"Emperor of Billiards" Stephen Hendry is the first player in snooker history to pioneer modern play, and the only Crucible seven-time champion. Hendry's presence not only gave snooker technology and single-shot scoring an unprecedented improvement, but also laid a solid foundation for a new era of snooker. He is the first player in snooker history to win the world number one for nine consecutive years in his career and the first player in the history of five crowns in a single season. He was also the first creator of the longest winning streak, and there was so much wonder in Hendry. And he is destined to be the most dominant player in snooker history, because the 90s of the last century are also known as Hendry's snooker period.
Hendry's dominance was the first in history
Never before Hendry's appearance had anyone been able to stage such terrible dominance on the stage of the World Snooker Tour. Ray Lilton has won the world number one for five consecutive years, Davis has been the world number one for six consecutive years, and Hendry has controlled the time of winning the world number one for eight consecutive years. However, this was not the most important thing for Hendry, who also won the world championship for five consecutive years between 1990 and 1999, becoming the first Seven Crucibles in snooker history. In Hendry's day, he was synonymous with snooker. Not only that, he also won 16 three-time championships in this decade. Such dominance is amazing, and You know, Hendry's opponents are not weak.
O'Sullivan was far less dominant than Hendry
Although O'Sullivan is hailed as the first man in snooker history, in terms of dominance, O'Sullivan is indeed far inferior to Hendry. It took Hendry just a decade to make himself the true first in history of snooker, but O'Sullivan took a long time to catch up. In terms of overall performance, O'Sullivan is certainly greater than Hendry, but in terms of dominance, Hendry's super performance is definitely the most convincing. Hendry took more than half of the three major titles and seven World Championships in his peak time, and was the first player in the eighth consecutive year. O'Sullivan's three major titles span at least 20 years, and he almost never ruled the world stage. But his state of evergreen is the envy of others, after all, it is not easy to maintain a super competitive state for thirty consecutive years.
Hendry is definitely a great snooker legend
For the world stage, Hendry is definitely a great snooker legend. He was 20 years old when he first won the World Championship, the youngest Crucible World Championship winner to date. Excellent mentality, super far table and possession, and consistent and stable output are the most significant characteristics of Hendry. In Hendry's day, all the players were proud to beat him, and that was the charm that belonged to Hendry. During Hendry's legendary career, he won 70 championship trophies, including 18 triple-major titles and 36 ranking titles. You know, the events of the past were far less than they are now. To be able to win so many titles in those years is really a terrible performance. If you don't think his technical performance is good enough, then a 11-point 147-point score can justify his performance. Objectively speaking, Higgins did not have the advantage of walking before Hendry retired, because Hendry's position was more stable than Higgins. So even today, Hendry is still able to rank second in snooker history. Even today, his ability is one of the strongest players. So, never underestimate Hendry, because no one can replace his former dominance.