Maybe Mark winning in 2018 is the difference? I thought 3 of John's wins were in the era when there were few tournaments and the standard was lower, it flatters him a bit. The last 10 years has been a higher standard, as players are sharper, with so many tournaments.
@@danielmould3543 Except he didn't accept bribes. He was guilty of not letting the snooker authorities know that someone had asked him to fix non-tour matches. He served his ban, that I thought was too short at the time.
@@serenityinside1 6x world championship finalist and won everything else. Successful in my book and a darn sight more talented than the robotic Steve D and personality vacuum that was Hendry
Really great commentary, you can tell how much Jimmy loves the game still, I would have put John higher, in my mind the top 5 would go Ronnie, Hendry, Davis, John Higgins and then Selby
Absolutely agree with you! When Ronnie O' Sullivan says what he says about Higgins, you know he is on top of the game! But who am I to disagree with Jimmy White! :p
@@stitcha123 Higgins is easily top 4 not just 5 a class all round snooker player but there can only be 1 goat and that's the rocket 🚀 the absolute genius himself 🇮🇪 🍀
John Higgins, Selby and Williams have all won a lot more thsn Alex Higgins and White, including at least 3 world titles each (11 world titles between the 3 of them), yet ridiculously people still believe that Alex Higgins and White are both better. How people believe White along with Alex Higgins has risen up the all time list since 2000 it beggers belief. Reardon and Spencer get a raw deal. Rhet both won a world title at the Crucible like Alex Higgins did. Shouldn't Reardon be placed 4th greatest of all time with his 6 world titles, and Spencer with 3 world titles also higher than both Alex Higgins and White (he never even won one) instead of Alex Higgins 4th and White 5th greatest of all time according to some. Nobody can potentially be the 2nd greatest of all time by not winning a world championship title sfter making the final for a few years with pñayers either side of that period won a few world titles apiece deemed nowhere nesr as good. Ridiculous. Winning a few world tirtles is better than winning none.
Ronnie Hendry Steve Davis John Higgins Williams Alex Higgins Jimmy White These have been the defining players of the last 40 years, the reason why people have tuned in to watch. These wonderful entertainers have made the sport and given enjoyment to so many spectators.
LOL you really don't watch snooker if you think Jimmy is better than Mark Selby, You are rating him higher than Selby, Williams and even Neil Robertson. Those three players alone are light years ahead of Jimmy
@@wad6216 I’m talking about the entertainment factor these players provide and their role in raising the profile/popularity of the game, not just their achievements. Most people would rather watch paint dry than sit through a Selby match 😴. Williams is a fantastic watch and Robertson is terrific break builder, I wholeheartedly agree with you on those two.
The disrespect to Mark Selby is ridiculous. He is for sure one of the greatest players of all time, and this nonsense about his matches being boring.. his battles with Ronnie O'Sullivan over the years are some of the most entertaining games of snooker the sport has ever seen. He's an absolutely brilliant ambassador for the sport
Love Jimmy's take on things. He was my favourite player to watch . Pity he never won the WSC. But still one of the best players ever .Nice to see Joe Davis in there as well.
Disagree, it's an insult to John Higgins who's clearly the 3rd best player in the game has ever seen. Selby and Williams are not worthy to be in the same boat as him. Ronnie and Hendry even said Higgins is one of the greatest of all time and Ronnie even puts John aboe himself which shows how humble Ronnie is. I always thought Higgins always had the all round game where as Ronnie took more time to mature. But, Ronnie has proved that he's the greatest of all time. Hendry was the best of all time for the period that he dominated, although some would argue thaty his competition was much lesser than Ronniie and Higgins. I'd put Selby 4th becaues he's standard of play is better than Davis but then again Davis was able to win a lot of games in one visit. It's very tight but I think Selby and Davis in their prime would be amazing to watch. Williams has to be next, he's career was so up and down, he was known to be a very flipent careless player but can turn it on when he wants too. He's a limited player like me like Mark Allen but uses his short game to his advantage. People say he's a great long potter. I don't know where they get that from bercaue that was always his weakness. If he potted more long balls he'd have won more tournaments. Trump for me is better than Selby and Williams hands down, and is closer to Higgins in my book, but his main weakness is long matches like the Masters, the World Championship and the UK Championship. If Trump can build stronger stamina and endurance he can go on to be one of the all time greats if not the greatest. He makes the game look like it's been played on a three by four childs snooker table. If Ray Reardon had met Jimmy White need perfected his saftey game to make him impregnable, then Jimmy could have won four or five world titles in my book he was that good. Robertson is another amazing player with the potential to be huge but his focus is weak in the long tournaments a very similar player to Trump in that regard.
@@iwannadrinkfromyourwideeye2635 Reardon in the 1982 world champuonship final only lost 18-15 to an Alex Higgins you wouldn't think was at an age of him being past it afterwards (Taylor and Johnson both won the world title older than Alex Higgins did in 1982), so had it not been for that clearance by Higgins, there's no way anybody back then could say White would have been guaranteed to beat Reardon definitely for sure the way some were claiming. Reardon even at 49 would still have been in with a good chance of winning the final vs White in 1982. White was raw tactically and was only 15-14 up against Higgins in the semi final in any case. It's only the naive who claim it waa one or the other to be the champion in that White vs Higgins semi final. Trump 1-3 vs Williams and Trump 1-4 vs Selby in terms of world championship titles won at the Crucible is proof that Williams and Selby are both better than Trump. At least 2 world titles difterence is one of the major determining factors in terms of assessing how great one player is compared with another.
I've only ever shook the hand of one famous person in my life and it was the legend Jimmy White..... a legend and a bloody Good man. You can't argue with any of that .... I don't think I ever wanted a sports person to win a world title as much as jimmy White....
Swap the two Higgins round and that's spot on, Alex deserves to be on the gamechangers row at the bottom but Johns achievements have to pip the Hurricane into the row above (I say this as a big fan of Alex too)
I am no snooker expert at all but really enjoyed over the years and was a big fan of Jimmy White . Sorry if this has been said before , but I'm sure he is turning into his best mate Ronnie Wood ! They look like brothers to me !!
