The greatest 25 snooker players of all time

Telegraph

04-05-2025

Who are the greatest snooker players ever? It is not easy to compare eras and, while century breaks are off the charts now compared to yesteryear, that has been aided by modern tables, balls and cues, which have made manoeuvring and splitting up the balls easier.
Great players also adapt and you can only judge any sportsperson within the environment they find themselves. This is a list of the 'greatest' rather than straightforward best, and so also recognises a player's impact alongside the sheer weight of titles, particularly in the three 'major' Triple Crown events of the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.
25. Stuart Bingham (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
A prolific break builder who has won both the World Championship and Masters. Just edges out the legendary John Pulman – world champion from 1957 and 1968 in a period only of infrequent challenger matches – to make the list.
24. Mark Allen (World titles: 0 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
Has won 11 world-ranking events and reached the top of the world rankings during the sport's most competitive era but yet to reach a Crucible final.
23. Paul Hunter (World titles: 0 / Triple Crown wins: 3)
Lit up snooker with a hat-trick of Masters titles and looked set to challenge the Class of '92 before being so cruelly taken by cancer.
22. Ken Doherty (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 1)
Came closest with Joe Johnson to breaking the Crucible curse by reaching the final on his title defence. Ended Stephen Hendry's five-year unbeaten World Championship streak to become champion in 1997 and reached a further seven Triple Crown finals.
21. Dennis Taylor (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
The winner of the most famous match in snooker history in the 'black-ball final' in 1985 and also staged a stirring comeback two years later to win the Masters 9-8 after trailing Alex Higgins 8-5.
20. Peter Ebdon (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
One of the toughest match players of all-time who extracted the very most from his ability, not least when he achieved his dream by beating Hendry in a dramatic Crucible final-frame decider in 2002.
19. John Parrott (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
Came through with Jimmy White and Hendry as part of a new generation of more attacking players who ultimately superseded Steve Davis in the Nineties. Achieved the rare calendar feat of winning the World and UK Championships in 1991 and was beaten three times by Hendry in the final of the Masters.
18. Ding Junhui (World titles: 0 / Triple Crown wins: 4)
Among the very best players to never win the world title, despite reaching the final and accumulating 15 world-ranking titles, including three UK Championship titles. His place in the top 20 also owes to his vast importance in the development of Chinese snooker since turning professional more than 20 years ago.
17. Terry Griffiths (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 3)
Burst on to the scene in 1979 when he became the first qualifier to win the World Championship, and is among the select group of snooker greats to have won each of the Triple Crown events. One of the soap-opera cast of characters that made up snooker's boom-time period of the 1980s and even appeared on Top of the Pops, performing with Chas & Dave on the song Snooker Loopy.
16: Cliff Thorburn (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 4)
Nicknamed 'the grinder' for his hardened match play and safety game, Thorburn was also part of two of the great Crucible moments. In 1980, he became the first world champion from outside Great Britain by beating Higgins 18-16 in a match that famously coincided with the siege of the Iranian Embassy. 'From one Embassy to another,' famously remarked Ted Lowe during the interrupted BBC coverage. Thorburn became even better known in 1983 for becoming the first player to make a 147-maximum break at the Crucible.
15. John Spencer (World titles: 3 / Triple Crown wins: 4)
The first Crucible champion in 1977, Spencer made it a hat-trick of world title wins that year after previous victories in 1969 and 1971. These first two wins came before the emergence of a modern era headed by Ray Reardon and then Steve Davis but he remained competitive well into the Eighties. An excellent potter, Spencer also won the Masters title in 1975 and a hat-trick of Pot Black crowns in the Seventies at a time when it was one of the most-watched events.
14. Fred Davis (World titles: 8 / Triple crown wins: 8)
The World Championship was dominated by Joe Davis between the two World Wars and then his brother Fred – the only player to beat Joe in a competitive match – immediately after the Second World War. His rivalry with Walter Donaldson, with whom he contested eight world finals, was among the best in the sport's history. Fred reached his first world final against Joe in 1940 and was amazingly still good enough to make a Crucible semi-final, aged 68, in 1978 when he defeated John Virgo, Dennis Taylor and Patsy Fagan in the early rounds.
13. Jimmy White (World titles: 0 / Triple Crown wins: 2)
An argument could be made to place White both higher and lower on the list. In terms of influence on modern snooker, he stands only with Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hendry, Davis and Higgins among the five most important personalities. Famously never won the world title, but six Crucible finals have been bettered by only the top four players on this list. While those matches did expose fatal flaws, he also often had the misfortune to run into great champions in their prime. Inherited the 'People's Champion' title from Higgins (before passing it to O'Sullivan), and a winner of 10 ranking events as well as two-thirds of snooker's Triple Crown.
12. Shaun Murphy (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 4)
