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4/16/2008 Reyes, Murphy Set for IPT Showdown
Reyes (above) was winning major titles years before his IPT opponent was born.

On March 10, the International Pool Tour launched voting for its "Viewers Choice Challenge Match." After a month and a day of online voting, the polls closed at midnight on April 11. Efren Reyes and Austin Murphy were the top vote-getters, resulting in a matchup of contrasts.

It should be a shock to nobody that Reyes was among the top of the list. Not only is the 53-year-old Filipino among the greatest players of all time, but he is also a fan favorite all over the world.

Murphy, a 14-year-old pool virtuoso from California, finished in a close second in voting - netting 23.1 percent to Reyes' 23.93 percent. Though undeniably talented, Murphy is a surprise, gaining such widespread support in a field full of Hall of Famers and living legends.

In 2006, Reyes snapped off the IPT World Open in Reno, Nev., taking home the first prize of $500,000. Murphy, 13 years old at the time, won one match and pocketed $5,000 for his performance.

Early in the IPT online voting, Hungarian Vilmos Foldes appeared to be a lock for a spot in the one-on-one match. Boosted by media coverage in his home country, Foldes lead in the polls for a majority of the time. Reyes and Murphy, however, steadily gained momentum, possibly due to the increase in the votes-per-day available to IPT members.

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