I was only about 10-12 or so when I first got into Snooker and Jimmy was by miles my favourite player. It used to annoy me my friend at school was a big Hendry fan and he used to win all the time
@@alanchamberlain9902 Williams isn't on John Higgins level, he'd even tell you that himself. John Higgins has been the 3rd best player of all time with only Hendry and Ronnie in front of him. Steve Davis took the game to a new level, then Hendry and then Ronnie and John and then Trump and Selby came along.
Good point. I expect he probably had a better than 50% win ratio over Alex Higgins, who is really the only other great of his period. I think he even got the better of Steve Davis a couple of times.... which is saying something.
I'd have him behind Selby, but above Williams. I'd have Neil Robertson and Judd Trump in there, both above Jimmy White. It's all nonsense, as Joe Davis could be the best, as he played on a thick cold cloth, with heavier balls, in a smoke filled room, conditions that most modern players couldn't cope with. I'd also like to see how modern players coped with the amount of vodka Alex Higgins drank😂
During their peak days I felt Williams dominated/had the wood on Higgins. So although I've got Higgins ahead can completely accept Williams ahead. Williams in 2003 was incredible
@@ВИЛЬГЕЛЬМТЕЛЛЬ-ф7ш Да, досадно, что Хендри не выиграл еще один титул чемпиона мира после этого, он действительно должен был выиграть его в 2002 году, также должен был выиграть чемпионат Великобритании в 2003 году, возможно, если бы он отказался брать на себя какие-то слишком амбициозные длинные поты, он мог бы выиграть выиграл еще несколько титулов.
John Higgins should be a lot higher IMO. He’s the one I’d put into bat if I needed someone to win a frame to save my life. He’s second behind Ronnie for me. Yes Hendry & Davis have more world titles but John is competing in an era with Ronnie, Selby & Williams.
@@kopteri because Higgins is widely accepted as the best all round player there has been. Ronnie could effortlessly win you that frame for your life with a 147, but when it becomes a safety battle or a pressure clearance is needed I’d want John in my corner over everyone else.
@@kopteri that’s exactly my point. In a one of frame I think John’s superior safety and match play will force a mistake out of Ronnie first, and John is still one of the best at making a clearance, before Ronnie could force a mistake from John. If you were asking who I would want to make a clearance for my life it would be Ronnie.
John Higgins should never be aloud to touch a table ever again. Got caught bang to rights ready take money to throw a game. Who knows how many he did before that??? Stephen Lee gets a 10 year ban over what was just videos off shots. Where is the justice??? I don't care how good Higgins is in my opinion he should never have played the game again professionally
@@leeoliver6404 the reason why Lee got banned is because he was proven to have thrown matches on multiple occasions … the reason Higgins only got a few month is because he said he would do it but was never proven to have done it that’s the difference but I agree his ban should of been longer
@lee Oliver calm down, John was offered money to lose certain frames, not necessarily to lose matches, he was illegally entrapped by journalists, that is the reason the punishment could not be more severe.
As it's impossible to compare say Joe Davis Vs any other modern day player I would love to put the modern players into an older table with old style balls and cue's. Be great to see how they would get on , Then some comparison could possibly be made between old v modern players. I'm a big Joe Davis fan he was so ahead of his time and really put snooker on the map.
@@Patthis67 Yes he omits Neil Robertson to indulge himself in the list lol. On no planet in a universe is Jimmy White better than Robertson. He also had an ego Jimmy though. He is a great player but just outside this list. I'd argue he scrapes in at number 10 if it was top 10 of all time. Also trying to justify he lost two titles to Hendry in the WC that were his is BS. Stephen could argue the same to when he lost to Ebdon in the final decider in the WC 2003 but he would never do that.
Interesting analysis! I did see Joe Davis play when I was a nipper (black and white TV) and loved it. Didn't they play with much heavier balls at the time, difficult to spin? It was said that in exhibitions Joe could put a hankerchief on the table and always land the cue ball on it from any (billiards) position. A bit easier now with modern composite balls I think.
Selby is nowhere near Trumps level for me, and Trump's weakness is in the longer tournaments which is Selbys' strength. If Trump ups his safety game he could become the greatest of all time he's that good. Having said that, Selby has the temperment to get another four world titles to get to 8th. Higgins for me is clearly the 3rd greatest player of all time, he's been to so many world titles and has over 30 ranking titles. He and Hendry had the best alround game for me but Ronnie took longer to mature in that regard. Now Ronnie is a much better player because of Ray Reardon tighting up his safety game.
Selby's safety hasn't worked out too well for Selby as Ronnie has beaten him 19 times with Selby only beating Ronnie 11 times. Ronnie plays the riskier type of game which is why he wins so much. Ronnie is the true master, he's won all those triple crowns in an era that saw Hendry, Higgins, Davis, Williams, Trump, Selby, Robertson, Ding, and Murphy. Bingham, McGuire, and Mark Allen. Hat's off to Selby though, because he's one of those players that I don't want Ronnie to draw in a tournament. Mark is one of the all-time greats and out of Trump, Robertson, and Selby, I think Selby is the one that can get seven world titles. He won't beat Ronnies tripple crown record, but he could match the 7 world titles.
@@iwannadrinkfromyourwideeye2635 I agree with you that Trump is more skillful than Selby. But I was talking of the safety play. And there I think Selby is one up on Trump
Ronnie O' Sullivan has made over 1200 centuries in tournament play. It's mind blowing to think he's probably made at a very conservative view, at least double that on a practice table. So at the very least 3600 centuries. To think most people who play snooker, their whole lives, I include myself btw, have never even made a single century, that's just untouchable. Ronnie has to be the G.O.A.T 😀
Judd should be in the conversation. On the third tier at least. When he’s playing people tune in to witness moments of magic. Like we did back in the day for Jimmy & Alex. He’s won a decent amount of ranking titles too.
Too early for Judd, he really hasn't achieved enough in the triple crowns to get on the list. He's a proven winner of ranking events so it's not a lack of talent, maybe bottle or match IQ? But no, Judd isn't on that list yet. Look again in ten years.
