Although he remained a fixture in the sports top 10 rankings, he was unable to equal the heights he had reached in the previous decade. In 2020, Hendry accepted a tour card for the World Snooker Tour, indicating his return to professional play. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2007 UK Championship - Mark Selby, 9. From 1992 until his defeat by Ken Doherty in the 1997 World Championship final, he won 29 consecutive matches at the Crucible, a modern-era record. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1999 Welsh Open v James Wattana, 3. Hendry had observed Steve Davis aloofness, the way he set himself apart from his rivals. "You could still have business interests and still play, but he's chosen not to. O'Sullivan's fifth UK Championship is another iconic moment in his career after he followed up the 13th 147 maximum break of his career against Matthew Selt in the last 16 before edging out rising star Judd Trump 10-9 in a truly gripping final that he'd led 9-4. Hed sacrificed much to get to the top and had no regrets. There were so many - 70 titles in total - that we had to settle on just a dozen. Mon Oct 15 2018 - 13:17. 1 ranking for a period in 2005. pic.twitter.com/K1gRIJLnz9, Mark Selby thought Ronnie O'Sullivan's cavalier approach to getting out of his snookers was disrespectful. What is the prize money at the 2022 World Snooker Championship? Hendry, 43, retired on Tuesday after a 13-2 quarter-final defeat by Stephen Maguire ended his 27th consecutive appearance at the Crucible. O'Sullivan stands on 69 wins from 92 matches played between 1993 and 2021. The record was previously set by Stephen Hendry back in 1999. "John Higgins is on four, it's very hard to see anyone reaching seven," said Davis, a six-time world champion. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1997 World Championship v Mick Price, 2. pic.twitter.com/l31qIFsXDp, Ronnie O'Sullivan wins his match 10-1 in 108 minutes. Tai Chengzhe/Visual China Group via Getty Images. He became the first player to score the maximum of 147 three times in tournament play, recording his first 147 in 1992 and two more in 1995 (he scored additional maximums in 1997 and 1998, two in 1999, and others in 2001 and 2009). His triumph, which came a quarter of a century after he won his first United Kingdom crown as a 17-year-old, also saw O'Sullivan nudge ahead of Stephen Hendry with 19 Triple Crown titles - comprising the World and UK Championships and the Masters. Considering all categories of tournament, including ranking, non-ranking and invitational, Steve Davis has won the most titles in snooker. Finishes Tournaments played: 3 Category Winner He remains the only player to have compiled a 147 break during the one-table stage of the semi-finals of the World Championship (1995). Hendry, 43, retired on Tuesday after a 13-2 quarter-final defeat by Stephen Maguire ended his 27th consecutive appearance at the Crucible. All rights reserved. Once he decided he'd be the greatest player in the world, he achieved that.". Even Neil Robertson is laughing by the end of the title-winning break. A ranking tournament is one that counts towards snooker's world rankings, which were introduced in the 1976-77 season. We look back at his 28 years of astonishing milestones, achievements statistics, maximum breaks, and fan-pleasing antics. Higgins showed some early promise, developed a maturity in his game beyond his years and won the junior event at the 1991 World Masters in Birmingham, beating fellow 15-year-olds Ronnie OSullivan and Mark Williams en route. The winning moment The post-match interview The trophy lift Ronnie O'Sullivan is world champion for a sixth time pic.twitter.com/JfO90m22ak, Ronnie O'Sullivan wasn't mincing his words tonight! 'The players coming through are so bad I'd probably have to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50. During this period in the early 1990s, a wave of Scottish talent flooded the professional ranks. **Hendry resumed playing in 2021 after nine years out, but his future on the tour is unclear. He declared the match over when missing a red in frame six despite leading 24-0 at the time and although he later apologised to Hendry and his fans, O'Sullivan was fined 20,800 for his actions. Fast forward to the 2012 World Championship, which he lost to Stephen Maguire, after which he announced his retirement. A ranking tournament is one that counts towards snooker's world rankings, which were introduced in the 1976-77 season. This is generally known as the start of the 'modern era'. Stephen Hendry: "Are you saying another record of mine is going? Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2010 World Open - Mark King, 11. Stephen Gordon Hendry was born on January 13, 1969, in South Queensferry, Scotland. After winning his first World Championship in 1990, he became the youngest player ever to lift the title at 21. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won more ranking titles in snooker than any other player, just ahead of Stephen Hendry. 