"For me - and I've said it since 1990 - he's the greatest player ever to lift a snooker cue. The rate at which he's been losing his records hasnt been lost on Hendry, who was teased by Hazel Irvine and Steve Davis while on punditry duty about OSullivan potentially reaching 16 centuries at a single World Championship. Photo: AP While Hendry is happy with his progress, he insisted that this was . 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. 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. He practised with military discipline, watched over by his no-nonsense manager, Ian Doyle, and the rewards came quickly. Who Has Won The Most World Snooker Championships? A ranking tournament is one that counts towards snooker's world rankings, which were introduced in the 1976-77 season. Stephen Hendry bestrode the sport in the 90s in an almost imperious way. As an added bonus, here's how he equalled Stephen Hendry's century break record of 775 against Ricky Walden Ronnie O'Sullivan's incredible career in numbers, RONNIE O'SULLIVAN WINS HIS SIXTH WORLD SNOOKER TITLE AT THE CRUCIBLE, Ronnie O'Sullivan wins UK Championship 1993, B&H Masters 1995 Final: Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs John Higgins Part 2, SNOOKER UK CHAMP 1997 final O`Sullivan vs Hendry part 2, Stephen Hendry 147 v Ronnie O'Sullivan Decider Charity Challenge 1997, 2001 World Snooker Championship Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs John Higgins, 2004 World Snooker Championship Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Graeme Dott Session 4 (BBC), 2005 Snooker the Masters Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs John Higgins Frame 9-13, DECIDER O'Sullivan v Selby SF 2007 UK Championship, 2007 Snooker UK Championship Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Stephen Maguire Frame 9-12, Ronnie's 147 v Williams at the 2008 World Championship, 2008 World Snooker Championship Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Ali Carter Frame 21-24, 2009 Snooker The Masters Final Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Mark Selby Frame 13-18, Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter 2012 World Championship, Amazing 2013 World Championship Final | O'Sullivan - Hawkins, Selby v O'Sullivan FINAL FRAME 2014 Masters HD1080p. No player since Hendry in 1996 had retained the trophy while his 128th Crucible century during the 18-12 triumph over Barry Hawkins saw him move past the Scotsman's all-time record. John Higgins has won four and is good enough to win another four; it is hard to say.". He represented his nation at the highest level of a hugely popular sport with distinction, winning 36 ranking tournaments including seven World Championships. But despite trailing 16-14, he brilliantly won three frames on the trot to complete a remarkable day of semi-final snooker before wiping the floor with Kyren Wilson 18-8 in front of the returning, adoring, Crucible crowd. Joe is a sub-editor for Sporting News UK. Hendry was 30 and the extraordinary intensity he had given to be the best seemed to wane. He also talks about whether it was extra motivation pic.twitter.com/n58nxPeGaK. He has the record for most century breaks during a tournament, scoring 16 centuries during the 2002 World Snooker Championship. He's going to be winning this a few times and the other guys better get their act together. One of snooker's all-time greats Scotland's Stephen Hendry remains the player with the most World Championship titles to his name in the modern era following his record seven Crucible crowns won from 1990-1999. He had never intended to be like his old rival Jimmy White and enter every event. He also had lost in the final in 1997, snapping a string of 30 straight wins in that event. At 18, he won his first ranking title, the 1987 Grand Prix. Earlier breaks of 116 and 105 had moved OSullivan onto 999 and any speculation that he would wait for the World Championship to reach a thousand was ended with a sumptuous 134. However, he began competing again in 2021. 6x World champion 7x UK champion 7x Masters champion 20 Triple Crowns A record 37th ranking title 1,061 century breaks 15 147s Legendary brilliance on the table Legendary entertainment off it Ronnie O'Sullivan, the GOAT pic.twitter.com/jeDAixy07w. "It was a mixture of embarrassment, anger, frustration, sadness, everything," Stephen Hendry says as he remembers how his dominance of snooker unravelled into, in his mind . A series of records fell in his wake. 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. Hendry jokes with ref, The seven-time world champion accepted a two-year wild card from former World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn at the outset of the 2020/21 season and played his first match since the 2012 World Championship when he lost 4-1 to. In contrast, OSullivan has won his Crucible crowns over more than two decades, with his first coming in 2001 and his latest in 2022. 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. pic.twitter.com/PoE9RBEcNh. Once again, Hendry was setting records, with an unprecedented seventh world title. In 2020, Hendry accepted a tour card for the World Snooker Tour, indicating his return to professional play. Ranking the game's top five players in history, including World Championship stars. "John Higgins is on four, it's very hard to see anyone. 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. 2023 Eurosport, a Warner Bros. Hendry changed the way snooker was played, ushering in a more attacking era and establishing records that took decades to be matched. 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. 