NICK VARNER vs RAFAEL MARTINEZ - Sands Regency Open 9-Ball XX

[@rackyballboa5744]

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.

[@breakshot7451]

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

[@haydenrose866]

More Rafael Martinez Footage Please!! Such a Fantastic Player to watch

[@armandocastellanos1music167]

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! 🕺

[@stdavis22]

im newer to the game..2 years in and never heard of Martinez but that man can play

[@johncortez1599]

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 KZbin 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"

[@sethfisher100]

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!

[@mattarrington4746]

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

[@isidororios6243]

Absolutely true!!rafael is a real leyend

[@_I_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

... 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_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

🙏♥️🙏 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 🙏♥️🙏

[@williamhall7349]

Amen to that it’s great listening to Buddy and Grady and watching these match’s

[@hustlinao1488]

Someone talked me into playing a open tournament 1 time. Guess who i drew first round? Rafael Martinez! Man that guy can play

[@observer991]

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.

[@0Caracalla]

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.

[@joshpalmer6502]

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.

[@dshadow3173]

Is there a copy of the Buddy Hall vs Jim Rempe match that was up next on this table?

[@djamo1969]

.957 over 20 games is amazing!

[@stuartgassel5659]

Miss Grady’s commentary. He and Buddy were a great duo.

[@neonnightr1der]

do you have Bustamante vs Kiamco at the 1998 us open? That was a great match!

[@AccuStats]

Yes, we do. We will work on getting it digitized and posted here in the next couple of weeks.

[@AlexM-tc7ch]

Great match who won the tournament? Would love to see the Carter and Strickland match.

[@5000rgb]

Martinez played Archer in the hot seat match and then faced off again in the finals. Both matches are available here on youtube.

[@rockyj2008]

Martinez has his son playing now.

[@anotherOneMore7]

Good combo of announcers

[@fastballonly]

I love Rafael's cue ball control.

[@juliogonzales5441]

Classic pool

[@robertmeadows1657]

Six days before commencement of the inaugural Mosconi Cup.

[@pedrolinares9214]

1995 Rafael Martínez VS Efrén reyes ... hard times belliards bellflower california .. score.. Rafael 11 .. Efrén 0 .. .... Efrén shot only. One Time

[@HillbillyIslandLife]

Buddy should have been a hypnotist 😂😅

[@williamhall7349]

He’s put quite a few in comas would that qualify?

[@Mike-e1b4h]

Me and Rafael play the same? 😁

[@samirgeorge]

I love Utub

[@cliffhart7673]

I hope we can see some more 90s or early 2000s 9 ball!

[@Mike-e1b4h]

Rafael is way better than Efren. 🎱

[@leereed1970]

TRICKY NICKY !!!!!!!!!!;

[@vebnew]

OK

[@bircancakir]

the real magician,is martinez. efren is only a goat against

[@PostUp_Time]

*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*

[@mark-c802]

interesting tips...the "j" stroke goes back 15 sec's on the timeline..."k" pauses but "i" doesn't advance the timeline

[@yojoeski]

Did Grady's dad have Parkinson's or was he just wiggling due to being uncomfortable in the seat?

[@PostUp_Time]

*WHAT HAPPENED TO RAFAELS CUE CAREER?* accu-stats has video Rafael Play Earl in 2009

[@5000rgb]

That's an awesome match! Probably one of the most exciting, I was on the edge of my seat.