1995: Beats Nigel Bond in the World Championship final. However, given the varying format changes in the tournament's early life, most records in the sport are now taken from the period beginning 1969, when the knockout format at the world championship was reintroduced. However, when pressed for a more serious answer he replied: "I've never bothered about records, I've never performed well if I'm going for stuff like that. Ronnie O'Sullivan makes a maximum break 147 in 6 min on first frame! The circuit currently boasts only eight Scottish professionals. Hendry, who turned pro in 1985 aged 16, twice managed to win all three prestigious tournaments in one season (1989-90 & 95-96) - a feat O'Sullivan has never achieved - but only managed four more ranking triumphs this Millennium until he retired at the age of 43 following his 27th consecutive World Championship in 2012. After losing to Stephen Maguire in the quarterfinal of the 2012 World Snooker Championship, Hendry announced his retirement, stating that he was dissatisfied with his ability to maintain an acceptably high level of competition. Having recently been awarded an OBE for his services to snooker, the Rocket beat Mark Williams (6-5), Mark Selby (6-3), Stuart Bingham (6-3) before annihilating Barry Hawkins 10-1 to equal Hendry's tally of six Masters titles. Ronnie's reply"I'm never going to be good at getting out of snookers. Nobody could stop him this time as he downed former champions Peter Ebdon (10-4), Mark Williams (13-6) and Neil Robertson (13-10) before waltzing past Matthew Stevens (17-10) in the semi-finals and Ali Carter 18-11 for the title. Stephen Hendry believes Mark Selby to be a greater threat to his record of seven World Snooker Championship titles than Ronnie O'Sullivan, says Steve Davis. The 43-year-old, who . Later Career "I will try to keep expectations lowthe animal that I am, if I start to get form, then the expectations will rise. Career Total Statistics Tournament Record Most Frequent Opponents Rounds Reached Century Frequency Centuries per Season Graph Ranking History Prize Money History. However, this latest unforgettable run at an empty Crucible began with an astonishing 10-1 triumph over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in just 108 minutes - the quickest best-of-19 frame match ever by 41 minutes - but he had to battle much harder to see off Ding Junhui and Mark Williams 13-10. SUBSCRIBE for the biggest and best videos from the only official World Snooker channel on YouTubeWebsite: www.wst.tvTwitter: @WeAreWSTFacebook: /WorldSnooker. Having spent most of his career doing his own thing, he suddenly became friendly with the other players and, by his own admission, lost some of his edge. By becoming the first player since Paul Hunter in 2002 to retain it, O'Sullivan could celebrate a record seventh Masters title. Hendry won his first major junior tournament, the Scottish U-16 Championship, at age 14.Around this time, he appeared on the junior version of the BBCs Pot Black, a televised single-frame snooker competition that contributed to the games resurgence.At 15, Hendry won the Scottish Amateur Championship. Stephen Hendry: Key records Ranking title wins: 36 World titles: 7 UK titles: 5 Masters titles: 6 Crucible match wins: 70 Crucible win percentage: 77.78% Career win percentage: 68.54%. As if to underline how disappointing the comeback has been, the man himself did not enter the event. While many had given the enigmatic Rocket GOAT status on talent grounds long before he'd surpassed Stephen Hendry's records for most ranking titles (36) and Triple Crowns (18) due to the . His seventh and final World Snooker Championship title in 1999 set a record for most of all timea record which he held solely until Ronnie OSullivan tied the record with his 2022 championship win. A. Career. @ronnieo147 pic.twitter.com/bCUnSqT2Z0. He represented his nation at the highest level of a hugely popular sport with distinction, winning 36 ranking tournaments including seven World Championships. Maybe not that night, because there's still a little bit of sadness that he equalled my record. Considering all categories of tournament, including ranking, non-ranking and invitational, Steve Davis has won the most titles in snooker. Steve Davis says he cannot imagine anyone bettering Stephen Hendry's tally of seven World Championship titles. 