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. OSullivan's magic seventh World Championship title against Judd Trump 21 years after his first finally draws him level with the 'King of the Crucible', but he stands alone at the top for all the other records that matter and many others. There were a handful of Scottish professionals in the early years of TV snooker but they did not seriously challenge for titles, although one hard man, Eddie Sinclair, did take on the notoriously thirsty Canadian Bill Werbeniuk in a legendary drinking contest. Stephen Hendry, (born January 13, 1969, Edinburgh, Scotland), Scottish snooker player who won a record seven world titles and dominated the game throughout the 1990s. 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. When the 96/97 season began, there were nine Scots ranked inside the top 64 and plenty more coming up on the rails. Welcome to my brand new YouTube channel, Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips. Tai Chengzhe/Visual China Group via Getty Images. After Hendry lost the top ranking in 2007, his play began to decline, and in 2012 he retired suddenly following his loss in the quarterfinals of the snooker world championship. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. By becoming the first player since Paul Hunter in 2002 to retain it, O'Sullivan could celebrate a record seventh Masters title. Hendry says he had an unusual feeling when. His five match wins during this edition took him to 74 Crucible victories, four more than one of other Hendrys few remaining records. 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. He admired and coveted Daviss success and adopted his mindset. Ronnie O'Sullivan's sixth World Championship broke Stephen Hendry's record for the most career ranking titles and also extended his all-time Triple Crown tally to 20. Finishes Tournaments played: 3 Category Winner Due tohis early success, Hendry earned the nickname The Golden Boy. His continued dominance led him to also become known as The Ice Man and The King of the Crucible. Even though he failed to defend his world championship title in 1991, Hendry struck back the following year, taking down White once again in the final of the 1992 World Snooker Championship. All these matches are part of the process, and getting me comfortable in arenas again. Technically, the most successful player at the world championship is Joe Davis, who won 15 consecutive titles from 1927 to 1946. "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. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy - Ali Carter, 8. He intends to continue playing, and his tour card has been renewed through 2024. The record was previously set by Stephen Hendry back in 1999. He claimed the number one ranking in 1990 and held it until White defeated him at the world championship in 1998. Ronnie O'Sullivan is happy to share the World Snooker Championship record with 'absolute legend' Stephen Hendry but feels that the feat means more to the Scot than it does to. Unlike White or even Davis, he did not play for the pure love of snooker but because of an obsession with being the best. 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. . Hendrys streak cooled in the 2000s, but he remained competitive, even reclaiming his No. His seventh and final World Snooker Championship title in 1999 set a record for most of all time -a record which he held solely until Ronnie O'Sullivan tied the record with his 2022 championship win. pic.twitter.com/jWWr6mfcAd. While his comments about needing to lose one arm to drop out of the world's top 50 were still going viral, it looked as though he'd bow out when supposedly playing recklessly against Mark Selby in the semi-final. Last week, he was thrashed 5-0 by Matthew Stevens in the German Masters qualifiers. Then a week or so afterwards, I was like, OK, he's got the mantle now to live up to. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2018 English Open - Allan Taylor. Even before his victory, O'Sullivan was already considered by many to be the greatest player of all time not least because of the number of ranking titles he has collected during his storied 30-year career. At the first World Team Cup in 1979, there was not even a Scottish team. While anarchy reigned on the big screen, another Scotsman was at the peak of his powers, monopolising TV time as he swept all before him. He said: "I think it meant more to him than it does to me, to have seven world titles. But in 2014,. Hendry had not even played the game before his parents bought him a half-sized table for Christmas in 1981. The winner of this weeks Scottish Open receives the Stephen Hendry trophy. We look back at his 28 years of astonishing milestones, achievements statistics, maximum breaks, and fan-pleasing antics. As the Scottish Open begins in Edinburgh, its worth remembering that this had not always been the case. It was the biggest margin of victory in the tournament's final since Steve Davis whitewashed Mike Hallett 9-0 in 1988. Ronnie O'Sullivan on whether he's just created the greatest sporting documentary of all time after giving it the fairytale ending. 20 Scots have so far competed in the Crucible stage of the World Championship. Ranking the game's top five players in history, including World Championship stars. O'Sullivan equalled the record of Stephen Hendry by winning his seventh World Championship . Davis, 54, beat Hendry in the 1989 World Championship semi-finals en route to winning his last title at the Crucible, with Scotsman Hendry turning the tables at the same stage five years later. Its now undisputed, if it wasnt already. There's obviously a lot more to consider than just stone cold statistics and tallies when debating greatest players of all time, but there can be no doubt the genius manner in which O'Sullivan's numbers escalated - not to mention the entertainment factor away from the baize - has helped him transcend his sport and popular culture like no other. 