OK I'll give it a go:
1.Ronnie O'Sullivan - Genius. Once in a lifetime talent and I mean I don't ever expect to witness a bigger snooker talent in the rest of my life. Inconsistency is a problem, but it's a joy to watch him whatever mood he's in because he has the ability to express himself through his snooker as if it were an art form. You know how he's feeling just by watching his shots. When on song, he's unplayable. He can stay in the top 8 until he's 50 if that's what he wants. But that's a long way off yet, and I have an eerie feeling that his career will be cut short before then.
2. Stephen Maguire - Frustrating. Has all the talent but puts too much pressure on himself. He is a quality player but an underachiever. I don't think he will ever win the big one, but he'll be around for a few years yet. Top 30 of all time material.
3. Shaun Murphy - Bundles of self belief which is as much his downfall as it is his main strength. He thinks can do anything on the table and doesn't seem to factor in the match scenario in his play. As with Mags, he'll be around for a long time yet and will have more glory, but his game is flawed but it takes a top player to exploit those flaws. Main flaw is cannon play.
4. John Higgins - One of the best players of all time. I really warmed to him over the last 4 or 5 seasons and even though I was supporting Cope and Selby in 2009, I had to
to Higgins with the way he polished off those matches. He is the Rolls Royce of snooker players.
5. Allister Carter - I've followed him since the Players of Distinction and it's only recently that I've warmed to him. I felt he was lucky to come up against Joe Swail in the final of his only ranking win (Swail had about 200 semi-finals before finally reaching a final and that seemed to be enough for him) but then he is definitely a player worthy of being a multi ranking event winner. He is fluent and a great break builder, but there's not much more to his game than that, no hidden depths. He tries very hard and gets down on himself when things aren't going his way. We all do it, but if he kept his frustration in check more often then he would fare better. He is suspect under the cosh against big time players in big matches, but that doesn't mean he's a bottler, more a relative bottler. If he was 17-17 in the World Final and was first in the balls with a great chance, I wouldn't fancy him to kill it off, put it that way.
6. Ryan Day - When I saw Day in his Crucible debut I thought he was a future World Champion. He strikes the ball with such confidence, hits them hard and with authority. But unfortunately his game doesn't have the necessary depth to take him all the way and recently he's suffered a dip in form. I feel he won't get a higher rank than he's already achieved, but he will have his Day and win a ranker at some point. Maybe a 2 time ranking event winner at the end of his career, but he'll need help against the final opponent i.e. come up against a top 4 player in top form and he's a big outsider.
7. Mark Selby - Showed his class by reaching a ranking event final when he was 19 with a dodgy cue action. Since then he's gone from strength to strength and is now one of the best players in the world. His snooker is solid, and although a late developer, he has the game to play at the top until he is in his 40s. A class act.
8. Marco Fu - Quietly goes about his business. Was very impressive in beating O'Sullivan to win his 2nd Grand Prix title. Not the most enthralling player to watch, but I've seen him live I have been struck with how damn fine his touch is. This man can judge distance to the millimeter and his safety play is right up there with the very best. Close control means he scores heavy and on his day is capable of beating anyone. Maybe playing most of his snooker on the other side of the world to his home has affected his title haul over his career. A name to avoid in the draw for other players, but when he's not on song is capable of truely awful performances.
9. Neil Robertson - Definitely a worthy World Champion and good for the game that he achieved that. I'm still to be convinced that he is better than Selby, but we have been robbed of clashes so hopefully semis and finals between these two will come thick and fast over the next few seasons. Robbo isn't as good a potter as Mark Williams in his prime, but he's as close as anyone. He has bottle, and he has raw talent. I remember Shaun Murphy remarking once (possibly after his 2005 World title) that he always seemed to lose to Robbo even though he couldn't understand why this player gave him particular difficulties. At that time, Robbo looked like he would help fill out the lower places of the top 16 at best, but since then he's got his nut down and practiced to be as good as he can be. The fact he only took up the game when he was 15 speaks volumes for his natural talent. He will win more titles for sure. But strange as it may seem and as unpopular as it may come across, I feel the Grand Prix of last season was the only time I've seen him play tournament winning snooker in the way he beat the current best player John Higgins, and even that required a bit of luck at the end. He is World Champion, and that will give him confidence because he has now been there and done that so I expect more titles and I expect wins against decent opposition to win those titles.
