uk_9_ball_convert
Active member
I'm supporting ABR this tournament. Anyone But Ronnie. As a Scot, I don't want him to beat Hendry's record.
2026 World Snooker Championship: April 18 - May 04
- Thread starter BeiberLvr
- Start date
Well Scott is my heritage and I am unaware of a dispute or diss of any nature. 
He Guoqiang must feel sacrificial down 5-0 going to 10.
He Guoqiang must feel sacrificial down 5-0 going to 10.
too late!
we all know who is the better player
6, 7, 8 crucible titles, doesn’t tell the whole story
At the Big test He was shivers. The hair on his head showed the tremors as he missed. I recall thinking, "I will be fine as soon as my hands quit shaking." Then the realization that I better learn to shoot with my hands shaking, as they were not going to quit until I made a shot. 
Earthquake solid ?
Earthquake solid ?
uk_9_ball_convert
Active member
Doubt winning 5 in a row by Hendry will ever be matched. Guy just had a different mentality. Changed the game, before him it used to be try to score 30-40 points on the loose reds then play a safety, where Hendry would pot the blue and go into the pack smashing everything open. Cloths were a lot slower back then so you couldn't do the delicate shots they do now to loosen a few reds at a time. Equipment's changed a lot over the years, so not sure how much you can compare players from different eras, but Reardon, Davis and Hendry dominated their era in a way Ronnie hasn't. Just don't think Ronnie has the same temperament and grit of those serial winners, though nobody can deny his talent.
Well Scott is my heritage and I am unaware of a dispute or diss of any nature.
He Guoqiang must feel sacrificial down 5-0 going to 10.
the masters crowd used to be quite tribal back in the days when the scots played.. ding got a dose of that tribalism at his first masters 20 or so years ago. it has changed a lot since then, to the better. maybe with ticket price gentrification, but i like to think not
Okay, i understand now. Keeping a conflict on the fields of Friendly Strife allows a genuine congratulations at the final handshake. Most of my side wagers ha: been for a beer.
Life was good back in the day when I had a $5 Friendly wager on each table at the Reno Sands Open. Oh let's see? That was the late '80s.
A lust for competition doesn't require victory. Victory is however easier to celebrate.
My goal in competition is....do my best and let lady luck do the rest.
Keeping my mind right is Huge. Coming back from down 6-2 going to 7 is my best. Heck I saw Dan Louie come back from 6 none going to 7. AND! The kicker was his opponent was 2 degrees off of straight on his final 9 ball. He was so pumped and drilled it.....but whitey drifted to scratch. Oh what a lesson he got from Danny. I can call him Danny as we are friends.
Well I see "available soon" on 3 matches. Hope Judd Trump comes up soon. He is #1 ....at this time.
Not to take anything away from Hendry, but how dominant you are has a lot to do with who you have play against. I enjoy these discussion because it lets me geek out and look up the data.
I compared Hendry's dominant 5 year run to the last 5 WC's that Ronnie won. (highlighted names are World Champions)
noone is saying hendry used to play the janitor, but the stats don't lie. the competition is much tougher now, more centuries, higher pot success etc.
uk_9_ball_convert
Active member
Definitely interesting to see their runs to the final. Though Hendry is probably playing less World Champions because that dominant period he had meant there wasn't many other world champions about. Practically every tournament he had to beat Jimmy White, who if he'd been born slightly earlier or slightly later would probably have been a multi times champion. 1996 undeniably had a fairly easy run.
Interesting they've both beat each other on route to winning. 1995 Ronnie had been a pro for 3 years, though he never developed the defensive side of his game until Reardon coached him in 2004, would say he became a much harder opponent after that. And Ronnie beat Hendry in 2008, but he was a spent force after his cue was broken in 2003. Have heard both of them say in interviews that the other one is the GOAT.
uk_9_ball_convert
Active member
I don't think you can compare the number of centuries when the equipment has changed so much. Modern cloths far faster which makes it much easier to develop balls. And last few seasons some of the top players have been complaining they've been making the pockets too easy, which narrows their advantage over the weaker players.
George the Greek
Well-known member
The 2002 World Championship would've been Hendy"s 8th if he had beaten Peter Ebdon. He had 16 centuries during that event and he put it to O"Sullivan 17-13. O"sullivan had been saying he'll send Hendry back to his sad little life.
hendry's prime, and titles, were after the introduction of the thin strachan cloth. also both hendry and davies say pockets were softer in the 80's..
the recent complaints have been about saudi and chinese events mostly, and seem correct
uk_9_ball_convert
Active member
He's often said he approached the final with the wrong attitude as in his head he'd pretty much won it when he beat Ronnie. Think it's one of his biggest regrets.
Ebdon is a good guy. Met him at a charity night he'd driven a long distance to play in for free. Was the only one of the players that turned up with a waistcoat as if he was playing in a proper tournament.
Hendry has acknowledged that the fields are tougher now. Basically said that in his prime era you could count on easy opponents your first several rounds. Now you’ve got so many good players that early round “shockers” aren’t really that shocking. Ronnie’s titles came in the era where he’s competing with 3 of the other 5 consensus top 5 all time players in their prime (Higgins, Selby and Williams).
It’s always hard to compare a shorter period of dominance to a longer period of excellence. Ronnie credits Hendry as the GOAT because he won 7 WC in a decade. Hendry calls Ronnie the GOAT because he’s won so many titles over the decades.
Well Judd showed #1 speed. WOW! just Wow.
Mark Selby v. Jak Jones begins in 30 minutes. Selby is a pit bull on the green baize and doesn't give up easily. He's a grinder to the very end, though sometimes moves a little too slow.
Chris Wakelin just might have has hands full with his opponent, Liam Pullen. Liam became the England under-18 snooker champion in April 2023. The score after Session 1 ended was 5-4, Wakelin on top.
But the match of the day for me will be Session 2 of Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Hu Guoqiang at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
The 2026 Halo World Snooker Championship boasts a total prize fund of $3,832,000 (£2,395,000), with a top prize of $674,527 (£500,000) for the winner. Runner-up takes $269,811 (£200,000), while semi-finalists earn $134,881 (£100,000).
Winner of Ronnie v. Hu match faces John Higgins in Round 2 on Saturday, and Round 2 in a race to 13 (best of 25).
Chris Wakelin just might have has hands full with his opponent, Liam Pullen. Liam became the England under-18 snooker champion in April 2023. The score after Session 1 ended was 5-4, Wakelin on top.
But the match of the day for me will be Session 2 of Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Hu Guoqiang at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
The 2026 Halo World Snooker Championship boasts a total prize fund of $3,832,000 (£2,395,000), with a top prize of $674,527 (£500,000) for the winner. Runner-up takes $269,811 (£200,000), while semi-finalists earn $134,881 (£100,000).
Winner of Ronnie v. Hu match faces John Higgins in Round 2 on Saturday, and Round 2 in a race to 13 (best of 25).