Whether or not you watch snooker, we bet that you have heard some of the names of the best snooker players because of their dominance.
One of those players is Ronnie O’Sullivan and perhaps Stephen Hendry. The two Brit players are amongst the best snooker players in the world, but where do they rank?
Read on as we list the world’s best snooker players.
10 Best Snooker Players of All Time
10. Mark Williams
The Welshman is the third player in the history of snooker to achieve the triple crown. He achieved this in the 2002/03 season when he won the World Championship, the UK Championship, and The Masters.
He competed in three World Championships finals between 1999 and 2003 and won two. His third came in 2018, 15 years after his second, and proved many of his doubters wrong.
Williams has 24 ranking tournament wins and has been snooker’s number-one player for four years, which makes him one of the best snooker players ever.
9. Ray Reardon
Ray is remembered in snooker circles as the first-ever player to be ranked first after the introduction of the official world ranking in 1976. He was one of the most formidable snooker players of his time and certainly one of the best, reportedly winning at least six world championships.
Ray was also quite the character, interacting with fans during games which helped take the edge off an otherwise serious game.
8. Mark Selby
The Englishman spent about eight years of his career without a snooker title. His first came in the 2007 season, and since then, he’s won multiple competitions. He won three master’s titles and two UK & World Championships. In his prime, Selby spent 350 weeks at the top of the snooker players’ ranking list.
7. Jimmy White
White, AKA ‘The Whirlwind,’ is a snooker player who won two of snooker’s three majors and is regarded to be the most talented player not to win a world title, despite reaching six finals.
Jimmy White, who got his nickname from his fluid, attacking style of play, won the Masters in 1984, the UK Championship in 1992, and 10 different ranking events.
White, an ardent Chelsea F.C. supporter, made history as the second player ever (and first left-handed player) to make a maximum break at the World Championship.
6. John Spencer
Spencer won the World Championship in his debut season in 1969 and forced the snooker world to sit up and take note. He went on to win three World Snooker Championships (1969, 1971, and 1977).
Also, Spencer recorded the first 147 maximum break in a professional tournament.
5. Allison Fischer
Fisher is the best female snooker player and one of the best to have played the game.
Her superiority saw her win seven women’s world snooker championships, including three consecutive titles twice, between 1985 and 1994.
She also has the World Masters Mix Doubles and World Mixed Doubles Championships.
4. John Higgins
With nine triple crown titles, including four World Championships, three UK Championships, and two masters titles, The ‘Wizard of Wishaw,’ as he’s fondly known, is undoubtedly one of the best-ever snooker players.
His first World Championship came in 1998, and he won the next three between 2007 and 2011. He won the UK Championship in 1998, 2000, and 2010.
His Masters wins came in 1999 and 2006.
3. Steve Davis
Davis conquered snooker in the eighties, having won six out of eight finals he took part in between 1981 and 1989.
The same happened in the UK Championship, having reached nine finals in 11 years. The Englishman has three Masters titles to add to his impressive collection of trophies.
2. Stephen Hendry
Hendry was the player to beat in the 90s. He made it to eight of the ten World Championship finals, winning five back-to-back titles, six Masters, and five UK Championships.
He stepped away from the game in 2012 with a total of 75 titles but came back in 2020.
1. Ronnie O’ Sullivan
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the best snooker player of all time. With seven World Championships, seven UK Championships, and seven Masters titles, he’s won the most triple crown events than any other player.
The Englishman, fondly known as ‘The Rocket,’ is also the oldest player to lift a World Championship.