Jimmy should have had coaching from Ray Reardon, he wouldn't have changed his cue action or style, he'd have sorted his mindset. Ray reardon and Joe Davis need to be in front of selby
@salsabil44 I've watched Ray Reardon many times and he's had loads of century breaks, his safety play was first class, he coached Ronnie and helped him win a world title, he made Ronnie impregnable, his words. Reardon was a winner and won 6 titles. He's a legend, Jimmy whites style has changed since the early 80s. Watch some footage, I was lucky enough to see it at that time. Jimmy had his natural game coached out of him. He's slowed himself down and changed his timing. He's never had a solid mentality of Reardon, Hendry or Davis.
@salsabil44 to do what he did with the cloth and balls of that time was astonishing especially Alex Higgins with the amount of spin he generated, but the main thing is knowledge, Jimmy could have used this to his advantage as Ronnie did.
@@salsabil44 Do you know what the conditions were like back in the '70s regarding cloths etc? Take the players of today back to that era and they wouldn't be banging in the centuries anything like they do nowadays.
Exactly, 4 time world champion and 3rd most winner of ranking titles. Also think Judd Trump should be up there as he is already so high up in the lists of records and done so in such a short time.
@@timb9249 Judd and also Neil Robertson should both be in the top 10. Phenomenal scorers the pair of them, and both won the World title, something that, no disrespect to Jimmy, he never achieved.
@@ron200088 It should be titled Jimmy's 'favourite' snooker players not 'greatest' players!! Let's be honest, you have to question the ranking method when it includes bringing a baby onto the table.... 🤣
Top guy jimmy.....I met the legend at the dogs in Wimbledon as a teen -he just lost to davis I got him a drink said it was an honour to meet him an asked "do us a favour next time ya play Steve ya gota win " and he did - lovely humble legend
By the way Jimmy was my favourite player when I was a boy 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 I cried like a baby when he lost to Hendry when he misses the black broke my heart but still allways loved Jim ☘️
Hi, I'm Jimmy White and I'm such a huge fan of ROS, hence the question I was asked "who was your most difficult opponent"? I had to answer ROS although I lost 4 finals to Steven Hendry at the Crucible.
Also it was a different era,when Jimmy was at the top of his game in the 80s Ronnie wasn't about,yes Ronnie turned pro in 92 when Jimmy was still at the top but Ronnie wasn't anywhere near his best till he got older and more mature. The facts are that a prime Jimmy never played a prime Ronnie..
But I saw and heard this with my own eyes and ears approx. 3-4 years ago on Eurosport, I think it was in an interview with Andy Goldstein - of course I was absolutely gutted to hear Jimmy say this - and of course it's hard to find this online as there are thousands of videos of them on youtube and other media.
When you think about it Joe Davis never had coaching and invited the very technique’s coach’s teach today, he was the first player to hit 147, and the balls were heavier back then so a lot of the shots players play today were impossible play back then, his 147 was so much harder, he did that almost 30 years before anyone ever hit a nine dart 501 which most people consider easier to do, I guess what I’m saying is respect your elders lol
O'Sullivan took 30 years to win 7 WC. One year he never played so he had 29 attempts to win 7. Hendry had 10 attempts and converted 7 of them. Hendry was in a different league. Of course O'Sullivan is a wonderful player. But the facts don't lie.
@@Kornhulio18 tbf O'Sulivan turned pro in 92 and never managed to get to a world final in the 90's if I'm not mistaken, Hendry was dominating all through the 90's.
@@brians9954 Doesn't matter in my opinion when you win your first title. Ronnie has won 7 in the most competitive era of all time and has the most majors (21). The debate who is the greatest is over...
@@Kornhulio18 I was merely pointing out that Ronnie couldn't do it in Henry's hey day oh and also if it was at a lower level then why did it take him so long? Anyway I actually think Ronnie is the best snooker player of all time due to longevity! However both in there pomp I'm taking Hendry.
Jimmy 🇮🇪 the only player in history of the game if he was playing your dad mum son daughter brother sister gran grandad an wife at the same time you'd still want him to win ☘️
@@johnmc3862 Hendry is the reason the game is played the way it is and has been since his prime. I remember him saying, “I’d rather lose a frame by missing a pot than playing a poor safety”. Summed him up and the likes of Ronnie and most who have arrived since have emulated or tried to emulate his aggressive style of play.
@@johnmc3862 Hendry is the reason the game is played the way it is and has been since his prime. I remember him saying, “I’d rather lose a frame by missing a pot than playing a poor safety”. Summed him up and the likes of Ronnie and most who have arrived since have emulated or tried to emulate his aggressive style of play.
I’ll always remember the 2017 final vs Selby, yes John bottled it a bit but only after Selby bored the life out of him. They have the same amount of world titles but theirs only one winner. Higgins still respects safety and can grind it out but selby goes beyond that, to the point of gamesmanship sometimes.
Mark also beat Ronnie in WSC final, but no one says that Mark better than Ronnie. By the way, till last year John was the only one who beat Mark in WSC final. Mark is only 40 now and he's already lose in final to the guy who never won anything big before and still can't reach at least quarterfinals of ranking event after, and John was 42 when he lose to 34 yo Mark who was already multiple times World, UK and Masters champion then. So don't you think that compare these two in one match, when Mark was at his prime and John was in two decades from his prime isn't fair? With all due respect to Mark, prime Higgins was far better than him, and if they met in their primes, John would have won this easily.
Ronnie,hendry,Davis,Higgins,selby ,jimmy my top 6 love jimmy was just unlucky to keep running into a phenomenal prime Hendry in world finals should of won 2 of those
if Fred Davis got to the worlds semi final in 1978 and Joe was a better player, then it's a bit harsh to put joe last I am sure he would have faired really well in the modern game Apart from that I agree with most of your picks Jimmy
Hard to find someone with a more informed opinion than Jimmy White. I agree with everything he said, though it was generous of him to put John Higgins on the list at all considering what happened in Ukraine. I guess White didn't have much choice, though, considering that Higgins was never truly held to account for it.
What are you talking about? You do Realise that John Higgins never got done for match fixing cause he never actually fixed any games. He got done for failing to report that he was approached to throw matches. He said he only agreed to get out of an awkward situation and even if that's not true and he was seriously considering taking the money THE FACTS are that he never actually went through with it. After all,it's only words and if you got done for words most of us would be in jail ,cause we've all said stuff like " I'll kill you " but most of us never went through with it and killed anyone. So why should he have been punished more? All he did was not report the incident, he was punished for that,paid his fine and served his ban,so that's that.
