Pink Ball's Top 10 Players of All-Time

Phil 'The Caravan Pervert' Taylor is in the 'last throes' of his career and you are talking about this again?!!

vodkadiet wrote:Phil 'The Caravan Pervert' Taylor is in the 'last throes' of his career and you are talking about this again?!!

There isn't a sportsman I hate more than Philip Taylor

Pink Ball wrote:

vodkadiet wrote:Phil 'The Caravan Pervert' Taylor is in the 'last throes' of his career and you are talking about this again?!!

There isn't a sportsman I hate more than Philip Taylor

He is famed for his aim!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plt16scybLE

vodkadiet wrote:Phil 'The Caravan Pervert' Taylor is in the 'last throes' of his career and you are talking about this again?!!

To be fair, I'm with Taylor on this one. Those girls knew exactly what they were signing up for by entering that caravan!

Badsnookerplayer wrote:1. Hendry
2. S.Davis
3. Reardon
4. Selby
5. J.Higgins
6. O'Sullivan
7. M.Williams
8. Thorburn
9. A.Higgins
10. Spencer

U couldn't have reached this order by only taking into account the number of titles (the way Vodkadiet does), so please amaze me, what were your criteria when compiling this list ?!?????

Johnny Bravo wrote:

Badsnookerplayer wrote:1. Hendry
2. S.Davis
3. Reardon
4. Selby
5. J.Higgins
6. O'Sullivan
7. M.Williams
8. Thorburn
9. A.Higgins
10. Spencer

U couldn't have reached this order by only taking into account the number of titles (the way Vodkadiet does), so please amaze me, what were your criteria when compiling this list ?!?????

Hi Johhny,

I was factoring in time spent as world number one i.e.
Days Consecutive days
1790 1049 England Mark Selby
483 330 Australia Neil Robertson
287 146 Scotland John Higgins
132 132 Wales Mark Williams
77 42 England Judd Trump
22 15 China Ding Junhui

Maybe Ding & Trump should have come in the top 5??

https://twitter.com/ronnieo147/status/9 ... 1445446656

Ronnie O'Sullivan: "No one can compete with my best game. Its impossible"

It isn't about any player's best game, it is about how a player performs overall, and in different situations, this is why results are all that matter.

What is a player's best anyway? Quite a few players could make frame winning break after frame winning break. A great player can stop his opponent from playing their best, i.e. Mark Selby.

Holden Chinaski wrote:

vodkadiet wrote:IA great player can stop his opponent from playing their best, i.e. Mark Selby.

As if Ronnie can't do that. He's done it many times to many opponents. He's even done it to Selby. And Hendry. And Higgins.

I never said he couldn't.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:

Johnny Bravo wrote:

Badsnookerplayer wrote:1. Hendry
2. S.Davis
3. Reardon
4. Selby
5. J.Higgins
6. O'Sullivan
7. M.Williams
8. Thorburn
9. A.Higgins
10. Spencer

U couldn't have reached this order by only taking into account the number of titles (the way Vodkadiet does), so please amaze me, what were your criteria when compiling this list ?!?????

Hi Johhny,

I was factoring in time spent as world number one i.e.
Days Consecutive days
1790 1049 England Mark Selby
483 330 Australia Neil Robertson
287 146 Scotland John Higgins
132 132 Wales Mark Williams
77 42 England Judd Trump
22 15 China Ding Junhui

Maybe Ding & Trump should have come in the top 5??

So by this twisted logic of yours, if Selby will remain the world no. 1 for let's say another 6 years, he'll be the greatest ever even if he never win another world championship ?!?

Johnny Bravo wrote:

Badsnookerplayer wrote:

Johnny Bravo wrote:

Badsnookerplayer wrote:1. Hendry
2. S.Davis
3. Reardon
4. Selby
5. J.Higgins
6. O'Sullivan
7. M.Williams
8. Thorburn
9. A.Higgins
10. Spencer

U couldn't have reached this order by only taking into account the number of titles (the way Vodkadiet does), so please amaze me, what were your criteria when compiling this list ?!?????