10. Stephen Hendry - Best player of all time because of his bottle, temperament and break building. Only Ronnie can play more perfect snooker. He's obviously on the wane and he hates losing so I don't expect him to carry on for much longer. I'm not surprised he hasn't entered many PTC events. I don't believe it's down to any anti-Hearn feeling, I think it's because he's stood at the top of the mountain for so long, that to battle it out in the swamps just isn't his style. He can only get himself up for the majors these days, and long may it continue although in order to get into the field of the majors, he needs to buckle down and keep those ranking points topped up. And therein lies the problem. I was very impressed he made the effort to attend Alex Higgins' funeral. That should say something about the man.
11. Mark Allen - Very talented and plays an entertaining street fighter style of snooker. He's not scared to play the big names and take them on at their own game. His win over Ronnie at the 2009 Worlds was a classic. He beat Ronnie fair and square and it's a credit to him the way he played. The best is yet to come for Allen, but he has some tough opponents to beat if he's to win any biggies. His match against Dott at this years Worlds has been bizarrely all but forgotten since it happened. It was a great match, both players were fluent and knocking in big breaks and it was very high quality. That is the last televised match Allen played, and Dott proved in his semi that he was playing well enough to be a double World Champion this year. This should put Allens performance into perspective. He is a top 8 player without a doubt.
12. Joe Perry - A deceptively fluent and talented player. When he got into the top 16 first time I admit I'd never seen him play and wondered what he had about him. The answer came in the 2008 World quarter-final against the much fancied Maguire. Perry seemed to get in first with a 50+ break in most frames in the final session, and even though Mags hit back to nick a few, Perry just picked himself up and did the same in the next frame, and the next, and the next, and before long Maguire had punched himself out with all the fightbacks he was asked to do. I have noticed how Perry seems to break down a lot before frame ball since then, but he scores quickly and fluently, and if you get a 50 start against players with 67 left on the table on a regular basis, you'll beat the vast majority of players. Maybe this is why he's never been top 10, but he's dangerous on his day and he sure didn't disgrace himself when he was the surprise winner of the Championship League a couple of seasons ago to play in the Premier League.
13. Ding Junhui - are there many more to go? Ding is quality. He has demons though. If he can shake off the demons he can beat anybody. I expected him to be dominating right now given how he played from the 2005 China Open until the Masters final against Ronnie. But thankfully he's on his way back and was one of the stand out players of last season. He has lost his mistique though which he had when he first burst onto the scene. His opponents now know how to judge his body language, whereas before he looked frighteningly cool. Hopefully he can get this factor back, but it's a big ask.
14. Peter Ebdon - Very talented player. A winner. A thoroughbred and a very unorthodox shot selection. Difficult to watch at times but you can't say he doesn't try. He fully deserves to go down in history as a World Champion.
15. Mark Williams - At his peak was awesome. Became my favourite player after finally making the heartbreaking decision that supporting Jimmy White wasn't going to bring any joy and I needed someone else to keep my interest in snooker. Mark's style had me transfixed as soon as I head he had won the Welsh hardly making any 50 breaks. I wondered what it was about this player, so I studied him and studied him and then it clicked. He has a fantastic snooker brain. Such a great potter, he would take on a long one to get in, then keep potting them until he gradually ran more and more out of position, then he would use his brain to play the best shot given the score, usually to start to tie up the balls. Shots to nothing took on new meaning with MJW, he really knew how to play them. Tactical nous in abundance. As soon as the balls went scrappy there would only ever be one winner of that frame. He picked the balls off one by one, laying snookers when he couldn't pot any more and hardly ever lost a tactical battle. Add to that his repertoir of ridiculous exhibition shots once the break got to 80+ and you had a crowd favourite. Just a pity so many Jimmy fans couldn't see that Mark was his natural successor. It was a shocker when his form dipped, I was there to witness the first and it was painful - a 1st round exit to Fergal O'Brien in the 2003 UK when on a run of 48 successive first round wins. It's only really been last season that he seems to have got the hunger back and is back to tournament winning form. Ronnie is the only player who has his measure, and that's because unfortunately Marks game plays into Ronnie's hands because Ronnie loves playing fast fluent attacking players like Mark and it gets his tail up. I would love it if Mark won a 3rd World title and I wouldn't put it past him.