Cause those of us who actually follow snooker know that he never fixed any matches nor did he get done for match fixing. He got done for failing to report that he was approached to throw matches. He said he only agreed to get out of an awkward situation, even if that's a lie and he was considering it,the facts are that he never went through with it. After all it was only talk and all of us have said " I'll kill you " at some point but we haven't actually killed anyone. Big difference in not reporting that you've been asked to fix games and actually excepting money to throw matches
@@karlpreston3416 No,it's NOT my opinion, IT'S FACTS,it's what happened. It's A FACT that he was done for not reporting he was approached, IT'S A FACT that he was investigated and no evidence of throwing any matches,IT'S A FACT that there was no money traced ( that's how Stephen Lee was caught ) IT'S A FACT that no witnesses came forward to say he'd cheated. So it's GOT NOTHING to do with mine or your personal opinions, IT'S FACTS and you can't argue with facts
@@karlpreston3416 I never said that you said he was caught for match fixing, I was just pointing out the facts because you did say that it was my opinion. So I responded by saying that it wasn't my opinion but the actual facts of what happened and in this case even if he had been considering taking the money ,at the end of the day he never went through with it
Couple of things wrong here: You put yourself in (never do this come on) Williams ahead of Higgins Yourself ahead of Joe Davis Other than that, it's alright.
Steve Davis always reminds me of Mark Selby, very similar in their methods. Jimmy is similar to Mark Williams but took less risks hence is more successful. Joe introduced the game; Reardon made it known as a serious game; Davis brought in the professionalism in it; Alex gave it flair; Jimmy gave it sex appeal; Hendry raised the bar for the modern game we see today; Ronnie has applied it the best.
yeah I'd agree with that list.. even remember poor ol Jim missing that black against Hendry.. he was so so close to winning it.. and it's such a shame such a brilliant player didn't manage it.. but Jimmy was a joy to watch when he was on form..👍
At last, Ray Reardon gets included ! He was an important figure in his hayday, was the link between the old and new style of snooker, he deserves more respect 😁
My top 10: 1.) Big Bill Werbeniuk (best player drunk) 2.) Cliff thorburn (first 147 in WC) 3.) Kirk Stevens (first 147 in Masters) 4.) Dennis Taylor (beat Steve Davis in his absolute prime) 5.) Toni Drago (holds record for fastest century break) 6.) Graeme Dott (amazing potting ability) 7.) Marco Fu (Legend from China) 8.) Stephen Lee (made one of the best shots of all time) 9.) Peter Ebdon (beat unbeatable Hendry in a word final) 10.) Ken Doherty (beside missing the last black for 147, he beat Hendry after Hendry won 5 WC in a row). Gave a nice day
Good stuff. Only thing number 5 is now O'Sullivan who beat Drago record relatively recently last Nov 2022 Scottish open. Century in 204 seconds beating Drago by 7 seconds at 211.
Thing is Bill Werbeniuk didn't used to get drunk - he used to drink so heavily so that it numbed a shaky nerve in his arm, but his tolerance was so high it didn't even get him tipsy!
Controversial decision was John Higgins position. I think the ban tarnished his achievements for many. I think what many don't talk about and what makes him the GOAT in my eyes in that's he's done it over 30 years. Both Hendry & Davis ruled for a decade each before better players came along. Who else can claim to stay at the top for that amount of time and still be challenging for titles?
Ronnie had this crazy winning streak when he was a youngster in qualifying for tournaments etc, then carried on beating the best players just as easy. He is the goat for sure
Jimmy knows more than me and I get the argument about the strength in depth but relentless Hendry in his prime beats them all. Ronnie is the GOAT, his record speaks for himself but if Hendry had followed Ronnie I think the record books would possibly look different. Prime Jimmy and Ronnie around the table though is what I loved to watch.
Yes, Selby won in a harder era. I'd have him above Higgins too, as Higgins won most when there were few tournaments and the standard was much lower. After Barry Hearn took over, the number of tournaments increased, the standard improved a lot and Selby has won the hard way.
My top 10 list: 1. Ronnie O'Sullivan 2. Stephen Hendry 3. John Higgins 4. Steve Davis 5. Mark Selby 6. Mark Williams 7. Ray Reardon 8. Judd Trump 9. Neil Robertson 10. Alex Higgins
Ronnie didn’t peak till 2004 onward and he hammered Hendry in the 04 and 08 finals Hendry looked depressed. Ronnie also whitewashed him the Premier League final.
I'm not sure I agree with Jimmy's assessments here. If I went by my own feeling - my preference would obviously be Hendry but if we look at the full history but I would argue that ranking Joe Davis that low denigrates how good a player he was in that era. Ronnie is a damn good snooker player but to call him the best of all time is perhaps a touch premature.
Big Hendry fan in his time, no one had come close to how good he was, O'Sullivan has surpassed that, I never thought it was possible. O'Sullivan is the GOAT.
Massive Hendry fan and being Scottish and local lad to me. He probably changed the game the most single handedly with attacking and opening the reds up. I have to agree though that Ronnie is the goat and I never thought that I'd be saying that 10 years ago. Anyone that plays snooker will understand how difficult using opposite hand is and ronnie is nearly as good, amazing.
If Ronnie is the goat how come he turned professional in 1992 and never stopped Hendry winning the world title in in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999. Hendry also the runner up in 1997. So Hendry got to the final 7 times (!) after Ronnie turned professional. Ronnie got to none. Zero WC finals in the 1990s. How the heck is he the goat? He never stopped Hendry dominating the 1990s. It's impossible for him to be better than Hendry. Hendry was at his best in the 1990s and won way more titles than O'Sullivan. That's a fact.
@@bobsmithy9024 I've posted a new message about bullshit bias.... Explains why ronnie is the goat... have a look :). It pains me to say it, I'm massive Hendry fan but ronnie been at top for longer now. Ideally I don't want him to beat Hendry records but probably going to happen and get an 8th. Hendry will always be my fav player and he is responsible for modern scoring imo.
