Jun 9, 20153 min
Little did he know, and surely nobody could have predicted, that there was more to come. Much more. At 14 and 15 years of age Greg had back-to-back 1st place wins at the Oklahoma State Junior National Tournaments held at The Billiard Palace, a well-known pool hotspot which has hosted many Junior Pool Tournaments.
When he was 15, too, he played Willie Mosconi in a nine 9-Ball challenge match (also at the Billiard Palace,) race to 5. He won. Yes, the Willie Mosconi. There only is one. Though “no Efren Reyes, [he is] as capable as anybody walking.” Winning against Mosconi demonstrated just that capability. It really was a huge accomplishment!
Much time was spent in the room with these men, and that is where Greg perfected “sound fundamentals” as well as his niche in the local and national pool worlds. It would be remiss not to credit his girlfriend, Debra, as he receives continued support from her.
Greg owns a Brunswick eight foot, Century pool table (covered, of course, in tournament blue.) His cue stick of choice is a Farris, made by a local custom cue maker of the same name. Not one particular game is his favorite as he loves “everything from 9 Ball to Billiards,” and is adept in all.
Regardless of where Greg practices, he puts in four to six hours a day, more if he’s gearing up for an event. Also, he likes to “eat right and exercise.” To work on his mental game, he will “’breathe, take it one ball at a time, and look three to four balls ahead.”
His advice to youth is “Practice makes perfect,” and this is the “truest statement [they’ll] ever hear.” Also, “Be careful at the pool room. Don’t go down the wrong road.” By trade, Greg works for oil refineries, doing “turnarounds” when the plant shuts down for required maintenance. He says, “[oil refineries] all have something in common. They all smell like money!”
Now to take a look at a few of Greg’s accomplishments over the past eight years, four of those being years when he was on hiatus from pool: 2006, 1st place Tulsa Bar Table Challenge; 1st place International Pool Tournament Pre Qualifier; 1st place International Pool Tournament Qualifier, and also 151st place International Pool Tournament North America 8-Ball Championships; 2007, 7th US Bar Table Championships; 2008, 1st place McDermott All America Tournament Stop; 1st place Oklahoma ACS State 84 Championships.
Greg then took a hiatus from 2008 into part of 2012. Back at play in 2012, he got 9th place United States Bar Table Championships, 8-Ball; 17th-24th 9-Ball US Bar Table Championships; BCA Straight Pool Challenge with a run of 80 balls; 2013, 1st place BCA Straight Pool Challenge 2013 of 100 balls; 2013, 30th place Derby City Classic 9-Ball.