Hi Johhny,

I was factoring in time spent as world number one i.e.
Days Consecutive days
1790 1049 England Mark Selby
483 330 Australia Neil Robertson
287 146 Scotland John Higgins
132 132 Wales Mark Williams
77 42 England Judd Trump
22 15 China Ding Junhui

Maybe Ding & Trump should have come in the top 5??

So by this twisted logic of yours, if Selby will remain the world no. 1 for let's say another 6 years, he'll be the greatest ever even if he never win another world championship ?!?

Nah - that's bolloxios. Surely, you have to admit that being World no.1 has a certain weight attached to it. I admire ROS hugely, but he has not been World no.1 since about 2010. That is a long, long time.

I was trying to explain how I arrived at my ordering. If it went over your head, and you want me to explain it more simply for you I would be happy to oblige. I'll even draw a picture if it helps. Let me know.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:
Nah - that's bolloxios. Surely, you have to admit that being World no.1 has a certain weight attached to it. I admire ROS hugely, but he has not been World no.1 since about 2010. That is a long, long time.

I was trying to explain how I arrived at my ordering. If it went over your head, and you want me to explain it more simply for you I would be happy to oblige. I'll even draw a picture if it helps. Let me know.

Being wn 1 isn't that big of a deal. Hendry became wn1 in 2007 (if I remember correctly) without winning any major tourneys.
Ronnie doesn't care about being wn 1, he'd rather win the trophies and frankly, so would any other top player.

I will accept the fact that Hendry fans place him above Ronnie, it's only logical. I will also accept the idea that some people might even place Steve Davis above Ronnie, but to say that Ronnie only belongs in 6th place all time (the way you did), now that's just preposterous.

Fair play Johnny - I shall reconsider. Sixth is definitely too low.

One other thought I had was to think about players who have really changed the way that the game has been played. These were the epoch making players I came up with, but would you include ROS or others??

J Davis formulated the game in it's modern form. i.e. building the game around safety, and the consistent potting of black. I think earlier players liked to build breaks from blue.

R Reardon. Improved safety game and increased ability to develop reds in order to create frame-winning breaks.

S Davis the percentage game, combined with attacking breaks frequently near to 100 and often above

S Hendry - the ultra attacker. Less emphasis on safety and more on early scattering of reds.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Fair play Johnny - I shall reconsider. Sixth is definitely too low.

One other thought I had was to think about players who have really changed the way that the game has been played. These were the epoch making players I came up with, but would you include ROS or others??

J Davis formulated the game in it's modern form. i.e. building the game around safety, and the consistent potting of black. I think earlier players liked to build breaks from blue.

R Reardon. Improved safety game and increased ability to develop reds in order to create frame-winning breaks.

S Davis the percentage game, combined with attacking breaks frequently near to 100 and often above

S Hendry - the ultra attacker. Less emphasis on safety and more on early scattering of reds.

Those who have O'Sullivan at number 1 are the ones who should reconsider. They are the deluded ones.

Sullivan is definitely the best player I've seen. And if anything, I preferred Hendry.

Pink Ball wrote:Sullivan is definitely the best player I've seen. And if anything, I preferred Hendry.

C’MON THE BALL!!

Pink Ball wrote:Sullivan is definitely the best player I've seen. And if anything, I preferred Hendry.

What you see and what a player achieves are 2 different things.

vodkadiet wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:Sullivan is definitely the best player I've seen. And if anything, I preferred Hendry.

What you see and what a player achieves are 2 different things.

Being up against good players and bad players is too LOLOLOLOLOL

Pink Ball wrote:

vodkadiet wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:Sullivan is definitely the best player I've seen. And if anything, I preferred Hendry.

What you see and what a player achieves are 2 different things.

