This is generally known as the start of the 'modern era'. After Hendry lost the top ranking in 2007, his play began to decline, and in 2012 he retired suddenly following his loss in the quarterfinals of the snooker world championship. He capped off his incredible season by defeating Jimmy White in the final of the World Snooker Championship, winning his first world championship title,and setting a record for becoming the youngest to do so at the age of 21. Higgins showed some early promise, developed a maturity in his game beyond his years and won the junior event at the 1991 World Masters in Birmingham, beating fellow 15-year-olds Ronnie OSullivan and Mark Williams en route. His triumph, which came a quarter of a century after he won his first United Kingdom crown as a 17-year-old, also saw O'Sullivan nudge ahead of Stephen Hendry with 19 Triple Crown titles - comprising the World and UK Championships and the Masters. He admired and coveted Daviss success and adopted his mindset. Davis was the best player of his generation but still played the percentages. Ronnie O'sullivan 147 Break vs. Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Williams 147 break, Snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan - Ding Junhui 147 Break, Ronnie O'Sullivan 13th 147 Maximum vs Matthew Selt UK Championship 2014 {BBC 720p HD}, 147 Classics: Ronnie O'Sullivan in China | Snooker | Eurosport, 147 Classics: Ronnie O'Sullivan | Snooker | Eurosport. He practised with military discipline, watched over by his no-nonsense manager, Ian Doyle, and the rewards came quickly. Unseen footage: OSullivan breaks down in tears as seventh world title sinks in, 'I hated it' - O'Sullivan on why he did not enjoy winning seventh world title. Who has won the most World Snooker Championship titles? In 2020, Hendry was offered an invitational wildcard by World Snooker Tour, making him eligible to compete again on the circuit. Just 16 when he joined the circuit, he was completely driven from the start. However, when pressed for a more serious answer he replied: "I've never bothered about records, I've never performed well if I'm going for stuff like that. He turned professional the following year, and when he won the Grand Prix in 1987, he became the youngest player to win a tournament. He won 12 frames in a row against the Scotsman, who was beaten with a session to spare, and didn't give Ali Carter much of a look in either, triumphing 18-8. Glaswegian Alan McManus had already turned professional in 1990 and made an immediate breakthrough, reaching the UK Championship semi-finals and winning the Masters qualifying event in his debut season. However, one big difference was how he approached the game itself. 'It makes me so angry!' The Rocket had earlier joked with BBC's presenter Hazel Irvine during the trophy ceremony that Hendry can share the record with him for another year. Although he sat out of the 2022 World Snooker Championship qualifying, Hendry stated that he intends to continue competing. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. All these matches are part of the process, and getting me comfortable in arenas again. Stephen . The 53-year-old, who first lifted the famous trophy aged 21, quipped: "Well he cant become the youngest world champion, not even Ronnie can do that., Davis replied: But he is playing like Benjamin Button.. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2001 LG Cup - Drew Hendry, 6. I didnt want Ronnie to equal my record and I dont want him to beat my record, why would I? Hendry said on the WST Podcast. He has the record for most century breaks during a tournament, scoring 16 centuries during the 2002 World Snooker Championship. WPBSA Head Office: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, 75 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2NT, Victories in Sheffield for Hendry and Wallace, White and Doherty to Meet in World Seniors Final. The Rocket not only equalled Steve Davis' record of six UK titles by defeating Shaun Murphy 10-5 but he also moved level with Stephen Hendry on 18 Triple Crown triumphs. Ronnie O'Sullivan v Barry Hawkins | FINAL 2016 Dafabet Masters Session 1, Joe Perry vs Ronnie O'Sullivan Masters 2017 (Final)( Session 2), Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Shaun Murphy - 2017 UK Championship, THE BEST OF 2018 UK FINAL! Hendry won his first major junior tournament, the Scottish U-16 Championship, at age 14.Around this time, he appeared on the junior version of the BBCs Pot Black, a televised single-frame snooker competition that contributed to the games resurgence.At 15, Hendry won the Scottish Amateur Championship. 1995: Beats Nigel Bond in the World Championship final. Why Do Snooker Players Use Their Chins When Shooting. He became the first player to score the maximum of 147 three times in tournament play, recording his first 147 in 1992 and two more in 1995 (he scored additional maximums in 1997 and 1998, two in 1999, and others in 2001 and 2009). In contrast, OSullivan has won his Crucible crowns over more than two decades, with his first coming in 2001 and his latest in 2022. O'Sullivan stands on 69 wins from 92 matches played between 1993 and 2021. After witnessing Ronnie O'Sullivan finally tie his longstanding record of seven World Snooker Championship titles, Stephen Hendry said he was "surprised it's taken him so long." The seemingly. He was that dominant. . Hendrys streak cooled in the 2000s, but he remained competitive, even reclaiming his No. He reeled off six consecutive frames to establish a four-frame advantage at the interval and despite a brief rally by his opponent he wrapped up victory with a break of 78. For good measure Hendry also spent a recordbreaking nine years as world No 1, ahead of. Then a week or so afterwards, I was like, OK, he's got the mantle now to live up to. While his Triple Crown success dried up for a few years, O'Sullivan was still building his tally of ranking and non-ranking titles and it surely seemed just a matter of time before he'd finally go all the way on the biggest stage of all. Once again, Hendry was setting records, with an unprecedented seventh world title. Rookie Road may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. To qualify for that would be incredible. "It's been an unbelievable career," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 live. John Higgins has won four and is good enough to win another four; it is hard to say.". Walter Donaldson became the world champion in the post-war era, but for a long time, Scotland lagged behind the other UK nations. Fellow Glaswegian Anthony McGill has won two and Edinburghs Chris Small, forced to retire in 2005 due to a chronic back condition, one. The age of professionalism in Scottish snooker came courtesy of a shy teenager who possessed a laser-like focus rarely witnessed before or since. Stephen Gordon Hendry was born on January 13, 1969, in South Queensferry, Scotland. Later Career And just as the 2017 sequel to Trainspotting doesnt alter the majesty of the original, Hendrys stuttering comeback doesnt change any of that. Selby clinched his fourth triumph this . Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy - Ali Carter, 8. A year after John Higgins got his revenge in the 2006 final with a nail-biting 10-9 that went down to the black, O'Sullivan broke the heart of 19-year-old sensation Ding Junhui with a resounding 10-3 triumph featuring four Rocket centuries, including a fine clearance of 143. Ronnie O'Sullivan 2014 UK Championship - Matthew Selt, 14. Rocket's 30 years at Crucible - Ronnie O'Sullivan set to pass another Stephen Hendry record at 46th World Championship Ronnie O'Sullivan holds almost all of the key records in snooker, but. I wouldn't say it's the wrong decision - it's just down to the individual.". "It was a mixture of embarrassment, anger, frustration, sadness, everything," Stephen Hendry says as he remembers how his dominance of snooker unravelled into, in his mind . The 1989-90 season was the beginning of Stephen Hendrys period of dominance, both in major tournaments and atop the world rankings. Four years later, he turned professional. Last week, he was thrashed 5-0 by Matthew Stevens in the German Masters qualifiers. He intends to continue playing, and his tour card has been renewed through 2024. That year he also won the Australian Masters and successfully defended his Scottish Professional Championship and World Doubles Championship titles.. During this period in the early 1990s, a wave of Scottish talent flooded the professional ranks. He has played only a handful of events and found victories hard to come by. Earlier in the tournament he'd beaten Marcus Campbell (10-4), Ali Carter (13-8), Stuart Bingham (13-4) and Judd Trump 17-11. 2014 UK Championship Final: Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Judd Trump DECIDER! Who Has Won The Most World Snooker Championships? Victories in the Scottish Open and the Irish Masters rebuilt his confidence, and at the 1999 world championship he survived an especially tough draw to reach the final, in which he defeated Mark Williams 1811. It was the eighth maximum of his career and he followed it up by thrashing Stephen Maguire 10-2 for his fourth UK title. 2023 Eurosport, a Warner Bros. Hendry, 43, retired on Tuesday after a 13-2 quarter-final defeat by Stephen Maguire ended his 27th consecutive appearance at the Crucible. Higgins was also 19 and just like O'Sullivan 12 months earlier, came through a qualifying event ranked 51 in the world. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2014 Welsh Open - Ding Junhui, 13. pic.twitter.com/l31qIFsXDp, Ronnie O'Sullivan wins his match 10-1 in 108 minutes. Hed sacrificed much to get to the top and had no regrets. O'Sullivan had finished runner-up in the Masters three times since his maiden title in this tournament in 1995 - to Hendry (1996), Steve Davis (1997) and Paul Hunter (2004) - but he'd get his hands on the new crystal triangle trophy with a 10-3 demolition job of John Higgins. After losing to Stephen Maguire in the quarterfinal of the 2012 World Snooker Championship, Hendry announced his retirement, stating that he was dissatisfied with his ability to maintain an acceptably high level of competition. It was almost like that. But in 2014,. His top break of 141 was the highest in a World Championship final, beating O'Sullivan's previous best mark of 139 in 2001. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2003 World Championship - Marco Fu, 7. He also had lost in the final in 1997, snapping a string of 30 straight wins in that event. He might not have been the last snooker king of Scotland but was the man who inspired a nation, and who brought it respect. After the 1999 world championship, Hendrys fortunes faded once more. Once it happened, it was almost kind of a relief, said Hendry. The winning moment The post-match interview The trophy lift Ronnie O'Sullivan is world champion for a sixth time pic.twitter.com/JfO90m22ak, Ronnie O'Sullivan wasn't mincing his words tonight! 'The players coming through are so bad I'd probably have to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50. This remarkable completion of professional snookers Triple Crown by the young Hendry moved him into the No. The only trophies Hendry has ever wanted to handle are the ones he has won. Tai Chengzhe/Visual China Group via Getty Images. Bio. Hendry changed the way snooker was played, ushering in a more attacking era and. What is the prize money at the 2022 World Snooker Championship? Stephen Hendry with wife Mandy and son Blaine after beating Mark Williams 18-11 to win a record seventh world title. 2005: Wins his 36th and most recent ranking title at the Malta Cup. "One thing you never stop missing as a sportsman is the buzz you get from a crowd. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan jointly hold the record for the most World Snooker Championship titles with seven. - Stunning clearance after big White miss, You have to write off the first year OSullivan on Hendry comeback, 'Youve got a long night ahead!' BBC commentators and presenters for 2022 World Snooker Championship. Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed a record-breaking seventh UK Championship title with a 10-6 victory over Mark Allen at the York Barbican. Technically, the most successful player at the world championship is. He retired as a player following a 13-2 loss to fellow Scot, He last played a competitive match on the main tour in November, losing 6-1 to. You put all that work in to get the record but if he does then fair play because he's taken the game to another level. Wishaws John Higgins was taken with one of his brothers to a snooker club as a boy by their father, who could have a social drink with his friends while his sons were happily occupied. He was employed on a lucrative contract promoting cue sports in China and enjoyed punditry and leisure time spent playing golf, but nothing can compare with the thrill of competition.