'He could pot everyone off the table' - Trump on Hendry in his prime, 'Hendry is right on Jimmy' - O'Sullivan agrees White should relax with snooker. On that occasion he was thrashed 5-1 by Dennis Taylor in the wildcard round but this was a completely different story, overcoming John Parrott, Terry Griffiths and Peter Ebdon prior to a 9-3 triumph over fellow teenage sensation John Higgins. At 20, he captured the Masters and UK Championship, and at 21 was crowned the youngest ever world champion. One of the most joyous scenes in all of British cinema is the opening to Trainspotting, which sees Renton and his pals careening down Princes Street and other parts of Edinburgh to Iggy Pops Lust for Life. With Judd, we all knew he wasn't playing his best. He hadn't been at his fluent best earlier in the tournament but managed three century breaks and 10 above 50 when the trophy was on the line. In terms of weeks spent as world number one, as of April 18, 2022, Stephen Hendry tops the list. Ronnie O'Sullivan's first TV appearance aged just 14 in 1990, making a break of 75. Wishaws John Higgins was taken with one of his brothers to a snooker club as a boy by their father, who could have a social drink with his friends while his sons were happily occupied. BBC pundit and 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor believes Hendry's achievements mark him out as the stand-out player in the sport's history. The seventh, though, was like a dam breaking. Ranking the game's top five players in history, including World Championship stars. Stephen Hendry has been one of the most successful snooker players in recent history and is widely regarded as one of the best to ever play the game.Tied with Ronnie OSullivan at seven titles apiece, no one has won more World Snooker Championships in the modern era than Hendry.Keep reading to find out all about his background and career, as well as what the snooker superstar is up to today. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan jointly hold the record for the most World Snooker Championship titles with seven. O'Sullivan may well still be a solitary world title shy of Hendry's historic mark of seven after his 18-8 victory over Kyren Wilson drew him level with Steve Davis and Ray Reardon, but few can possibly dispute the Rocket's unofficial status as the greatest snooker player of all time. Three months later he successfully defended the World Championship title for the first time in his career. Rocket's 30 years at Crucible - Ronnie O'Sullivan set to pass another Stephen Hendry record at 46th World Championship Ronnie O'Sullivan holds almost all of the key records in snooker, but. We share it, its alright to share that, Hendrys a legend of the game, an absolute legend of the game. Hendry changed the way snooker was played, ushering in a more attacking era and. "Hopefully, if I can keep getting better and keep improving, my technique becomes reliable and I can get to a better pace, then next year will be the goal to get back to the Crucible," he said after his win over old foe White last year. You put all that work in to get the record but if he does then fair play because he's taken the game to another level. After being ranked number one in the world for eight consecutive seasons, he lost the top spot with a first-round loss in the 1998 world championship. Ronnie O'Sullivan's legendary status reached yet another level when breaking the ranking title record of 36 that he'd previously shared with Stephen Hendry by landing the biggest of the lot for the sixth time. Some were more successful than others but they became regular faces on the circuit. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2018 China Open - Elliot Slessor, 15. To qualify for that would be incredible. This remarkable completion of professional snookers Triple Crown by the young Hendry moved him into the No. O'Sullivan has always played down his pursuit of the record and maintained that stance in his post-match press conference. 2014 UK Championship Final: Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Judd Trump DECIDER! He had 24 hours to decide whether to take it and he could not resist. 2023 Eurosport, a Warner Bros. As a seven-time World Champion, Hendry is the most successful player in the modern era of the World Snooker Championship and holds the record for the most seasons as world number one. His top break of 141 was the highest in a World Championship final, beating O'Sullivan's previous best mark of 139 in 2001. Evans slams 'disgusting' prize money in women's snooker as Baipat claims world title. Can't stop smiling watching this againpic.twitter.com/vPxSMZhCEo, 1000 x ! Ronnie O'Sullivan's legendary career reaches a new unprecedented milestone, making his 1000th century - 27 years after his first - to win his 35th ranking title! What. Hendry, O'Sullivan, Davis and the players with the most trophies, Is Ronnie O'Sullivan snooker's GOAT? Once it happened, it was almost kind of a relief, said Hendry. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan jointly hold the record for the most World Snooker Championship titles with seven. The Rocket not only equalled Steve Davis' record of six UK titles by defeating Shaun Murphy 10-5 but he also moved level with Stephen Hendry on 18 Triple Crown triumphs. Now in the world's top 16 for the first time, Ronnie O'Sullivan booked his place in the Masters tournament automatically, having made his debut the previous year after coming through the qualifying event ranked 57 in the world.