Anyway, here's the method I've come up with:
1. We give a predefined pointing value to all events:
- the WC is worth 4 points;
- the Masters and UK are worth 2;
- all other regular rankers are worth 1;
- minor rankers and other non-rankers/invitationals are worth 0,5 points.
2. Then, we factor in the era in which all time greats won their titles and the opposition they faced.
Just like they do in football with the Golden Shoe, we give a coefficient to each era:
- the 70's coefficient is 1;
- the 80's is also 1;
- the 90's is 1,5;
- the 00's are 2;
- the 10's are also 2.
So now we just have to multiply the value of each title with the era coefficient. With that in mind we have the following results:
Ronnie O'SULLIVAN
- 5 WC: 3 in the 00's and 2 in the 10's. 3x4x2 + 2x4x2 = 40 points.
- 7 Masters: 1 in the 90's, 3 in the 00's, and 3 in the 10's. 1x2x1,5 + 3x2x2 + 3x2x2 = 27 points
- 7 UK: 2 in the 90's, 2 in the 00's and 3 in the 10's. 2x2x1,5 + 2x2x2 + 3x2x2 = 26 points
- 22 rankers (not counting WC and UK titles): 5 in the 90's, 10 in the 00's, 7 in the 10's.
5x1x1,5 + 10x1x2 + 7x1x2 = 42 points
- 26 non rankers (not counting Masters, and I've also counted the 98 Irish Masters, cause he won that fair and square, although he was disqualified for smoking pot): 7 in the 90's, 13 in the 00's, 6 in the 10's.
7x0,5x1,5 + 13x0,5x2 + 6x0,5x2 = 24,25 points
- 2 minor rankers: both in the 10's. 2x0,5x2 = 2 points
TOTAL = 161,25
Stephen HENDRY
- 7 WC: all in the 90's. 7x4x1,5 = 42 points
- 6 Masters: 1 in the 80's, 5 in the 90's. 1x2x1 + 5x2x1,5 = 17 points
- 5 UK: 1 in the 80's, 4 in the 90's. 1x2x1 + 4x2x1,5 = 14 points
- 24 rankers (no WC or UK): 4 in the 80's, 16 in the 90's, 4 in the 00's 4x1x1 + 16x1x1,5 + 4x1x2 = 36 points
- 34 non rankers (without Masters): 8 in the 80's, 22 in the 90's, 4 in the 00's
8x0,5x1 + 22x0.5x1,5 + 4x0,5x2 = 24,5 points
TOTAL: 133,5 points
John HIGGINS
- 4 WC: 1 in the 90's, 2 in the 00's, 1 in the 10's 1x4x1,5 + 2x4x2 + 1x4x2 = 30 points
- 2 Masters: 1 in the 90's, 1 in the 00's. 1x2x1,5 + 1x2x2 = 7 points
- 3 UK, 1 each in the 90's, 00's and 10's. 1x2x1,5 +1x2x2 + 1x2x2 = 11 points
- 23 rankers (no WC or UK): 10 in the 90's, 5 in the 00's, 8 in the 10's 10x1x1,5 + 5x1x2 + 8x1x2 = 41 points
- 17 non-rankers (without Masters): 4 in the 90's, 7 in the 00's, 6 in the 10's
4x0,5x1,5 + 7x0,5x2 + 6x0,5x2 = 16 points
- 3 minor rankers: all in the 10's. 3x0,5x2 = 3 points
TOTAL: 108 points
Steve DAVIS
- 6 WC: all in the 80's. 6x4x1 = 24 points
- 3 Masters: 2 in the 80's and 1 in the 90's. 2x2x1 + 1x2x1,5 = 7 points
- 6 UK: all in the 80's. 6x2x1 =12 points
- 18 rankers (no WC and UK): 12 in the 80's, 6 in the 90's. 12x1x1 + 6x1x1,5 = 21 points
- 50 (no Master or UK - which wasn't always a ranker): 34 in the 80's, 14 in the 90's, 2 in the 10's.
34x0,5x1 + 14x0,5x1,5 + 2x0,5x2 = 29,5 points
TOTAL: 93,5 points
Mark SELBY
- 3 WC: all in the 10's. 3x4x2 = 24 points
- 3 Masters: 1 in the 00's, 2 in the 10's. 1x2x2 + 2x2x2 = 12 points
- 2 UK: in the 10's. 2x2x2 = 8 points
- 10 rankers (no WC or UK): 1 in the 00's, 9 in the 10's. 1x1x2 + 9x1x2 = 20 points
- 5 non-rankers (without Masters): 1 in the 00's, 4 in the 10's. 1x0,5x2 + 4x0,5x2 = 5 points
- 7 minor rankers: all in the 10's. 7x0,5x2 = 7 points
TOTAL: 76 points
Mark J. WILLIAMS
- 3 WC's: in the 90's, 00's and 10's. 1x4x1,5 +1x4x2 + 1x4x2 = 22 points
- 2 Masters: in the 90's and 00's. 1x2x1,5 + 1x2x2 = 7 points
- 2 UK's: in the 90's and 00's. 1x2x1,5 + 1x2x2 = 7 points
- 17 rankers: 6 in the 90's, 6 in the 00's, 5 in the 10's. 6x1x1,5 + 6x1x2 + 5x1x2 = 31 points
- 4 non rankers: 2 in the 90's, 1 in the 00's, 1 in the 10's. 2x0,5x1,5 + 1x0,5x2 + 1x0,5x2 = 3,5 points
- 2 minor rankers: in the 10's. 2x0,5x2 = 2 points
TOTAL: 72,5 points
Junhui DING
- no WC.