Ray Reardon deserves to be considered, glad that he is here. I'd say though that he deserves to be above Selby, Higgins and Williams. He turned professional aged 35. Won his first world championship aged 38 and won 6 of them by the time he was 46. Won his final ranking event and was world no. 1 for the final time aged 50. People speak of O'Sullivan/Hendry's seven titles and Davis's six, but don't seem to mention Reardon's six as much. Reardon seems to get overlooked because he played his early career in snooker's 'dark age', the period between Joe Davis's mythical era and the Davis/Higgins era when snooker was first regularly televised. With the exception of Joe Davis it's sometimes as if the game started in 1980. Yet his titles were also knockout tournaments, unlike the challenge titles of the Pulman era. By the time snooker was getting daily coverage (1978ish onwards) Reardon's success had mostly passed, but he was still capable of beating top players. As late as 1988 he beat Steve Davis 5-0 in the British Open. He also likely didn't achieve nearly as much as he could have done, considering that he may have won many titles in the 1950s and 1960s.
Jimmy is always underhanded with hendry. Hendry could still argue to be the best of all time at his best I have never seen anyone play the game better even Ronnie. Ronnie has gone past him as the GOAT due to longevity
@@billycarroll385 even Hendry himself says it if Ronnie is playing his A game nobody even Hendry at his A game can beat him. However, mentally Hendry was superior especially in the era they played together. Ronnie was far from stable.
When 4 of your world titles are against a serial bottler, it undermines your greatness. Ronnie is clearly best ever for being the best over 3 generations. Winning them quickly just shows you're beating the same people. Like a heavyweight champion beating young guns at an age you should be declining.
@john wedgbury Doesn't matter who you play. Winning 5 Worlds on the spin is an absolutely unbelievable achievement that in my view doesn't get spoken about enough
5 in a row doesn't get spoken about enough, but by the age hendry, was declining, ronnie at same age had 3 worlds, and has still equalled him. Hendry is great, but still second for me. Alex should be higher for the impact he had in popularising the game for tv. Todays prize money has lots to thank alex for, I'd have him slightly higher too.
Interesting that he says he found Davis more difficult to beat over hendry.But John Higgins that low I would replace Alex Higgins and put John there but overall good list
0:00 'Hi, I'm Jimmy White and I am blind.'
I actually thought he was for a second 😂
LOL!
My first reaction was "wow, didn't even know Jimmy was blind! and he almost won a world championship!", then he continued the sentence 😂
Jimmy shouldn't be on the list. No World Champions & 2 Triple Crowns don't get you on here. Neil Robertson & Judd Trump are ahead of him.
@@Antibot2025
To be fair, Jimmy's WC defeats were to Davis and Hendry in their primes
Ich glaub Joe Davis muss höher
Amazed at how low John Higgins was ranked here. Was convinced he would take the spot to the left of Mark Williams in silver spot.
Maybe Mark winning in 2018 is the difference? I thought 3 of John's wins were in the era when there were few tournaments and the standard was lower, it flatters him a bit. The last 10 years has been a higher standard, as players are sharper, with so many tournaments.
4 worlds should be silver spot but jimmy was best mates with Alex so he's being bias
Arguably, somebody who sold out, damaging the sport and his reputation forever by accepting bribes shouldn’t be on the list at all..
@@danielmould3543 Except he didn't accept bribes. He was guilty of not letting the snooker authorities know that someone had asked him to fix non-tour matches. He served his ban, that I thought was too short at the time.
John H still owes Jimmy a drink from way back, tight git still hasn't forgotten.
You'll always be.y favourite player, Jimmy. Definitely the most entertaining player of all time.
Entertaining certainly... successful? Hardly really .
@@serenityinside1 6x world championship finalist and won everything else. Successful in my book and a darn sight more talented than the robotic Steve D and personality vacuum that was Hendry
Really great commentary, you can tell how much Jimmy loves the game still, I would have put John higher, in my mind the top 5 would go Ronnie, Hendry, Davis, John Higgins and then Selby
Couldn't agree more. I had the same order
Absolutely agree with you! When Ronnie O' Sullivan says what he says about Higgins, you know he is on top of the game! But who am I to disagree with Jimmy White! :p
I think Jimmy is basically a nice bloke!
I’d go with that.
@@stitcha123 Higgins is easily top 4 not just 5 a class all round snooker player but there can only be 1 goat and that's the rocket 🚀 the absolute genius himself 🇮🇪 🍀
Jimmy White was most people's favourite player bk in the day. What a player.
Higgins was the peoples favourite.
@@johnmc3862 I'd say both were very similar & I can't disagree everyone loved Alex Higgins too.
Steve Davis was my favourite. Ronnie's favourite too.
So sad not to see him win a World Championship
John Higgins, Selby and Williams have all won a lot more thsn Alex Higgins and White, including at least 3 world titles each (11 world titles between the 3 of them), yet ridiculously people still believe that Alex Higgins and White are both better. How people believe White along with Alex Higgins has risen up the all time list since 2000 it beggers belief. Reardon and Spencer get a raw deal. Rhet both won a world title at the Crucible like Alex Higgins did. Shouldn't Reardon be placed 4th greatest of all time with his 6 world titles, and Spencer with 3 world titles also higher than both Alex Higgins and White (he never even won one) instead of Alex Higgins 4th and White 5th greatest of all time according to some.
Nobody can potentially be the 2nd greatest of all time by not winning a world championship title sfter making the final for a few years with pñayers either side of that period won a few world titles apiece deemed nowhere nesr as good. Ridiculous. Winning a few world tirtles is better than winning none.
Ronnie
Hendry
Steve Davis
John Higgins
Williams
Alex Higgins
Jimmy White
These have been the defining players of the last 40 years, the reason why people have tuned in to watch. These wonderful entertainers have made the sport and given enjoyment to so many spectators.
These are the players I liked to watch.Alex Higgins,Stephen Henry,Jimmy white,Tony Drago,Ronnie O'Sullivan.
LOL you really don't watch snooker if you think Jimmy is better than Mark Selby, You are rating him higher than Selby, Williams and even Neil Robertson. Those three players alone are light years ahead of Jimmy
@@wad6216 I’m talking about the entertainment factor these players provide and their role in raising the profile/popularity of the game, not just their achievements. Most people would rather watch paint dry than sit through a Selby match 😴. Williams is a fantastic watch and Robertson is terrific break builder, I wholeheartedly agree with you on those two.
