using more english than I had ever played with. He could do that, but it is too risky for me because I don't have his tremendous stroke or ability. Since then, I have had several world class players tell me that I use too much english. I have worked on using less english since then, but I still get comments from excellent players that I need to cut down on it. One of them keeps telling me I would play a ball or two better if I force myself to use less and gain confidence with it.
*VARNER HAS NO GUM, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS* *KEYBOARD TIP, USE "J" GO BACKWARDS 10 SECONDS* *USE "L" GO FORWARD 10 SECONDS, (while player uses shotclock)* *"K" PAUSE, ARROW KEYS 5 SECONDS*
Rafael is just so impressive, so confident and committed to each shot; a serious, unemotional, fearless, down to business player makes him so intimidating. Thanks for the upload Pat.
in the late 90s he came over to germany, i played a few racks with him. once he took a house cue, borrowed a white shirt and won quite a big tournament with it , where he ran out 11 racks in a row to win the final, what a guy
More Rafael Martinez Footage Please!!
Such a Fantastic Player to watch
RAFAEL MARTINEZ... What a great player!
His confidence and short way of time in each shoot is incredible, I didn't see him miss a shot.
Amazing Player! I ❤ Pool 🎱
Curiousities....
This game was in 1994, I was 28 years old, it's how I look in the photo and I was dressed the the way how Rafael Martínez is dressed.
I was surprised when I saw his gold chain with an eagle because I had one just like it. Wow! The 90's Great times! 🕺
im newer to the game..2 years in and never heard of Martinez but that man can play
The man is a legend. If you log onto the forum section of AZbilliards, you can read all about him. There's also another video of him on UA-cam where I believe Billy Incardona comments at the very beginning of the video, "this man is one of, if not the best 9 ball players I've ever seen. And I've seen them all"
Rafael is my favorite player. Its Incredible how good he plays. I saw him run a 9 pack in about 20mins in Sacramento! All tough shots, kicks/banks and he speared them all in like it was nothing!
Imo he is very underrated and I think he has one of the prettiest strokes in the history of professional pool. What a great player
Absolutely true!!rafael is a real leyend
... Right now the score is 8 to 5 and I just wanted to leave this comment and say thank you to Pat & Accu-Stats . This video has it all ... Great play and great commentary . I have to note how pleasant and complimentary Buddy & Grady are in this video . Just listening to both of them it seems like they are both " Right with the world " at this exact moment in each of there lives . To tell you the truth I truly wish I was at that tournament and it actually makes me sad . As the decades have swept by I find myself with far less years ahead of me then behind and I sure do miss the good times . As has been said ... " Gather ye' rosebuds while may "
... And ... " Nothing gold can stay " ...
🙏♥️🙏 I am leaving this comment before I even watch 5 seconds of this video ... Thank you sincerely for uploading this video and allowing us the pleasure and opportunity to watch this piece of history 🙏♥️🙏
Amen to that it’s great listening to Buddy and Grady and watching these match’s
.957 over 20 games is amazing!
Grady said that Rafael’s dad was a billiard champion, very interesting.
Rafael is definitely one of the most unique players IMO, heard he was a much better money player than a tournament player.
His dad was a very good player. Maybe not champion speed.. but he learned to play at 21 and became very good. He opened a pool room eventually and that's how Rafael grew up. I can't remember when it happened, but the Mexican Mafia wanted money from his dad and they messed up his pool room over it.
Someone talked me into playing a open tournament 1 time. Guess who i drew first round? Rafael Martinez! Man that guy can play
I played Rafael in my second or third match in a ten-ball tournament. In the first game, he hit a shot that was the most incredible shot I have ever seen. I still tell people about it and try to demonstrate it, but I have never pulled it off even though I have tried it a hundred times or more. I ended up beating him because I got some great rolls.
He was an absolute gentleman about it, and I felt bad about beating him. I apologized when we shook hands. I told him that the one thing I don't like about pool is that there is so much luck involved. I said that I could play another 30 years and never make it to his level, but I beat him because I got some good rolls, although I played as good as I can play.
That was 20 years after this tournament. He and I played several more times after that and I never beat him again. I learned a tremendous amount watching him play but I also developed a bad habit from watching him play. Rafael uses a lot of english...a whole lot. From that point on, I started using more english than I had ever played with. He could do that, but it is too risky for me because I don't have his tremendous stroke or ability.
Since then, I have had several world class players tell me that I use too much english. I have worked on using less english since then, but I still get comments from excellent players that I need to cut down on it. One of them keeps telling me I would play a ball or two better if I force myself to use less and gain confidence with it.
Is there a copy of the Buddy Hall vs Jim Rempe match that was up next on this table?
Miss Grady’s commentary. He and Buddy were a great duo.
do you have Bustamante vs Kiamco at the 1998 us open? That was a great match!
Yes, we do. We will work on getting it digitized and posted here in the next couple of weeks.
Good combo of announcers
Classic pool
I love Rafael's cue ball control.
Great match who won the tournament? Would love to see the Carter and Strickland match.
Martinez played Archer in the hot seat match and then faced off again in the finals. Both matches are available here on youtube.
Martinez has his son playing now.
Six days before commencement of the inaugural Mosconi Cup.
I love Utub
Buddy should have been a hypnotist 😂😅
He’s put quite a few in comas would that qualify?
1995 Rafael Martínez VS Efrén reyes ... hard times belliards bellflower california .. score.. Rafael 11 .. Efrén 0 .. .... Efrén shot only. One Time
Me and Rafael play the same? 😁
I hope we can see some more 90s or early 2000s 9 ball!
TRICKY NICKY !!!!!!!!!!;
OK
Rafael is way better than Efren. 🎱
the real magician,is martinez. efren is only a goat against
*VARNER HAS NO GUM, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS*
*KEYBOARD TIP, USE "J" GO BACKWARDS 10 SECONDS*
*USE "L" GO FORWARD 10 SECONDS, (while player uses shotclock)*
*"K" PAUSE, ARROW KEYS 5 SECONDS*
interesting tips...the "j" stroke goes back 15 sec's on the timeline..."k" pauses but "i" doesn't advance the timeline
Did Grady's dad have Parkinson's or was he just wiggling due to being uncomfortable in the seat?
*WHAT HAPPENED TO RAFAELS CUE CAREER?*
accu-stats has video Rafael Play Earl in 2009
That's an awesome match! Probably one of the most exciting, I was on the edge of my seat.