PoolBoy wrote:Ronnie is without question, the most brilliant player the sport has ever seen, in terms of ability - but, for me ranks at no.2 all-time behind Hendry.
The stats speak-for-themselves.
They are neck-and-neck with 5 UK Championships each - and neck-and-neck with 6 Masters titles each.
However, Hendry has the edge in World crowns, by 7 to 5...(and therefore an 18-16 lead in the 'Triple Crown' tournaments).
Hendry, also has 36 ranking wins vs. Ronnie's 28.
And Hendry has also been World Ranked no.1 for 9 seasons (season-ending ranking) - whereas, Ronnie's been at the top for 'just' 5 seasons.
Yes, Ronnie now leads on Maximums and centuries, but there are so many more opportunities to make those nowadays - besides, a century or max secures just one frame - not even the match...Tournament wins are of significantly more significance.
Sorry, Ronnie fanboys, 'Suck On That'! As masterdoctorgenius would say!
I don't recall anyone in this thread disputing that?
What is admirable is his longevity to winning, Hendry dominated for many years but when he fell he crashed hard and fast. When Hendry retired it was 13 years after his last WC win, Ronnie's last was only 3 years ago, and yet he's only 3 years away from equaling Hendry's years on the tour - and I'm fairly confident he will win another world title within that time span.
Sure, the record-books absolutely count, they are the legacy and of the up-most importance, but I'm pretty sure that even Hendry will say (and probably has said) that to maintain such a high level of play over that length of time is probably something that will not re-occur in a very, very long time, if at all in the sport.
When players decline they rarely bounce back to such heights, Hendry and Ronnie are two very different beasts, and they have both succeeded in areas where the other has failed.
But let's not forget, Hendry's records remain dormant, whilst Ronnie catches up, so until Ronnie retires it's probably best to let it lay, after-all, didn't Davis reach a ranking final in his late 40s...?