who-is-the-greatest-snooker-player-of-all-time

A lot of people think the yips is indeed a psychological issue. And there is no real treatment for it. It is most common in golf, I think even Tiger Woods has struggled with it. Basketball players get the yips as well.

The problem with Hendry's yips was that his cue action was not the same, although he didn't feel he was doing anything differently. He just didn't cue through the ball like he used to and he couldn't figure out why...

Also, we haven't even mentioned the fact that Hendry's cue which he had used his whole career was destroyed at the airport in 2003.

Holden Chinaski wrote:A lot of people think the yips is indeed a psychological issue. And there is no real treatment for it. It is most common in golf, I think even Tiger Woods has struggled with it. Basketball players get the yips as well.

The problem with Hendry's yips was that his cue action was not the same, although he didn't feel he was doing anything differently. He just didn't cue through the ball like he used to and he couldn't figure out why...

Also, we haven't even mentioned the fact that Hendry's cue which he had used his whole career was destroyed at the airport in 2003.

Calling it the yips demeans what is a loss of confidence, a serious psychological issue that he didn't deal with.

All top pros have confronted themselves with periods where they lacked confidence.
Selbo spoke about it recently. If u don't win, you loose confidence in yourself. Basically, that's what happened to Hendry in the 00's.

Johnny Bravo wrote:All top pros have confronted themselves with periods where they lacked confidence.
Selbo spoke about it recently. If u don't win, you loose confidence in yourself. Basically, that's what happened to Hendry in the 00's.

There was more going on with Hendry. But you don't want to acknowledge that. It's OK.

Hendry is now retired. There is no more pressure at all. But when he plays in a stupid meaningless exhibition he still struggles with the yips. Explain that.

Holden Chinaski wrote:There was more going on with Hendry.

Yea, u are right. I think they have a name for it as well, it's called superior opposition.

Holden Chinaski wrote:Hendry is now retired. There is no more pressure at all. But when he plays in a stupid meaningless exhibition he still struggles with the yips. Explain that.

Maybe it's because it still means something to him. Given his name, perhaps he feels pressure to perform well.
Who knows.

Holden Chinaski wrote:

Johnny Bravo wrote:All top pros have confronted themselves with periods where they lacked confidence.
Selbo spoke about it recently. If u don't win, you loose confidence in yourself. Basically, that's what happened to Hendry in the 00's.

There was more going on with Hendry. But you don't want to acknowledge that. It's OK.

This is correct. The yips allied to a loss of confidence which he had never really experienced before.

Look, Johnny, I think Ronnie is the GOAT. But I also think Hendry was amazing and deserves respect. I think you underestimate him. When Hendry started playing bad he lost to average players as well, not only against "better opposition". Ronnie himself would tell you Hendry was an amazing player and along with Davis was his main inspiration.

I don't think it was a coincidence that Hendry's dramatic drop in form coincided with him playing in the strongest era snooker has ever seen.

The Jester from Leicester wrote:I don't think it was a coincidence that Hendry's dramatic drop in form coincided with him playing in the strongest era snooker has ever seen.

Of course I agree that was part of it. It obviously was.

But it definitely was not the sole reason at all. A young Hendry without any titles would have done great in that strongest era, I'm sure. The one that had already won everything a hundred times and struggled with the yips and lost his cue... not so much.

Bagley is the GOAT.

You lot are mugs.

SnookerFan wrote:Bagley is the GOAT.

You lot are mugs.

You can believe that until the day you die its rubbish today and it will be rubbish then

Holden Chinaski wrote:

SnookerFan wrote:Bagley is the GOAT.

You lot are mugs.

You can believe that until the day you die its rubbish today and it will be rubbish then

Life time ban for dissing Bagley.

J-Bags. Every time. Why is this even a question?

Hendry's the best player of all time aside from Ronnie O'Sullivan. There's no shame in that.

Pink Ball wrote:Hendry's the best player of all time aside from Ronnie O'Sullivan. There's no shame in that.

Hendry was the best player in the 90's, O'Sullivan in the 00's and Selby in the 10's.

The Jester from Leicester wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:Hendry's the best player of all time aside from Ronnie O'Sullivan. There's no shame in that.

Hendry was the best player in the 90's, O'Sullivan in the 00's and Selby in the 10's.

Yeah, I'd agree with that

Eric Bristow was the number one darts player in the 80's and started having trouble releasing the darts and was never the same player after.

Holden Chinaski wrote:Hendry is now retired. There is no more pressure at all. But when he plays in a stupid meaningless exhibition he still struggles with the yips. Explain that.