Being up against good players and bad players is too LOLOLOLOLOL

David Gray was a good player.....

He was, actually. He had a lot of natural ability.

Pink Ball wrote:He was, actually. He had a lot of natural ability.

'Natural ability', 'unnatural ability', a complete 'lack of ability', they are all in the eyes of the beholder.....

Gray played a great match against Dominic Dale at The Crucible in the 2nd round one year; he ran Dale close but Dale sneaked it 13-1. I don't know who Gray beat in the first round. Just another numpty I guess...

vodkadiet wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:He was, actually. He had a lot of natural ability.

'Natural ability', 'unnatural ability', a complete 'lack of ability', they are all in the eyes of the beholder.....

Gray played a great match against Dominic Dale at The Crucible in the 2nd round one year; he ran Dale close but Dale sneaked it 13-1. I don't know who Gray beat in the first round. Just another numpty I guess...

He was also a ranking event winner and a top-16 player who probably should have won more. He simply did not have the temperament to make even 20% of what he could have been. Only the occasional flash of brilliance. Still arguably a better player than most of the 90s, though.

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Fair play Johnny - I shall reconsider. Sixth is definitely too low.

One other thought I had was to think about players who have really changed the way that the game has been played. These were the epoch making players I came up with, but would you include ROS or others??

J Davis formulated the game in it's modern form. i.e. building the game around safety, and the consistent potting of black. I think earlier players liked to build breaks from blue.

R Reardon. Improved safety game and increased ability to develop reds in order to create frame-winning breaks.

S Davis the percentage game, combined with attacking breaks frequently near to 100 and often above

S Hendry - the ultra attacker. Less emphasis on safety and more on early scattering of reds.

Like I said in previous posts, to me being "the best" and being "the greatest" are 2 entirely different things.

"The best" player in a sport in the one that can play that particular sport to the highest level, no matter how often he wins or what he wins. It's all about peak form/ability, or one's A game as some might call it.
I think most will agree that when it comes to snooker, that title belongs to Ronnie.

Now being "the greatest" IMO means more than being "the best". To me, greatness can be defined as a mix of: peak form, titles won, records, statistics, one's achievements and career and impact on the game.
So in a way I take into account your idea about "players who have really changed the way that the game has been played".

With that being said, how can you overlook the great Alex Higgins ?!?
Through his play, the man probably had more impact on the game than anyone else.


Now since you partially explained how you compiled your list, I'll do the same. Here's my top 10:

1. Ronnie O'Sullivan
- he is the best player to have ever played the game, the most talented and his peak is higher than anyone else's;
- he is tied with Hendry for winning the most majors with 18 (5 WC, 7 Masters, 6 UK), but he did it against tougher opposition;
- he is also second on the ranking titles list and might even surpass Hendry before he hangs up his cue;
(IMO ROS should have won more titles, but given the turmoils in his personal life and the fact that he has mental issues, he's done well)
- he has the highest match win percentage of all time with 74.62% (I'm talking about top pros only);
- he has the highest frame win percentage of all time among the top players with 61.1%;
- he is the greatest break-builder of all time and will probably finish his career with over 1000 tons;
- he has the most 147's and the fastest one, a record that will probably never be beat;
- he was WN 1 on 5 different occasions and might have had more had he cared about it;
- he is still at the very top of the game aged 42, so he has had a better longevity than anyone else;
- when he's focused and at his best, he's a joy to watch, not only because of the level he can play at, but due to his attacking style and flair. Simply put, he's an artist with a cue in his hand;
- he's one of the most loved snooker players of all time and has the largest fan-base atm, and he's also the biggest reason many watch or have taken up snooker (me included ). Simply put, he puts bums on seats, meaning he also attracts sponsors and indirectly increases the prize money for every other player.