16. Mark King - Solid, lots of bottle and a good match player. Nothing spectacular and until fairly recently had a bizarre run of not reaching a quarter-final for a very long period, yet winning enough first round matches to remain in the top 16 for several seasons. I guess he's from the Mark Allen school of street fighter snooker, not scared of anyone but different to Allen, doesn't have the natural ability to climb any higher. This makes his achievement of being top 16 even more admirable though, because he's got the best out of his limited talent.
17. Greame Dott - Massively under rated. The way he beat Selby in this years World semi surely puts to bed any ridiculous notion that his 2006 World title was somehow a fluke. He is a fiesty competitor, and he is very talented and has the tactical game to take on and beat the very best on his day. It's really good to see him come out the other side from his recent problems, and he's got to be one of the favourites for every tournament this season given his form at the Crucible. Dotty has more titles in his locker, make no mistake.
18. Liang Wenbo - One of the most exciting players on tour today. He is the Kamikaze Kid, but don't be fooled. His shot selection may seem bizarre and out there, but there is definite method to his madness. Obviously the raw Liang Wenbo seen a couple of seasons ago needed honing, but suggestions he was playing the wrong shots too often and that he needed a proper coach pretty much annoyed me. I wanted him to be left to develop because he sees snooker in his own unique way and he's been a breath of fresh air to the game since he burst onto the scene. I love the way he eyes up a seemingly ridiculous shot, then takes a few deep breaths before committing 110% to the shot. It shows his nerve, the fact he would even take on such shots in the first place, let alone in a big match. The determination in his face as he's down on the shot - how can you not love that? He is a character and he will win a lot of events over the next few seasons, mark my words.
19. Matthew Stevens - Very talented but a wasted talent. It's been obvious to me for a number of years now that he is rubbish with his extended cue which he uses instead of a rest, and the same goes for his left hand. When he's on form he is very nice to watch, and the best I've ever seen him play paradoxically was in the same match that defined his career - the 2007 World quarter-final against Shaun Murphy. Steven raced to 12-7 and he looked awesome, but then the wheels came off and his nerve was displayed to the world. Murphy played very well obviously, but Stevens by all accounts did a massive bottle job and handed the victory to Murphy on a plate. He's never looked like the same player since, and although he should be a top 16 player I don't expect to see him much on television from here on in. It is a shame because he is so talented, but also it is his own fault because he is an idiot if he kids himself that using an extension or his left hand instead of the rest is a viable alternative. A real winner would have followed the lead of Bernhard Langer who went from the worst to the best putter on tour after recognising his problem and dealing with it. Whenever Stevens avoids the rest, he runs out of position. OK to the naked eye sometimes he still appears to land on the next ball, but the key thing is he is not exactly where he should have been, and from then on he's chasing. But that is his choice. He frustrates me and that's that.
20. Jamie Cope - Another player who frustrates me. Jesus this boy is talented. I mean SERIOUSLY talented. He could have the world at his feet if he had the snooker brain to match his talent. I'm still holding out that he will come good, but he needs to get his act together sharpish before the younger players overtake him. I don't know what his problem is, I've still not figured it out. He's not a bottler, he plays great under pressure. It sure aint his potting, he's amazing! But something in his head is stopping him from reaching the top. He should be contending for the big titles at this point in his career, but he's still struggling to make the top 16 and if the rumour I've heard is correct, he may not even play in Shanghai which would mean the first time he finally gets into the top 16, he could instantly drop out of it without playing a single match. But he should be top 8 and I'm watching him closely. A very exciting player to watch indeed.
Mark King has always been there or thereabouts and is a very nice guy with a good game and he knows how to play some good stuff from time to time.
If he didn't have the passion for the game, he wouldn't be playing at such a high level for the last 12 months so ... 