Had Hendry gone the Phsycological Route back in the late 90s and early naughties he might have got it sorted to prelong his career he didnt and has gone on record saying that sort of thing wasent for him.

Hendrys biggest issue with his game was himself he never learned from the fact he needed to change his game when the yips started and decided to do things his way.

The way Hendry played was all or nothing the problem with that atitude is its short lived but what a career he had in the short term.

Lets not forget the fact 19 of his 36 ranking titles came after Ronnie had won his first Ranking Title in a 12 year period that included 4 WC, 3 UK and a Masters title in 7 years. at a time there was far fewer tournaments than there is today.

The Jester from Leicester wrote:I don't think it was a coincidence that Hendry's dramatic drop in form coincided with him playing in the strongest era snooker has ever seen.

but hendry at his peak played much better against better players in the biggest matches he thrived on the pressure so that theary doesent stand up to much

Holden Chinaski wrote:A lot of people think the yips is indeed a psychological issue. And there is no real treatment for it. It is most common in golf, I think even Tiger Woods has struggled with it. Basketball players get the yips as well.

The problem with Hendry's yips was that his cue action was not the same, although he didn't feel he was doing anything differently. He just didn't cue through the ball like he used to and he couldn't figure out why...

Also, we haven't even mentioned the fact that Hendry's cue which he had used his whole career was destroyed at the airport in 2003.

Yes. The term 'yips' probably covers a number of different issues. I think the best explanation was by Tony Knowles, who said that it was when something disrupts a player's shot routine. They practice a routine for 1000's of hours and establish a strong pattern, so it feels more horrendous when something gets in the way. Faith in the whole technique collapses.

there's an argument that we've never had a match between prime Hendry and prime Ronnie. Maybe only for a short period of 1-2 years. But even then I'm not sure.

Ronnie became the ultimate player (complete player) when he started working with Reardon in 2004. At that stage Hendry was probably not in his prime anymore. At least thats what most people think.

The best matches we've had between Hendry and ROS came at a period when Hendry was slightly past his prime while Ronnie was not in his prime yet.

Thats why Higgins has always been Ronnies biggest rival.

If prime Hendry would be playing nowadays, he wouldn't be among the top 5 players in the world. His one-dimensional game wouldn't allow him to. However, if he applied himself to the tactical and safety department, he'd be top 5.

Prime Hendry is a top 5 player in any era. The game hasn't evolved that much. It actually can't evolve that much. Ronnie and Judd play a brand of snooker never really seen before because its so fast and attacking. Alex Higgins probably the only real similar player in the past. Take the likes of Selby, Robertson, Murphy. All very good snooker players but even at their very best they don't touch prime Hendry. Ronnie and Higgins wouldn't have let him dominate like he did in the 90's but he still would be there or thereabouts at the business end of most tournaments.

Janyce wrote:If prime Hendry would be playing nowadays, he wouldn't be among the top 5 players in the world. His one-dimensional game wouldn't allow him to. However, if he applied himself to the tactical and safety department, he'd be top 5.

This is so far off the mark.

He potted the loose red, landed on the black and won a lot of frames in one visit. That aspect hasn't changed at all. He was as good at Judd at that, if not superior. Breaks haven't got better. If anything, due to the faster cloths, he'd get even more chances off the break.

He also had a very decent safety game, he just didn't use it much.

Go and watch his matches

Bjornebye wrote:Prime Hendry is a top 5 player in any era. The game hasn't evolved that much. It actually can't evolve that much. Ronnie and Judd play a brand of snooker never really seen before because its so fast and attacking. Alex Higgins probably the only real similar player in the past. Take the likes of Selby, Robertson, Murphy. All very good snooker players but even at their very best they don't touch prime Hendry. Ronnie and Higgins wouldn't have let him dominate like he did in the 90's but he still would be there or thereabouts at the business end of most tournaments.

+1

This all day long

The Jester from Leicester wrote:

Pink Ball wrote:Hendry's the best player of all time aside from Ronnie O'Sullivan. There's no shame in that.

Hendry was the best player in the 90's, O'Sullivan in the 00's and Selby in the 10's.

I'd still say Ronnie was the best in the 10's as he still won more titles in that decade.

Ali Carter.

Warren King

Dan-cat wrote:He potted the loose red, landed on the black and won a lot of frames in one visit. That aspect hasn't changed at all. He was as good at Judd at that, if not superior. Breaks haven't got better. If anything, due to the faster cloths, he'd get even more chances off the break.

He also had a very decent safety game, he just didn't use it much.

Go and watch his matches

Great post, Dan. Although I would say Hendry was definitely superior to Judd, in the long potting and winning frames in one visit department. No doubt about that, in my opinion.