- 1 Masters: in the 10's. 1x2x2 = 4 points
- 2 UK: in the 00's. 2x2x2 = 8 points
- 11 rankers: 2 in the 00's, 9 in the 10's. 2x1x2 + 9x1x2 = 22 points
- 3 non rankers: 2 in the 00's, 1 in the 10's. 3x0,5x2 + 1x0,5x2 = 4 points
- 4 minor rankers: in the 10's. 4x0,5x2 = 4 points
TOTAL: 42 points
Neil ROBERTSON
- 1 WC - in the 10's 1x4x2 = 8 points
- 1 Masters: in the 10's. 1x2x2 = 4 points
- 1 UK: in the 10's. 1x2x2 = 4 points
- 11 rankers: 4 in the 00's, 7 in the 10's. 4x1x2 +7x1x2 = 22 points
- 4 non rankers: 1 in the 00's, 3 in the 10's. 1x0,5x2 + 3x0,5x2 = 4 points
- 4 minor rankers: in the 10's. 4x0,5x2 = 4 points
TOTAL: 46 points
Ray REARDON
- 6 WC: in the 70's. 6x4x1 = 24 points
- 1 Masters, in the 70's. 1x2x1 = 2 points
- 1 ranker: in the 80's. 1x1x1 = 1 point
- 18 non rankers: 1 in the 60's, 13 in the 70's, 4 in the 80's. 1x0,5x1 + 13x0,5x1 + 4x0,5x1 = 9 points
TOTAL: 35 points
Alex HIGGINS
- 2 WC: in the 70's and 80's. 1x4x1 +1x4x1 = 8 points
- 2 Masters: in the 70's and 80's. 1x2x1 + 1x2x1 = 4 points
- 1 UK: in the 80's. 1x2x1 = 2 points
- 19 non-rankers: 12 in the 70's, 7 in the 80's. 19x0,5x1 = 9,5 points
TOTAL: 23,5 points
Jimmy WHITE:
- 1 Masters, in the 80's. 1x2x1 = 2 points
- 1 UK, in the 90's. 1x2x1,5 = 3 points
- 9 rankers: 4 in the 80's, 4 in the 90's, 1 in the 00's. 4x1x1 + 4x1x1,5 +1x1x2 = 12 points
- 21 non rankers: 12 in the 80's, 5 in the 90's, 1 in the 00's, 3 in the 10's.
12x0,5x1 + 5x0,5x1,5 + 1x0,5x2 +3x0,5x2 = 13,75 points
TOTAL: 28,75 points.
So, at the end of the day, this is how the list came out:
1. Ronnie O'SULLIVAN - 161,25 points
2. Stephen HENDRY - 133,5 points
3. John HIGGINS - 108 points
4. Steve DAVIS - 93,5 points
5. Mark SELBY - 76 points
6. Mark J. WILLIAMS - 72,5 points
7. Neil ROBERTSON - 46 points
8. Junhui DING - 42 points
9. Ray REARDON - 35 points
10. Jimmy WHITE - 28,75 points
11. Alex HIGGINS - 23,5 points
Since my method only took into account titles and the era in which they were achieved, I will also count impact on the sport as a 3rd factor. Players will be evaluated on scale o 1 to 5, each step being worth 3 points. With that in mind, here's their impact on the sport list and points:
1. Ronnie O'SULLIVAN - impact: 5 - 15 points.
2. Stephen HENDRY - impact: 5 - 15 points.
3. John HIGGINS - impact: 3 - 9 points.
4. Steve DAVIS - impact: 5 - 15 points.
5. Mark SELBY - impact:3 - 9 points.
6. Mark J. WILLIAMS - impact:3 - 9 points.
7. Neil ROBERTSON - impact:3 - 9 points.
8. Junhui DING - impact:3 - 9 points.
9. Ray REARDON - impact:3 - 9 points.
10. Jimmy WHITE - impact:3 - 9 points.
11. Alex HIGGINS - impact:5 - 15 points.
After I added their impact points, here's how the list evolved:
1. Ronnie O'SULLIVAN - 176,25 points
2. Stephen HENDRY - 148,5 points
3. John HIGGINS - 117 points
4. Steve DAVIS - 108,5 points
5. Mark SELBY - 85 points
6. Mark J. WILLIAMS - 81,5 points
7. Neil ROBERTSON - 55 points
8. Junhui DING - 51 points
9. Ray REARDON - 44 points
10. Alex HIGGINS - 38,5 points
11. Jimmy WHITE - 37,75 points
The top 4 came out ok, but the list seems to have flaws.
I reckon it's down to 2 reasons:
- back in the 70's and the 80's there were a lot less rankers, so the old players are at a disadvantage. Maybe rankers and non-rankers should all be valued at 1 point ?!
- the coefficients don't have the right value.
I didn't account for tons, cause the playing conditions and equipment have improved a lot and the older player would be to disadvantaged.
What do u guys think ?