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. 1 ranking for a period in 2005. Omissions? He won 12 frames in a row against the Scotsman, who was beaten with a session to spare, and didn't give Ali Carter much of a look in either, triumphing 18-8. His tour card was subsequently renewed for another two seasons.. Ronnie O'sullivan 147 Break vs. Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Williams 147 break, Snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan - Ding Junhui 147 Break, Ronnie O'Sullivan 13th 147 Maximum vs Matthew Selt UK Championship 2014 {BBC 720p HD}, 147 Classics: Ronnie O'Sullivan in China | Snooker | Eurosport, 147 Classics: Ronnie O'Sullivan | Snooker | Eurosport. Stephen Hendry proceeded to defend his title for the following four years. At 20, he captured the Masters and UK Championship, and at 21 was crowned the youngest ever world champion. 1995: Beats Nigel Bond in the World Championship final. To be fair, Hendry had done everything to lower expectations. "Hendry: "Well he can't become the youngest world champion"Davis: "But he is playing like Benjamin Button." Ronnie OSullivan is the greatest snooker player of all time. Although Stephen Hendry officially retired following the 2012 World Snooker Championship, he announced he would be returning to the World Snooker Tour in 2020.Hendry has competed in a partial schedule during 2021 and 2022. There have been as many as 20 rankings tournament in a single season in recent years. Growing up, he also spent time living in Edinburgh and Fife. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. O'Sullivan returned to the sport just in time for the Masters after a near eight-month hiatus in which he decided to defend his UK Championship title in December 2015. Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins | FINAL 2016 Dafabet Masters Session 1, Joe Perry vs Ronnie O'Sullivan Masters 2017 (Final)( Session 2), Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Shaun Murphy - 2017 UK Championship, THE BEST OF 2018 UK FINAL! - Stunning clearance after big White miss, You have to write off the first year OSullivan on Hendry comeback, 'Youve got a long night ahead!' What is the prize money at the 2022 World Snooker Championship? Evans slams 'disgusting' prize money in women's snooker as Baipat claims world title. Hendry changed the way snooker was played, ushering in a more attacking era and. This year he made the back pages for making amends in majestic fashion by compiling a breathtaking 147 break in the deciding frame of his semi-final with Mark Selby. It's was the heaviest scoreline since the event's final became best of 19 frames back in 1993 and it's only been matched once since when Stephen Maguire thrashed David Gray in 2004. "But records are there to be broken. His comeback was much anticipated but has been largely underwhelming. ", Ronnie O'Sullivan has won seven world titles, CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO WATCH ALL THE CRUCIBLE 147s, Crucible Champions: A look at every winner, Crucible memories: White a People's Champion, Joint most World Championships (7, equal with Stephen Hendry), Oldest ever world champion (46 years, 148 days), Youngest ever ranking winner (17 years, 358 days UK Championship, 1993), Joint most Crucible appearances (30, equal with Steve Davis), Most consecutive Crucible appearances (30), Most Crucible match wins (74 from 97 matches), Joint most Crucible 147s (3, level with Stephen Hendry). Article bookmarked. Turning professional at 17, Hendry made a strong start in his first season, winning the 1986 Scottish Professional Championship. On either side of this triumph, he appeared in two other Crucible finals. Ronnie O'Sullivan 775th Century with superb fluke! 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. Joe is a sub-editor for Sporting News UK. 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. The scene was vibrant. This is a shame as the audience at the Meadowbank Centre would surely love to salute him. While Davis, the world number 39, has continued to play on the tour along with another legend, Jimmy White [ranked 44], Hendry has opted to quit 13 years after winning his last world title in 1999. As if to underline how disappointing the comeback has been, the man himself did not enter the event. 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. He turned professional the following year, and when he won the Grand Prix in 1987, he became the youngest player to win a tournament. Discovery company. There are some young prospects in Scotland, but not in the numbers of 30 years ago. It almost took the pressure off me kind of thing, not that I'm under pressure to do anything. Ronnie O'Sullivan roof raising moment part 6567676: The way he scores the 100th point of his 1000th century. The deadline to enter the sport's blue-chip event was Monday at lunchtime, but the Scotsman has opted against playing as he continues his work as a TV pundit away from the table with the 46th World Championship at the Crucible staged between 16 April-2 May LIVE on Eurosport. "I can't see Stephen changing his mind; once he decides on something, that's it. I wouldn't say it's the wrong decision - it's just down to the individual.". Stream the Scottish Open and more top snooker action live on, 'Feels amazing' Higgins ends 13-month title drought by retaining Championship League crown, Zhao and Yan to miss World Championship ahead of match-fixing hearing. Hendrys seven world titles all came during his dominant spell in the 1990s, which also included eight consecutive seasons as world No.