Bearing in mind it will get to the point that

Holden Chinaski wrote:I just think you can only play a game to a certain level. There are limits to what a human can do and I have a hard time imagining how you can play much better than peak Ronnie, for example. It would be fantastic to see someone play better than that, but I can't see it. In the days of Joe Davis the game was still new and developing. Nowadays, I think players like Ronnie might have pushed the limits already.

Oh, on pure snooker terms I'd disagree with that. That was actually said about Steve Davis - that 'perfect' player.


When you say 'players like Ronnie', who exactly do you mean? If you actually watch 'peak Ronnie' you will find he misses pots and plays some loose safeties. But you'll also find his opponents making it easy for him as well. It's possible for a great player of the future to acquire Ronnie's positional skills, and be a sharper long-potter, a tougher safety player, and above all a rock-solid temperament.

Now imagine two such players battling against each other! That's the kind of level I can imagine. I just hope I live long enough to see it...!

Actual Peak Ronnie, like the version that slammed Ricky Walden 6 nil in the 2104 Masters - that one didn't play loose safeties and didn't miss any pots in live play.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10397

Here's the Davis v Davis thread which is slightly relevant to the above debate

I agree with Holden. There are limits to what a human can do.

At some stage you get to the point where its humanly impossible to raise the bar even higher. We see it in Tennis as well.

If he cuts out those silly errors like the missed pink in the UK, then he will win somewhere between 50 and 99

Technically I guess there is room for improvement/higher consistency though, isn't there, but whether we will see it or not remains to be seen... dude would have to have complete mastery of their mind... of it which no-one including the dalai lama is!

Usain Bolt is the fastest man ever but his 100m world record has now stood for eleven years. Is there a limit to how fast the human body can go? The record can't keep on going can it - there as to be a point where that is it.

I honestly think that Ronnie O'Sullivan at his absolute peak is as good as it is humanly possible to play snooker.

TheRocket wrote:I agree with Holden. There are limits to what a human can do.

At some stage you get to the point where its humanly impossible to raise the bar even higher. We see it in Tennis as well.

You may be right, but I think there's a way to go before we reach those heights in snooker. What is definitely true is that the difference between each generation becomes smaller, a levelling off.


Myself, I'm determined to avoid the nighmare of being one of those old gits watching the TV in my 70's (25 years from now), shaking my head uttering "there can never be another Ronnie...". That's just bloody-mindedness. Right until his death Ted Lowe said that about Joe Davis. There's no reason why we should be the privileged generation to live at the times of all the strongest snooker players. Unless of course snooker dies out. If you're a Ronnie fan, you should hope that his brilliance inspires others to surpass him. That's a better legacy than adding up tournament wins, which as we've seen depends on the number of events and the quality of opposition available.

I'd like it if there was another special guy coming through the ranks who plays the game to an even higher level than peak Ronnie.

But I dont think we'll ever get to a stage where the general standard gets so much better and improves to the point where a bunch of players outshine the likes of Ronnie or Trump and make them look like nothing special.

I think the opposite will happen because you have so many old players inside the Top16 nowadays. And I dont think they are all that good. Its simply because there is a lack of talents. Especially from the UK.

And a lot of was said about the Chinese talents but we still wait for that one Chinese prodigy who plays the game to an insane high level but that hasnt happened either.

It’s all about the cue action

A pot of sports? Pun intended