It's nice to see everyone sharing their views and some of them are rational and even written in English! For me, Ronnie is the greatest regardless of stats or records. He's the greatest because he can do things no-one else can, e.g. that deep screw with his wrong hand. Ronnie is magical. But hey, that's my criterion, we all have different yardsticks.
I didn't include Davis, because while he has a tonnes of titles, the first tv 147, etc etc, he himself admits Ronnie is the greatest, so he's ruled himself out!
I haven't included Ray Reardon either, despite his 6 world titles because Ray thinks Ronnie is the greatest, he's ruled himself out!
I haven't included Joe Davis because his titles were by invited challenge only, no open era. I was tempted to include Jimmy, as he's the greatest potter we've ever seen, but he's flawed in terms of success. The same with Alex, who revolutionised the game but seriously underachieved.
On a serious note, I really don't rate the stats from the Davis and Hendry era anyway. Let's be honest, you could buy a place on the tour for a few quid, it wasn't like there was a Q school. To the folk questioning modern players; I think Wildey will back me up here, but the stats suggest they're much better than they were back in Davis or Hendry's day. Davis and Hendry didn't really face much competition, and when it came along, they went into decline. Ronnie has to face Selby, Robbo, Ding, Trump, Fu, Allen, etc. Even Bingo is looking sharp. The standard is higher IMO. In which era will a hundred tonnes be completed in a single season; this era! Half the pros back in the day were off their faces; that's not competition. Ronnie also had to compete with MJW and Higgins from day 1, the likes of which Davis and Hendry avoided (in their prime).
Every coach and county player I know thinks Ronnie is the greatest. When you play to a high standard, you begin to understand why Ronnie is so special. Plenty can hit maxis, few have done it on tv. None have done it in record time on tv and none have done it swapping hands. Get the drift?