2. Stephen Hendry
- he has won more ranking titles than anyone else and is tied with ROS on majors;
- he is the youngest WC winner of all time and he has won 7 WC, more than anyone else, BUT he did it in a weaker era. 4 of those titles came against Jimmy and one against Nigel Bond. Now if we are being honest, even Hendry fans must admit that Jimmy should have won the WC in 92 (when he blew away a huge lead) and in 94. I love Jimmy a lot, but he never prepared properly and was mentally weak/ a bottler. Scratch those wins from Hendry's resume and he'd be on par with ROS with 5 WC wins;
- he has 775 tons, second only to ROS on the all time list;
- he was ranked world number one for eight consecutive seasons between 1990 and 1998;
- he has the 3rd match winning percentage, with 68.9%, behind only ROS and JH;
- he has the 4th frame winning percentage, with 58.79%, behind ROS, JH and JT;
- Alex Higgins was the first attacking player, but Hendry took it to a whole new level and has influenced countless snooker players who have adopted his style of play. Hendry basically invented the splitting of the pack of reds from the blue;
Despite his records and titles, he cannot be ahead of ROS because he vanished from the winners circle aged 30. So it wasn't age that got to him, but the rise of the level of snooker. Hendry simply couldn't win anything relevant once the class of 92 starting entering their prime and new top players emerged. His top attacking game was still on par or pretty close to theirs, but his safety and tactical play was nowhere near. Maybe he couldn't adapt or maybe he was too stubborn to do it, either way he failed short.
The cold truth is that Hendry never was an all rounder. When his opponents shut him out with excellent safety play in the 00's, he was dead and buried.
When he dominated in the early 90's, there was nobody that could live with him in the scoring department (Jimmy was close, but he was mentally weaker and he partied too much). So even though he lost some safety battles, he still won most of the time.

3. Steve Davis
- he dominated the sport during the 1980's and has won a record of 81 professional titles, more titles than any other player (I'm talking about all tourneys, not just ranking ones);
- he has won a total of 28 ranking events (4th on the all-time list behind ROS, JH and SH]);
- he won the WC 6 times and was ranked world number one for 7 consecutive seasons;
- he has compiled more than 300 competitive century breaks, including the first officially recognised televised 147; this is a huge achievement considering the fact that the game was less attacking back then and given the playing conditions (slower cloths and heavier balls);
- he is the first player to win the Triple Crown;
- he is one of the greatest safety and tactical players of all time.

4. John Higgins
- JH is in 4th place and he has win 4 WC titles;
- he has also won 29 ranking titles, putting him 3rd on the all time list, behind SH and ROS;
- he has compiled 698 tons, again 3rd behind ROS and SH;
- he also has made 8 147s, again 3rd behind ROS and SH;
- he is 4th all time on the majors list in the modern era, with 9, behind ROS, SH and SD;
- he is one of the best all rounders ever, and he has some of the best safety and tactical game out there;
- he is also probably the best pressure player out there, on par with MS.

5. Alex Higgins
- like I already said, he probably had more impact on the game than anyone else. Not in the sense that he changed the way it's played (even though he was the very first attacker, before Hendry), but due to him dragging snooker from the shady halls/pubs into the public eye in the 1970s and '80s with his flamboyant style of play and extravagant lifestyle;
- he has won the WC 2 times and was runner up 2 times;
- he has won all 3 majors;
- even though he didn't have the best technique and/or cueball control, he is one of the greatest shotmakers out there;
- if he would have stayed away from alcohol and practiced more, I'm sure he would have had a much better career in terms of wins/trophies, but his erratic nature appealed to many snooker fans; he also lost many frames/matches/titles due to his desire to please the crowd by taking out risky / flair shots;
- in terms of peak performance/matchplay, he's no match for other ATG's or modern pros, but his IMPACT on the game cannot be denied. This is why he's 5th on my list.