@@markjackson887 Well Said Mark 👍👍
The disrespect to Mark Selby is ridiculous. He is for sure one of the greatest players of all time, and this nonsense about his matches being boring.. his battles with Ronnie O'Sullivan over the years are some of the most entertaining games of snooker the sport has ever seen. He's an absolutely brilliant ambassador for the sport
Love Jimmy's take on things. He was my favourite player to watch . Pity he never won the WSC. But still one of the best players ever .Nice to see Joe Davis in there as well.
Disagree, it's an insult to John Higgins who's clearly the 3rd best player in the game has ever seen.
Selby and Williams are not worthy to be in the same boat as him.
Ronnie and Hendry even said Higgins is one of the greatest of all time and Ronnie even puts John aboe himself which shows how humble Ronnie is. I always thought Higgins always had the all round game where as Ronnie took more time to mature. But, Ronnie has proved that he's the greatest of all time.
Hendry was the best of all time for the period that he dominated, although some would argue thaty his competition was much lesser than Ronniie and Higgins. I'd put Selby 4th becaues he's standard of play is better than Davis but then again Davis was able to win a lot of games in one visit. It's very tight but I think Selby and Davis in their prime would be amazing to watch. Williams has to be next, he's career was so up and down, he was known to be a very flipent careless player but can turn it on when he wants too.
He's a limited player like me like Mark Allen but uses his short game to his advantage. People say he's a great long potter. I don't know where they get that from bercaue that was always his weakness. If he potted more long balls he'd have won more tournaments. Trump for me is better than Selby and Williams hands down, and is closer to Higgins in my book, but his main weakness is long matches like the Masters, the World Championship and the UK Championship. If Trump can build stronger stamina and endurance he can go on to be one of the all time greats if not the greatest. He makes the game look like it's been played on a three by four childs snooker table. If Ray Reardon had met Jimmy White need perfected his saftey game to make him impregnable, then Jimmy could have won four or five world titles in my book he was that good. Robertson is another amazing player with the potential to be huge but his focus is weak in the long tournaments a very similar player to Trump in that regard.
@@iwannadrinkfromyourwideeye2635
Reardon in the 1982 world champuonship final only lost 18-15 to an Alex Higgins you wouldn't think was at an age of him being past it afterwards (Taylor and Johnson both won the world title older than Alex Higgins did in 1982), so had it not been for that clearance by Higgins, there's no way anybody back then could say White would have been guaranteed to beat Reardon definitely for sure the way some were claiming. Reardon even at 49 would still have been in with a good chance of winning the final vs White in 1982. White was raw tactically and was only 15-14 up against Higgins in the semi final in any case.
It's only the naive who claim it waa one or the other to be the champion in that White vs Higgins semi final.
Trump 1-3 vs Williams and Trump 1-4 vs Selby in terms of world championship titles won at the Crucible is proof that Williams and Selby are both better than Trump. At least 2 world titles difterence is one of the major determining factors in terms of assessing how great one player is compared with another.
I've only ever shook the hand of one famous person in my life and it was the legend Jimmy White..... a legend and a bloody Good man.
You can't argue with any of that .... I don't think I ever wanted a sports person to win a world title as much as jimmy White....
Swap the two Higgins round and that's spot on, Alex deserves to be on the gamechangers row at the bottom but Johns achievements have to pip the Hurricane into the row above (I say this as a big fan of Alex too)
O'Sullivan, Higgins, White. The 3 that really made the game enjoyable to the masses.
Alex not John right?
@@anthony5868 it should be
Yep definitely the Hurricane
1 O'Sullivan 2 Hendry 3 Davis should be which is Jimmy s pick I think he's correct
Hendry and O’Sullivan are out in front of all
That pause at the start was epic, “I’m Jimmy White and I’m blind…” 😂😂
I got so scared for a moment...
I am no snooker expert at all but really enjoyed over the years and was a big fan of Jimmy White .
Sorry if this has been said before , but I'm sure he is turning into his best mate Ronnie Wood !
They look like brothers to me !!
It's a shame Jimmy never won the title, I don't think there's ever been a more popular player. He was the People's Champion!
Ronnies the most popular player ever. No one comes close
@@75619630how many people stay up in China to watch ding play?
I was only about 10-12 or so when I first got into Snooker and Jimmy was by miles my favourite player. It used to annoy me my friend at school was a big Hendry fan and he used to win all the time
I hate that 'peoples champion ' nonsense! Depends where you're playing surely.
@@stratmanuk not really, players like Jimmy and Ronnie were/are always the favourites of the crowd wherever they play.
John Higgins behind Mark Williams and Alex Higgins? No way. He's one of the all time greats.
Williams and Higgins is actually close
@@alanchamberlain9902 Williams isn't on John Higgins level, he'd even tell you that himself.
John Higgins has been the 3rd best player of all time with only Hendry and Ronnie in front of him. Steve Davis took the game to a new level, then Hendry and then Ronnie and John and then Trump and Selby came along.
The guy who met with match-fixers? His name shouldn't even be spoken about alongside these other names.
Who is John Higgins 🤔😶
John Higgins is the best cheat in snooker.
Good to see Reardon in there. Would have been an even better player in the modern era as I believe he had the ability to raise his game when needed.
Good point. I expect he probably had a better than 50% win ratio over Alex Higgins, who is really the only other great of his period. I think he even got the better of Steve Davis a couple of times.... which is saying something.
Jimmy was so unlucky never to win a world title. Fantastic talent, he deserved at least one.
Only player not to win one but be as good as all the others if that makes sense. Was just so unlucky iver the years
He must have nightmares about hendry
His world champion defeats were to Davis and Hendry in their primes
He won it eventually on the senior tournament
He should have won so many, his luck couldn’t keep up with his talent was all.
