Who's the greatest - Matthew Stevens or Graeme Dott?

In Graeme Dott's autobiography Frame of Mind he makes the comment that he was from the same era as Matthew Stevens and Paul Hunter and all of a sudden they took off and were playing on television reaching the latter stages of tournaments and he couldn't work out why he wasn't there with them because he didn't think they were better than him.

So instead of a Ronnie v Higgins or Ronnie v Hendry who's the greatest debate ( ) how about this one?

This isn't a serious question, right ?

There are a lot of Matthew Stevens fans out there and he clearly lead earlier on, reached 2 crucible finals and countless other semis and quarters as well as winning the Masters and UK. Some ill informed people don't seem to rate Dott and point to him winning a World title as some sort of fluke as if he got lucky in a weak era or something.

I'd never made the connection between them but they are from the same era, unfortunately Paul Hunter can't be included in the quiz because we never saw his peak - maybe he would've been the man to win the 2006 title if he'd had good health, who knows?

the obvious answer is greame dott, 1 wc and 2 runner ups

but i so wish it was matthew

Well it's easy, not just for the world title he won and his 'heyday' but even now he's fought his way back into the top-ten and be a contender at a lot of tournaments, Stevens has only got one ranking final in about 3 years now and only now threatening top-16 again. No contest !

Definitely has to be Graeme Dott. He is a gritty player and although he may lack the flair and aggression of Matthew Stevens I would say Dott is the better all-round match player. He is from the old school of thought and could have stemmed from the 80's. His impressive semi win over Ronnie 17-11 was eye-opening. His Crucible record is not to be sneezed at either and must have an outside chance at the Crucible this year. Not a spectacular player but his all-round game is rather under-estimated.

Bourne wrote:This isn't a serious question, right ?

Of course its a serious question and you know what this is a far harder question to ask.

but Dott is a former World Champion so He edges it for me.

Wild wrote:

Bourne wrote:This isn't a serious question, right ?

Of course its a serious question and you know what this is a far harder question to ask.

but Dott is a former World Champion so He edges it for me.

To be honest the way I see it is that Stevens had oodles and oodles of talent, but achieved little ... Dott has absolutely maximised his talent to this date.

The way i see it Stevens managed to slightly penetrate if thats the right word the Hendry,Higgins,Williams and Ronnie Period in the sport mid to late 90s early naughties but Dott didn't.

Carter vs Stevens would be a fairer comparison imo, 1 world final vs 2 - 2 rankers vs 1 - Career high rank 2 vs 4. Dott's just on another level i'm afraid.

Dott........... Next

I've picked Dott, because Dott was a World Champion, and Stevens wasn't. But I think it is perhaps a more difficult question then it originally seems.

You kind of forget how good Matthew Stevens was. He was the UK champion, The Masters champion and has reached The Crucible final more then once. But all he generally gets remembered for his that final when he lost to a qualifier. And, you must admit, Murphy has gone on to become one of the top players. Winning also the UK championship, don't forget.

What seperates them though, is that Dott tanked down the rankings when he had personal problems, and managed to get it back together and climb the rankings again. And has reached a Crucible final since then. I think Stevens has never recovered from the poor run of form that got him out of the top-16. Players like Dott prove that dropping out of the elite is not the end of your career, it can be only temporary, even under the old ranking sysem. Matthew Stevens may be the more talented of the two, but Dott is better at the mental side of it, and keeps it together to make the most of what he's got perhaps. I think somebody who was UK Champion, and Masters Champion will always be disappointed that they never won the big one. Especially when, like Stevens, you were in two finals.

DOTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

GJ wrote:matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

agreed

Rocket_ron wrote:

GJ wrote:matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

agreed

Me too.

GJ wrote:matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

Dotty all the way, the other guy is a Class A choker.

Stevens was an excellent player in my opinion who quite simply did not have the bottle to deliver on what he had.

Dott is an excellent player who has delivered on even more than what many felt he had.

Dott wins

stevens

GJ wrote:matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

2004 world semi-final

Matthew Stevens 15-17 Graeme Dott

Sonny wrote:

GJ wrote:matthew if its from 1998 to 2005

if its in the last 5 years dott

2004 world semi-final

Matthew Stevens 15-17 Graeme Dott

matthew stevens uk champion , matthew stsvens masters champion

dott o titles in that time



next

The question isn't who was best in which time period, then you could just say Dott was better on Sunday 17 May 1998 so that evens things up It's overall, and it's a clear margin for the wee man

a 7 tear timeframe is harly

a 7 Year time frame is hardly 1 day

It's equally proposterous as saying Stevens was better for a few years, who cares ?! Try and judge them overall

GJ wrote:a 7 tear timeframe is harly

Smart wrote:

GJ wrote:a 7 tear timeframe is harly

MOCKERY SUGGESTS THE DOTT FAN BOYS ARE LOSING THE DEBATE

GJ wrote:MOCKERY SUGGESTS THE DOTT FAN BOYS ARE LOSING THE DEBATE

I'm a big Stevens fan, or was anyway, and I cannot contemplate putting him ahead of a class player like Graeme Dott.

Tubberlad wrote:

GJ wrote:MOCKERY SUGGESTS THE DOTT FAN BOYS ARE LOSING THE DEBATE

I'm a big Stevens fan, or was anyway, and I cannot contemplate putting him ahead of a class player like Graeme Dott.

Common sense says it all.