A proud member of the select group of 11 players who have won each of the Triple Crown majors. Murphy won the last Embassy-sponsored World Championship 20 years ago and has reached a further three finals since. An aggressive potter and break builder, he has twice won the Masters, including this year. Murphy still remains among the best players in the world and has seldom fallen out of the top eight in the world rankings for two solid decades.
11. Neil Robertson (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 6)
A real contender for the top 10 but just ultimately edged out by Judd Trump and Higgins. Has won every major tournament and currently stands fourth on the all-time list of century makers (behind only O'Sullivan, Trump and John Higgins) and seventh among the most prolific winners of ranking events with 25 titles. Only one World Championship final appearance – which he won in 2010 – does not reflect his wider quality of a player who remains the most successful from outside Great Britain in all snooker history.
10. Judd Trump (World titles: 1 / Triple Crown wins: 5)
Neil Robertson has more Triple Crown wins. John Spencer has three times as many world championships and Jimmy White played in more finals. But Trump has dominated snooker beyond just the major tournaments in recent times – winning 30 ranking titles – and he plays with a very special flair. He stands behind only O'Sullivan among century makers and the level he reached in winning the 2019 World Championship was arguably the best in snooker history. Will surely move further up this list.
9. Alex Higgins (World titles: 2 / Triple Crown wins: 5)
An inspirational genius whose unpredictable and volatile personality added an X-factor to snooker that helped transform the sport's popularity. Should have won more in the years between his two World Championship victories in 1972 and 1982 but an entertainer whose real impact was felt far beyond the major tournament wins. As well as his five Triple Crown wins, he reached a further eight finals.
8. Mark Williams (World titles: 3 / Triple Crown wins: 7)
Came through with O'Sullivan and John Higgins in 1992 and, almost 30 years later, still among the very best players in the world. A brilliant single-ball potter who is also a very good break builder and safety player. His greatest attribute, though, is his temperament. Has a carefree approach to life that makes him superb under pressure and able to move on instantly from any mistake and setback.
7. Ray Reardon (World titles: 6 / Triple Crown wins: 7)
His wins in the Triple Crown events are reduced by the fact that the UK Championship and Masters were launched towards the end of his prime years. Dominant during the early 1970s after coming to snooker relatively late in life, largely thanks to a brilliant tactical game but also his aura and big-match mentality. He later also coached O'Sullivan and was good enough to still be making century breaks right up until his death in the summer of 2024, aged 91.
6. Mark Selby (World titles: 4 / Triple Crown wins: 9)
Has there been a less obvious nickname for a snooker player than Selby's 'Jester from Leicester' moniker? But has there ever been a player better suited for snooker's long-distance marathon at the Crucible? So difficult to play against, largely because of his now unusually methodical approach, but also underrated as a potter and break builder. Also one of the mentally strongest players who is formidable under pressure and never knows when he is beaten.
5. Joe Davis (World titles 15 / Triple Crown wins: 15 – no Masters or UK Championship during his career)
Not easy to place, but that does not mean we should not try. Yes, today's modern players have taken the sport to new standards of break building on much faster tables, but greats from former eras would adapt and Davis was truly extraordinary. Unbeaten in the World Championship between 1927 and 1946 when he won 15 titles. He was defeated in just a handful of competitive matches during his entire career without giving a start, and then only against brother Fred. Also the first snooker player both to make a 100 and maximum 147 break. His book on snooker technique also remains a reference to the modern greats like O'Sullivan.
4. John Higgins (World titles: 4 / Triple Crown wins: 9)
A wonderful all-round player who, at his best, is close to unplayable. Third only to O'Sullivan and Trump on the all-time century list but an even more feared tactician and competitor. Only Hendry, O'Sullivan and Steve Davis have played in more than his seven Crucible finals and, like O'Sullivan and Williams, has achieved his success over an extraordinarily long period that now spans more than 30 years.
3. Steve Davis (World titles: 6 / Triple Crown wins: 13)
His achievements are sometimes obscured by his modesty in the BBC commentary box but, in style, Davis was the Mark Selby of the green baize during the boom-time years of the 1980s. A percentage player who accumulated most of his titles in a similarly short span of ruthless dominance as Hendry. Still the only player from his sport to win the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, he also finished in the top three five times in that award voted for by the British public.
2. Stephen Hendry (World titles: 7 / Triple Crown wins: 18)
A winning machine during the late 1990s whose dominance of the sport was far more tightly congested than O'Sullivan. Amassed the longest winning streak at the Crucible between 1992 and 1996 before regaining the title in 1999 during a tournament that included an incredible semi-final win when the Rocket was also flying. At his absolute best, Hendry's attacking courage under the most intense pressure would take him close against O'Sullivan.
1. Ronnie O'Sullivan (World titles: 7 / Triple Crown wins: 23)
Universally regarded as the greatest ever, with any doubts settled after he won his seventh world title amid such emotional scenes in 2022. O'Sullivan has set every other meaningful record for tournaments won and century breaks across a career that has seen him win the biggest titles over a remarkable span of more than three decades. Has also achieved everything while playing in a peerlessly fluent and entertaining way that has been utterly crucial to snooker's wider popularity. His 147 break in a little over five minutes may never be bettered.