How is John Higgins ever behind Selby or Williams. He's second alongside hendry all day long
Higgins has to be ahead of Williams anyways. Both greats but Higgins better over past 20 years
I'd have him behind Selby, but above Williams. I'd have Neil Robertson and Judd Trump in there, both above Jimmy White. It's all nonsense, as Joe Davis could be the best, as he played on a thick cold cloth, with heavier balls, in a smoke filled room, conditions that most modern players couldn't cope with. I'd also like to see how modern players coped with the amount of vodka Alex Higgins drank😂
You could say it was fixed 😉
During their peak days I felt Williams dominated/had the wood on Higgins. So although I've got Higgins ahead can completely accept Williams ahead. Williams in 2003 was incredible
@@fractal_mind562 yes John Higgins is down a notch because he considered cheating for cash
Big up Jimmy you're a top bloke and the most influential player for me growing up.
Hendry had won his 7th world title when he was 30 and won 5 in a row, won the triple crown in the same year twice
И ничего не выиграл после 30)) Потому что не смог конкурировать с новым поколением игроков, играющих в снукер более высокого уровня
@@ВИЛЬГЕЛЬМТЕЛЛЬ-ф7шor he put that much into his game to win what he did at that age he burnt himself out
@@ВИЛЬГЕЛЬМТЕЛЛЬ-ф7ш Да, досадно, что Хендри не выиграл еще один титул чемпиона мира после этого, он действительно должен был выиграть его в 2002 году, также должен был выиграть чемпионат Великобритании в 2003 году, возможно, если бы он отказался брать на себя какие-то слишком амбициозные длинные поты, он мог бы выиграть выиграл еще несколько титулов.
John Higgins should be a lot higher IMO. He’s the one I’d put into bat if I needed someone to win a frame to save my life. He’s second behind Ronnie for me. Yes Hendry & Davis have more world titles but John is competing in an era with Ronnie, Selby & Williams.
Why would you choose the second best, if you're really talking about saving your life. That's just stupid.
@@kopteri because Higgins is widely accepted as the best all round player there has been. Ronnie could effortlessly win you that frame for your life with a 147, but when it becomes a safety battle or a pressure clearance is needed I’d want John in my corner over everyone else.
@@tam310 But it's still about one frame. No other parameters.
@@kopteri that’s exactly my point. In a one of frame I think John’s superior safety and match play will force a mistake out of Ronnie first, and John is still one of the best at making a clearance, before Ronnie could force a mistake from John. If you were asking who I would want to make a clearance for my life it would be Ronnie.
Higgins is competing but not winning.
To watch any player for me it was Alex Higgins my fav , then Jimmy white , and Ronnie o Sullivan
John Higgins should be higher
Yeah maybe swap with Selby for now. If Selby wins a 5th or 6th then up he goes.
John Higgins should never be aloud to touch a table ever again. Got caught bang to rights ready take money to throw a game. Who knows how many he did before that??? Stephen Lee gets a 10 year ban over what was just videos off shots. Where is the justice??? I don't care how good Higgins is in my opinion he should never have played the game again professionally
@@leeoliver6404 the reason why Lee got banned is because he was proven to have thrown matches on multiple occasions … the reason Higgins only got a few month is because he said he would do it but was never proven to have done it that’s the difference but I agree his ban should of been longer
@lee Oliver calm down, John was offered money to lose certain frames, not necessarily to lose matches, he was illegally entrapped by journalists, that is the reason the punishment could not be more severe.
@@NNC93 Actually John Higgins has been caught on video cheating but that was on a video that is hard to find. John Higgins got away with it.
As it's impossible to compare say Joe Davis Vs any other modern day player
I would love to put the modern players into an older table with old style balls and cue's. Be great to see how they would get on , Then some comparison could possibly be made between old v modern players.
I'm a big Joe Davis fan he was so ahead of his time and really put snooker on the map.
Higgins has got to be above Selby and Williams. Even cousin Ron describes playing Higgins as like playing Messi.
Are you Maria?
@@chrisjohnson4165 I am not part of the catalano family.
@@snookermafia6368 OK, thanks.
Exactly!! You ask Ronnie who his toughest opponent of all time is, he always picks John Higgins. Jimmy himself shouldn't even be in this.
@@Patthis67 Yes he omits Neil Robertson to indulge himself in the list lol. On no planet in a universe is Jimmy White better than Robertson. He also had an ego Jimmy though. He is a great player but just outside this list. I'd argue he scrapes in at number 10 if it was top 10 of all time. Also trying to justify he lost two titles to Hendry in the WC that were his is BS. Stephen could argue the same to when he lost to Ebdon in the final decider in the WC 2003 but he would never do that.
Jimmy!
You are quality mate!
Interesting analysis! I did see Joe Davis play when I was a nipper (black and white TV) and loved it. Didn't they play with much heavier balls at the time, difficult to spin? It was said that in exhibitions Joe could put a hankerchief on the table and always land the cue ball on it from any (billiards) position. A bit easier now with modern composite balls I think.
I love that Selby is in there. The best safety player out there
Selby is nowhere near Trumps level for me, and Trump's weakness is in the longer tournaments which is Selbys' strength. If Trump ups his safety game he could become the greatest of all time he's that good.
Having said that, Selby has the temperment to get another four world titles to get to 8th.
Higgins for me is clearly the 3rd greatest player of all time, he's been to so many world titles and has over 30 ranking titles. He and Hendry had the best alround game for me but Ronnie took longer to mature in that regard. Now Ronnie is a much better player because of Ray Reardon tighting up his safety game.
Selbys boring with the most annoying stroke
Selby's safety hasn't worked out too well for Selby as Ronnie has beaten him 19 times with Selby only beating Ronnie 11 times. Ronnie plays the riskier type of game which is why he wins so much. Ronnie is the true master, he's won all those triple crowns in an era that saw Hendry, Higgins, Davis, Williams, Trump, Selby, Robertson, Ding, and Murphy. Bingham, McGuire, and Mark Allen. Hat's off to Selby though, because he's one of those players that I don't want Ronnie to draw in a tournament. Mark is one of the all-time greats and out of Trump, Robertson, and Selby, I think Selby is the one that can get seven world titles. He won't beat Ronnies tripple crown record, but he could match the 7 world titles.
@@invisiblemaninvisibleman2097 Selby IS boring IF you're a boring person.
