At the age of 46, O'Sullivan once again set a new snooker record, raising the single-ranked championship record to 38. However, after winning the World Grand Prix, O'Sullivan still trailed 73-81 in the number of championships: Steve Davis!
In Steve Davis's time, there were not so many ranking tournaments, but there would be more invitational tournaments, so the old generation of football king Steve Davis only had 28 careers, but in terms of the number of championships, Steve Davis got as many as 81!
As of O'Sullivan winning the 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix, professional snooker championship rankings, Steve Davis 81 crowns high in the first place, O'Sullivan 73 crowns in second place, another king Hendry in third, Higgins is in fourth, followed by Selby, Trump, Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui and other post-80s players.
In terms of historical status, O'Sullivan, Hendry, Steve Davis, Snooker GOAT battle, the 3 generations of ball kings have their own advantages: O'Sullivan has the advantage in single-shot breaks, ranking championships, etc., Steve Davis is ranked first in the history of the total number of championships, Andry 7 world champions beat O'Sullivan and Steve Davis 6 times.
However, O'Sullivan still has the strength to continue to win the championship! Therefore, compared to the previous two generations of ball kings, O'Sullivan holds the absolute initiative in the snooker GOAT battle. After winning the World Grand Prix at the age of 46, O'Sullivan compares himself to the four biggest stars in world sports: Tiger Woods, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Lionel Messi, and they will bring something that will fascinate you. When I set out again, I had that feeling — I guess that's why people are attracted to me.