Snooker Legend Stephen Hendry

When Stephen Hendry retired from the snooker game midway through the 2012 World Championships, inevitable questions were asked whether he was the best ever. And if the cold hard facts are to be believed then the simple answer is yes.

Hendry hit his 3rd Crucible Maximum against Stuart Bingham last week.

Seven world titles, five UK titles, 11 maximum’s – three of which came at the Crucible with the last coming in his first round this year – and 36 ranking titles over a 18 year time period – eight more than his nearest rival Steve Davis – all must surely point to naming Hendry the undisputed king of the green cloth.

But we Brits have never liked winners. So often we prefer the gutsy underdog or the man who plays by his own rules but plays them with style. Men like Alex Higgins and Jimmy White have always won many more hearts than the Scot and always seem to be niggling little thorns in Hendry’s side whenever this question comes up. Hendry’s continued dominance over the nation’s darling Jimmy White made him particularly unpopular with the 90’s generation and unfortunately that has never been forgotten.

Whilst Steve Davis continues to play for love even after 17 years without a ranking trophy, Hendry was never going to do that. The unquenchable thirst for titles and winning is what defines Hendry and if he wasn’t going to win anymore, he might as well have left the sport even earlier. That attitude is perfect for sportsmen like Tiger Woods but doesn’t endear themselves to the mass populace only finding favour through their immense talent rather than their personality.

As a snooker fan I personally just missed Hendry’s pomp during the 90’s winning six titles in a row before Ken Doherty ended his run in 1997. All I saw were flashes of the Hendry people referred to as the greatest snooker player ever but as a young boy I could never understand why. Snooker does allow players to carry on their careers a lot longer than most other sports and the longer you hang around, the dimmer your legend becomes.

Hendry may be the ‘Iceman’ but is undoubtably the King of the Crucible

So is Hendry the greatest ever? At this stage yes. Men like Higgins and White had the power to entertain the masses but not the steel needed to win major titles one after the other. And although Davis and Higgins had the game to match Hendry on occasions, they just don’t have the titles to match him.

There is only one man who could overtake Hendry in the foreseeable future, Ronnie O’Sullivan. The greatest natural talent in the history of the game, a man who could obliterate anybody including Hendry if he put his mind to it has the popularity and the game to usurp the ‘Great One’. But his desire is famously fragile and his talent has ‘only’ won him three world titles. He has a long way to go before he can match the man of steel.