Hendry, O'Sullivan or Davis (any of them)?
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by user Alex Holowczak
It's common knowledge that no-one in America knows a lot about snooker. Why should they, there has never been any brilliant players from the States.
Which is why you are the perfect judges of who is the best.
I will list the best snooker players of all-time, complete with some of their greatest achievements.
Joe Davis (England)
- His idea to make a World Snooker Championship
- Spent his prize money in the first World Championship to buy a trophy, which is still used today
- Unbeaten in 20 years in the World Championship - 15 times World Champion, and won all 34 of his matches over the years
- Retired from the championship to help increase dwindling numbers in the tournament
- Made the first ever 147 maximum break
- Made over 700 century breaks in his career
- Promoted game on TV to launch the game's renaissance
- Only player to be World Snooker and Billiards Champion at the same time
- One of the best billiards players of all-time too
Fred Davis (England)
- 8 times World Snooker Champion
- Lost in 6 finals - the last of which coming in 1970 at the age of 57
- Became second person to win both World Snooker and Billiards crowns (along with Joe), but not at the same time, in 1980 - aged 67 - making him the oldest ever World Champion in a sport
- Reached World Snooker Semi Final in 1978, aged 65, with such excitement his watching brother (Joe) die of a heart-attack shortly after
- Still a professional in 1995, aged 82, making him the World Record holder for the oldest ever sports professional
- Joe's brother
Steve Davis (England)
- 6 times World Champion in the 1980s
- Made almost 400 century breaks
- Set record for most World Titles in the modern era of competitiveness
- Currently ranked as World Number 15 at the age of 49, thanks to reaching the Final of the UK Championship in 2005 - his 100th Tournament Final
- No relation to Joe or Fred
Stephen Hendry (Scotland)
- 7 times World Champion in the 1990s
- Approaching Joe Davis' record of more than 700 centuries
- Made many 147s
- Most agressive player ever
- Recently regained World Number 1 spot, mainly due to consistency
Ronnie O'Sullivan (England)
- 2 time World Champion
- More than 400 century breaks
- Made more 147s than anyone else, including two in the World Championship
- Made four of the five fastest 147s, including the fastest, in 5 minutes 20 seconds
- Currently ranked Number 3 in the World
- Made century breaks both left and right handed - best ambidextrous player ever
Some things you need to know about the eras
- When Joe played in the 1920s through to 1969, there were limited professionals - making tournament success easier
- From 1970 onwards, the number of professionals have increased rapidly, making domination of an era harder
So, which of these five would you consider to be the best looking at their careers. Note that the latter three still play, although Steve Davis is arguably on the wane in his career.
Date
Thu 08/31/06, 1:57 am EST
