Ronnie O'Sullivan
Stephen Hendry
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Ronnie O'Sullivan leads 4 of 5 categories. Our all-time ranking places Ronnie O'Sullivan at #1 and Stephen Hendry at #2.
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 Stephen Hendry
The most dominant player of snooker's modern peak and the man who redefined how fast a frame should be won. Hendry took the world title in 1990 at 21 years and 106 days, still the youngest champion, and added six more (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999), including five in a row from 1992 to 1996 — a run no one else has approached in the Crucible era. He finished with 36 ranking titles, five UK Championships, six Masters and 18 Triple Crown titles, and held the world number one ranking for eight consecutive seasons from 1990 to 1998. He retired in 2012 with 775 career centuries and 11 official maximums, the last of them made at the Crucible in his final World Championship appearance. His contribution was tactical as much as statistical: by attacking long reds that his contemporaries played safe on, he forced the entire tour to raise its scoring rate.