O'Sullivan believes that only the most "three majors" titles in a longer period of time can be called "the best player in history". In today's snooker field, only he, Hendry, and Davis meet that standard.
Text/Desmond Kane, European Sports
When it comes to the hotly debated topic of "the greatest player in snooker history," O'Sullivan is wary of putting the public first. He insisted that "experts and fans will decide this" and that as a professional athlete one should be "modest" enough to accept others' opinions.
As can be seen from the odds offered to players by pre-match bookmakers, Neil Robertson narrowly leads O'Sullivan and Judd Trump at the top of the table. Although he has only won the World Championship in 2010 in his career so far, Robertson considers himself one of the great men of the snooker movement.
Robertson said during the Gibraltar Open: "I don't think you can really dispute this, I am the only person in the history of the tournament who can do what I have done. You know, I'm the only world champion from the Southern Hemisphere. No one had achieved what I had achieved in the race before me. So I'm destined to be on a different level than many others. ”
Mark Selby won his fourth World Championship title by beating Sean Murphy 18-15 in last year's World Championship final, while also equaling Higgins' record, for which John Higgins described Selby as "the best player of all time".
Higgins said: "Is he the best player of all time? If you have to ask that question now, it's amazing that he can win four titles by such strict standards today. He's played so hard in so many innings. ”
We seem to live in a country full of fantasies where everyone is quick to tell everyone on social media what their dogs and cats look like, whether it's a regular beach vacation or getting a new job, can be a "great" event in their lives.
In modern society, people are just eager to talk about personal success, but have never emphasized failure. This side shows that everyone has a strong sense of uneasiness about reality. O'Sullivan, on the other hand, remained vigilant in the midst of these cries.
He felt that people were too eager to give the word "great" to a player, without considering the rich historical significance of the World Championships since 1977.
By today's standards, O'Sullivan, along with Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, could be candidates on the "best of all time" thesis by winning enough of the "big three" titles as the other two.
Turning professional in 1992, O'Sullivan has so far won six World Championships, seven Masters and seven British Championships. Hendry has won seven world titles, six Masters and five British Championships, and Davis' achievements have come last among the three of them, with six World Championships, three Masters and six British Championships.
Higgins (4 World Championships, 2 Masters and 3 British Champions) and Selby (4 World Championships, 3 Masters and 2 British Championships) were close behind with nine "Three Series" titles, while Robertson (1 World Championship winner, 2 Masters champions and 3 British Championship winners) became the last "best ever" candidate.
In sports, there is always a slight difference between confidence and arrogance, but some might say that you need to reconcile the two in time to become a strong contender in such a brutal environment as the World Championships.
For most people, the World Championships are a torturous experience, and you may be forced to sit in a chair and watch others play without achieving anything yourself.
At least in golf, you won't rely on another guy making a mistake to give yourself a chance to get started before you hit a shot.
Taking golf as an example, Jack Nicklaus (18 Grand Slams) and Tiger Woods (15 Grand Slams) are widely regarded as the two greatest players in history, and O'Sullivan feels there must be a computational node for prolific winners.
In an interview with Eurosport, O'Sullivan said: "Sometimes the word 'great' is easily tongued. So if they start calling certain golfers great golfers, then they need to invent a new word for Woods. ”
"If they start saying that certain snooker players are great snooker players, then they need to invent a new word for Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and myself."
"So that's a tricky question, isn't it?' Where did history begin and end? There must be a compute node, the kind that only one or two people can be put into this range. ”
"In golf, the 'best ever' are Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. After that, you can't have anyone else. ”
"Unless they ruled the sport for 20 years and won at least 15 Grand Slams, no one should be allowed into this discussion." This is the meaning of 'the best in history'. ”
"So I think you have to admit there's another level, and then maybe you can put them in that level." But it's very difficult, and I don't think who is the 'best in history' is for you to figure out. ”
"I think that's the category that should be put in the hands of other people, and as an athlete you should humbly say, 'No, that's not something I should be talking about.'" ”
"It should be something that experts do, and fans who have watched sports over the years will decide if you earn the title."
In the past six months, Robertson has won four titles: the English Open, the Masters, the Players' Championship and the Tour Championship. Although Robertson lost to O'Sullivan in the World Grand Prix final, it was enough to prove his outstanding position as a favourite seed at the World Championships.
O'Sullivan thought, "I see. A lot of people say 'oh, he (Robertson) is a great player'. Well, no, he's a very, very good player, but to be a great, great player, you have to be dominant for at least 20 years, at the top year after year. ”
"You probably have to have at least 12 or 13 major titles. It has to be said that Davis is a dividing point, he has 6 World Championships, 6 British Championships and 3 Masters. So yeah, I said you need to win 15 'big three' titles to be classified as great players. Otherwise, you're not qualified to join this discussion, man. ”
Between 1986 and 2012, Hendry played 90 games in Crucible, winning 70 of them and lifting the trophy seven times in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999. O'Sullivan, on the other hand, tied Hendry's record with 70 wins in 92 games between 1993 and 2022. If O'Sullivan can reach the quarter-finals this year, he will overtake Hendry as the player with the most wins at the World Championships.
O'Sullivan said: "I don't know, but it will be another good record. I'm not driven by records, I'm for enjoyment, for pleasure, really just for the pleasure of it. ”
"I love playing, I like it more than I used to, so when I enjoy it, when I'm still in the contenders, when I can still perform at a certain level, why not?"
O'Sullivan was recently accused by Iran's Hussein Wafi of "disrespecting" the sport and urging him to "retire" in a surprising way. As we all know, O'Sullivan is not a person who is willing to listen to criticism, and he wants to add to his already glorious six-crown resume.
O'Sullivan said: "When I was young, I just wanted to go there [Crucible] and experience it once, but going there year after year was already remarkable. ”
"There was a time in 2012 when I thought I might have to play qualifying, and that year I managed to win the championship. It was clear that Crucible had brought dramatic changes to me. You know that winning the World Championship can turn your season around and even turn your career around. ”
"It can turn a bad year into an absolutely wonderful one. In three weeks someone will be on top of the world, hoping that person will be me. ”