"Rockets" Ronnie O'Sullivan is the best player in snooker history, and he has also been hailed by the World Snooker Tour as a veritable first in history. However, in the mid-1990s, Hendry was known as the hegemon of the times that could not be surpassed. Winning 16 three-time titles and seven World Championships in 10 years is an unprecedented record. In addition, Hendry has also won the world number one throne for eight consecutive years. In Hendry's time, he had set many historical records, and today, his records are few and far between. The reason for this situation is because of O'Sullivan's strength. And their competition is still ongoing.
O'Sullivan was destined to be Hendry's nightmare
Before O'Sullivan appeared, Hendry was highly expected by everyone, and he was the perfect candidate for the glory of the times and was known as the first person in history. However, O'Sullivan shattered his dream the moment he stepped into his career. Hendry's longest winning streak was shattered shortly after O'Sullivan entered the profession, and O'Sullivan then fought back in the British Championship final, one of the three major tournaments, and henched down the first of his career titles and became the youngest triple-major champion and ranking champion in snooker history. However, this is only the beginning of Hendry's nightmare, and now O'Sullivan has surpassed Hendry in terms of ranking titles, Grand Slam numbers, three major titles, British Championship and Masters titles, as well as hundreds and total titles. Today, Hendry can still get his hands on the record, and only eight consecutive years of world first and seven world championships are left.
O'Sullivan's record of hand-to-hand combat has surpassed That of Hendry
From their first meeting at the Dubai Classic in 1993 to the final showdown on the European Players Tour in 2011, O'Sullivan and Hendry have a record of 56 encounters. O'Sullivan won 53% with a record of 30 wins, 5 draws and 21 losses, while Hendry won 37% with a record of 21 wins, 5 draws and 30 losses. Between 1993 and 2004, at the peak of Hendry's career, O'Sullivan had the upper hand with 21 wins, 2 draws and 19 defeats. Even between 1993 and 1999, when Hendry was at the brightest point of his career, O'Sullivan was only slightly behind Hendry with 11 wins, 2 draws and 13 losses. In the final showdown between O'Sullivan and Hendry, the two sides have met a total of 13 times, and O'Sullivan has a clear advantage with a record of 9 wins and 4 losses. Since O'Sullivan's career, Hendry has never bargained. And this is a complete proof of O'Sullivan's strength.
O'Sullivan is close to overtaking Hendry across the board
In terms of key figures for O'Sullivan and Hendry, O'Sullivan is very close to overtaking Hendry across the board. In terms of ranking wins, O'Sullivan leads Hendry's 36 with 38 titles in the rankings. In terms of breaking 100 figures, O'Sullivan led Hendry's 776 100 with 1144. In terms of overall title winnings, O'Sullivan leads Hendry's 70 crowns with 73 crowns. In terms of tournament wins, O'Sullivan led Hendry with 35 titles. In terms of career winning percentage, O'Sullivan leads Hendry with a 68.54% win rate of 74.74%. You know, O'Sullivan is currently playing more games than Hendry, and O'Sullivan has won more than 1,000 games. Although O'Sullivan is currently trailing Hendry's 70 in terms of 69 world championship wins, O'Sullivan can surpass it as long as he wins two more world championships. If he can win the next world championship, O'Sullivan can declare a complete overtake of Hendry. If O'Sullivan can really get to this point, Hendry may be suffering again, after all, he doesn't want anyone to break the great record he has worked so hard to create.