Andre147 PGC wrote:Welcome to the Forum too WebcatT86
Well that long post of yours just about sums it up really, couldn't agree more with the interesting points you mentioned there. It's all gonna be personal opinion, and many too think Davis is the greatest of all time or Alex Higgins for that matter, it's all down to which factors we find more relevant in considering it, but one thing is for sure both Hendry and Ronnie are the 2 greatest of all time for me.
Thank you, and glad you liked it.
I only found out this week that Davis was a black ball away from 7 titles, which made me realise how fickle the stats are. Even Dennis Taylor - prior to Ronnie winning his 5 WC, Taylor said Hendry was the best in the world because of his 7. Just think then, if Davis had potted
one more ball, they would be joint best. I think that's a silly way of looking at it personally - games and matches are more than the result, they are the sum of their parts. So we should be able to look back and discuss the variables.
I think in many ways it's insulting to reduce a career just to the number of titles. It's a convenient benchmark for sure, but Davis was a tremendous player, and his safety game in particular. Hendry had the break-building skills but lacked the safety play. If we combined those skills and said that's Ronnie, can he then be considered the best? After all, if he has the potting skills to beat Davis and the safety skills to beat Hendry...
Ronnie is fascinating though. I think we also need to consider what he's done in recent years. I really started getting into snooker when he was coming up the first time, as world number 1 and winning the WC for the second time, and he was sublime. Then came that dark period, and 3 years ago I remember being in America and asking my friend back home to put a bet on me for Ronnie to win the WC. He lost. I thought, I'm not even going to pay much attention to his matches now, he's done. Then came the 2012 victory, a year off, 2013, and some of the most amazing snooker ever. That 92 break against Carter was the stuff of legend - a standing ovation for a break that wasn't a century, says it all really.
We talk about Hendry's bottle, but by 27 he was done. Ronnie's life was affected by both parents being in prison, tremendous pressure on him, and depression. At an age when other players are truly winding down, he's made the comeback of a lifetime and is not only able to compete, but raise the bar for everyone else. That's amazing.
And if nothing else, I think everyone will agree that what he's won doesn't indicate his talents - that he should have won far more. So if we use titles as a benchmark, and concede he should have won more, and would have won more had his head been in a different place, we can put him above Hendry...