6. Mark Williams
- the Welsh Potting Machine is one of the best single ball potters out there, if not the best;
- his attacking style and potting ability have won him 2 WC's in snooker's strongest era in terms of the level of the top 8 players (1997-2005);
- he has won 19 ranking tournaments (5th on the all-time list) and the Triple Crown in the 2002/2003 season;
- he is one of the greatest log potters in history and has compiled more than 400 century breaks during his career, despite the fact that he loses focus once a frame is won;
- his peak form is among the best ever and far above that of AH, but he hasn't had Alex's impact on the game, so he's 6th on my list.

7. Mark Selby
- my hate for the guy's playing style and approach to the game is well known. I consider him a slow boring grinder, but I cannot dismiss his achievements;
- he has won the WC 3 times, on 2 occasions coming from behind against legends like ROS and JH (granted, in a way they blew it, but he deserves credit nonetheless);
- he has also won the Masters, the UK and 13 ranking titles;
- he has compiled almost 500 tons;
- he is one of the best match players of all time and he's one of the best pressure players ever;
- he is the king of comebacks;
- in terms of peak form, leaving aside ROS, SH and JH, IMO the likes of MJW, NR, DJ and JT also edge him BUT he is better at winning then the last ones I mentioned, so he deserves his spot on the all time list.
Like SF and VD mentioned, it's not always about one's A game, but also his B and C game. MS is the best at putting great players off their game. In that sense, he's the heir to Peter Ebdon.

8. Ray Reardon
- he has won the WC on 6 occasions and he was the best player of the 60's;
- however, given the fact that he won more than half of his titles up until the modern era and given the fact that his peak form is no match for top players in the past 2 decades, he's only 8th on my list.

9. Joe Davis
- he's the father of snooker and he has 15 world titles. Thats says it all.

10. Jimmy White
- despite being the only one that has never won the WC, he deserves to be on this list;
- he reached 6 WC finals and had he been more focused on practicing rather that partying, he might have won it. He blew away 2 great opportunities in 92 and 94. In a way, I feel that Jimmy lost those finals more than Hendry won them. With some luck, Jimmy might have even won the WC in 82 or in 84;
- he is a great breakbuilder, with over 300 tons, and one of the best potters in history;
- he is the best rest player ever as far as I'm concerned;
- his attacking style and flair shots have won him the hearts of millions of snooker fans around the world. IMO many kids have taken up the game due to him. He inherited the crown of the People’s Champion from AH and he passed it on to ROS. There's only one word to describe Jimmy: LEGEND.

Honorable mentions:
1. Ding
Some of you have said that Ding has influenced more kids to take up the game than Jimmy. That might be true, but it's only due to his nationality. Ding has one of the highest A game's in history, but he simply can't replace Jimmy in the ATG's list.
I also feel that his too brittle mentally to ever win the WC, but who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

2. Robbo
Just like Ding, Robbo's A game is one of the best out there, IMO second only to ROS (even though many will disagree with this). I feel he's one of the best breakbuilders of all time and also one of the best long potters of all time. He also has a great all round game. I feel that given how well he can play he's underachieved, but that might also be due to his videogame addiction and that fact that, just like Ding, he's not the best at handling pressure. I also feel he'd play better if he reverts back to an all out attack game and plays with more fluency, out of instinct, instead of over-thinking every shot.


In order to save time, I only wrote some players's initials, so in case some of you can't understand them, here they are:
SH = Stephen Hendry
JH = John Higgins
JT = Judd Trump
MS = Mark Selby
AH = Alex Higgins
MJW = Mark J. Williams
NR = Neil Robertson
DJ = Ding Junhui

SF = SnookerFan
VD = VodkaDiet

I'd also like to mention 2 other key facts:
- it took me over 2 fuc...in hours to write this
- my list is pretty close to that of Snooker Island's most knowledgeable member: charity tycoon Pink O'Ball

There's no way in hell Alex Higgins was a greater player than Ray Reardon, Mark Williams or Mark Selby.

The list and your criteria isn't too bad overall, though.