Original title: Facts speak louder than words! It is an indisputable fact that O'Sullivan's comprehensive strength is far better than Hendry!
"Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan is the best player in the history of world snooker, he not only has the best talent, but also has the most dazzling ranking and three tournament victories, and is also the most popular player among fans. Unlike O'Sullivan, Hendry was the ruler of snooker in the 90s, and he was also the unprecedented king of Cruzburg. To this day, the debate between him and O'Sullivan over who is stronger has never ended. So let's explore today who is the strongest player in the history of snooker. In terms of competitiveness, O'Sullivan can face three generations of players without falling behind, while Hendry has directly declined since entering 2000. In terms of head-to-head records, O'Sullivan is clearly ahead of Hendry, and O'Sullivan's current achievements are also higher than Hendry's.
O'Sullivan is far more competitive than Hendry
From an objective point of view, O'Sullivan is far more competitive than Hendry. On the one hand, O'Sullivan is the player who can be at the peak of his career in 28 years. On the other hand, O'Sullivan is in a much better competitive environment than Hendry, and his achievements are higher than Hendry's. Most of Hendry's career path was accomplished between 1990 and 1999, and after entering 2000, Hendry could no longer reap the glory of the top competition. From 2000 to 2004, Hendry was still at the peak of his career, and he even reached the world's number one position in 2002. The direct reason why he cannot continue to achieve good results is that his ability can no longer adapt to the competition of the new era. However, O'Sullivan is the one who won the world championship in 2020, which is why O'Sullivan is far more competitive than Hendry.
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O'Sullivan has a strong head-to-head record against Hendry
In O'Sullivan's record against Hendry, O'Sullivan has a 53% win rate with 30 wins, 5 draws and 21 defeats, while Hendry has a record of 21 wins, 5 draws and 30 defeats with a win rate of only 37%. At the peak of Hendry's career, from 1993 to 2004, O'Sullivan had a slight advantage with a record of 21 wins, 2 draws and 19 defeats. Even at the height of his career, O'Sullivan was only slightly behind Hendry with 11 wins, two draws and 13 defeats. In addition, O'Sullivan's first British Championship title was won by Hendry, you know, Hendry at that time can be described as the sky. In the final match between O'Sullivan and Hendry, the two sides met a total of 13 times, and O'Sullivan had a clear advantage with a record of 9 wins and 4 losses. Since O'Sullivan's debut, Hendry has never had any advantages, let alone face O'Sullivan, who is in his prime.
It's an indisputable fact that O'Sullivan is far ahead of Hendry
In the eyes of many players who have played against O'Sullivan and Hendry, O'Sullivan's strength is definitely far better than Hendry's. In the mid-'90s, O'Sullivan was confused for five or six years, but even then, he only lost twice more than Hendry, and O'Sullivan was guaranteed a championship every year. This ability is unprecedented, and even Hendry is not capable of doing it. Whether it is talent or personal comprehensive strength, O'Sullivan is clearly better than Hendry. The main reason why Hendry became a snooker ruler in the 90s was that his opponents were not really able to match him. However, when O'Sullivan was in his prime, Mark Williams and Higgins were both at the pinnacle of their careers, interspersed with players such as Stevens, Hunter, Ding Junhui, and Robertson. So when you put Hendry in the arena today, he certainly won't get what he used to do, because the competition is more brutal today than the competition he used to face. The current player is more accurate, the defense is better, and when he faces today's competition, he may even have a hard time playing the Selby level. It can be seen that O'Sullivan's strength is indeed stronger than Hendry.