Ronnie O'Sullivan
Mark Williams
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Ronnie O'Sullivan leads 4 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Ronnie O'Sullivan at #1 and Mark Williams at #8.
The case for Ronnie O'Sullivan
The most complete resume in the sport's history, assembled over four decades. O'Sullivan won the 1993 UK Championship at 17 years and 358 days, still the youngest winner of a ranking event, and was still winning majors in his late forties. He holds seven world titles (2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022), eight UK Championships and eight Masters, giving him 23 Triple Crown titles, more than anyone. He has more ranking titles than any player, having passed 40, and more career centuries than anyone, having become the first to 1,000 in 2019 and pushed past 1,200 since. His 15 official maximum breaks are a record, including the 5 minute 8 second 147 against Mick Price at the Crucible in 1997. His 2022 world title, won at 46, made him the oldest Crucible champion. Naturally left-handed and able to play to a high standard right-handed, he combines the fastest execution in the game with the finest cue ball control of his era.
The case for Mark Williams
The purest long potter of the modern game and the owner of its most remarkable second act. Williams won world titles in 2000 and 2003, disappeared from contention for well over a decade, then won again in 2018 at the age of 43 — the longest gap between first and last world title in the sport's history, and a result he had considered so unlikely that he had promised to attend the winner's press conference naked, and did. He has more than 25 ranking titles, two UK Championships (1999, 2002), two Masters (1998, 2003), seven Triple Crown titles and over 600 career centuries. In 2025, at 50, he reached the world final again, becoming the oldest Crucible finalist before losing 18-12 to Zhao Xintong. Left-handed, with an unusually relaxed technique and the best cut-back potting of his generation, he is the third member of the Class of 1992 alongside O'Sullivan and Higgins.