@@iwannadrinkfromyourwideeye2635 I agree with you that Trump is more skillful than Selby. But I was talking of the safety play. And there I think Selby is one up on Trump
Ronnie O' Sullivan has made over 1200 centuries in tournament play. It's mind blowing to think he's probably made at a very conservative view, at least double that on a practice table. So at the very least 3600 centuries. To think most people who play snooker, their whole lives, I include myself btw, have never even made a single century, that's just untouchable. Ronnie has to be the G.O.A.T 😀
And let's give an honourable mention to Fred Davis😊 who was a 8 times world champion 😊
Very different era though. Easier to win it back then for the defending champion.
@@blue24563 Different balls then, crystallite I believe, so a different game, it might have favored Fred, we'll never know.
Nice video, I agree with most of the positions, but I would have John Higgins & Mark Williams ahead of Mark Selby.
Selby over Williams for sure
Judd should be in the conversation. On the third tier at least. When he’s playing people tune in to witness moments of magic. Like we did back in the day for Jimmy & Alex. He’s won a decent amount of ranking titles too.
Too early for Judd, he really hasn't achieved enough in the triple crowns to get on the list. He's a proven winner of ranking events so it's not a lack of talent, maybe bottle or match IQ? But no, Judd isn't on that list yet. Look again in ten years.
Trump has only 1 world title and he hasn't won enough of the so called triple crown titles to be considered.
Agree with that, and for ranking players equally. It’s impossible to split Davis and Hendry for example. Ronnie always no 1 though!
Its not that impossible. Hendry was on a different level 🤷🏻♂️
Jimmy should have had coaching from Ray Reardon, he wouldn't have changed his cue action or style, he'd have sorted his mindset. Ray reardon and Joe Davis need to be in front of selby
Have you ever watched snooker from their era? If they got a 40 break they were happy.
@salsabil44 I've watched Ray Reardon many times and he's had loads of century breaks, his safety play was first class, he coached Ronnie and helped him win a world title, he made Ronnie impregnable, his words. Reardon was a winner and won 6 titles. He's a legend, Jimmy whites style has changed since the early 80s. Watch some footage, I was lucky enough to see it at that time. Jimmy had his natural game coached out of him. He's slowed himself down and changed his timing. He's never had a solid mentality of Reardon, Hendry or Davis.
@@LordFlashheart.11 I also watched Reardon a lot and I admit he was dominant at the time, but the standard of play was way way below what it is today.
@salsabil44 to do what he did with the cloth and balls of that time was astonishing especially Alex Higgins with the amount of spin he generated, but the main thing is knowledge, Jimmy could have used this to his advantage as Ronnie did.
@@salsabil44 Do you know what the conditions were like back in the '70s regarding cloths etc? Take the players of today back to that era and they wouldn't be banging in the centuries anything like they do nowadays.
Very puzzled by John Higgins ranking. He should be in the top 4, either in front or behind Steve Davis.
Exactly, 4 time world champion and 3rd most winner of ranking titles. Also think Judd Trump should be up there as he is already so high up in the lists of records and done so in such a short time.
@@timb9249 Judd and also Neil Robertson should both be in the top 10. Phenomenal scorers the pair of them, and both won the World title, something that, no disrespect to Jimmy, he never achieved.
@@uzaironf1704 Agreed ! And let's not forget Shaun Murphy. He is a fantastic player with major wins. He should definitely be in the top 10.
@@ron200088 It should be titled Jimmy's 'favourite' snooker players not 'greatest' players!! Let's be honest, you have to question the ranking method when it includes bringing a baby onto the table.... 🤣
@Tim B
😂😂😂.....my thoughts exactly! Jimmy was an unbelievably sharp player, but not such a sharp cookie😮
Top guy jimmy.....I met the legend at the dogs in Wimbledon as a teen -he just lost to davis I got him a drink said it was an honour to meet him an asked "do us a favour next time ya play Steve ya gota win " and he did - lovely humble legend
Stephen wiped the floor with the lot of them, in his prime.
Absolutely
But Ronnie is still wiping the floor, many years after his prime. He's head and shoulders above his peers still
Wrong, Ronnie wiped the floor with him and so did Williams/Selby etc
By the way Jimmy was my favourite player when I was a boy 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 I cried like a baby when he lost to Hendry when he misses the black broke my heart but still allways loved Jim ☘️
💯🇯🇲🇬🇧👍
Hi, I'm Jimmy White and I'm such a huge fan of ROS, hence the question I was asked "who was your most difficult opponent"? I had to answer ROS although I lost 4 finals to Steven Hendry at the Crucible.
He actually said Davis was his most difficult opponent 🤷🏻♂️
Also it was a different era,when Jimmy was at the top of his game in the 80s Ronnie wasn't about,yes Ronnie turned pro in 92 when Jimmy was still at the top but Ronnie wasn't anywhere near his best till he got older and more mature. The facts are that a prime Jimmy never played a prime Ronnie..
But I saw and heard this with my own eyes and ears approx. 3-4 years ago on Eurosport, I think it was in an interview with Andy Goldstein - of course I was absolutely gutted to hear Jimmy say this - and of course it's hard to find this online as there are thousands of videos of them on youtube and other media.
@@andymerrett Very mature answer from you, thank you.
Jimmy White - legend, great rankings and reasoning.
When you think about it Joe Davis never had coaching and invited the very technique’s coach’s teach today, he was the first player to hit 147, and the balls were heavier back then so a lot of the shots players play today were impossible play back then, his 147 was so much harder, he did that almost 30 years before anyone ever hit a nine dart 501 which most people consider easier to do, I guess what I’m saying is respect your elders lol
Hendry also won the world championship 5 times on the trot
O'Sullivan took 30 years to win 7 WC. One year he never played so he had 29 attempts to win 7.
Hendry had 10 attempts and converted 7 of them.
Hendry was in a different league. Of course O'Sullivan is a wonderful player. But the facts don't lie.
@@bobsmithy9024 Hendry had a pretty weak era. #Facts
@@Kornhulio18 tbf O'Sulivan turned pro in 92 and never managed to get to a world final in the 90's if I'm not mistaken, Hendry was dominating all through the 90's.
@@brians9954 Doesn't matter in my opinion when you win your first title. Ronnie has won 7 in the most competitive era of all time and has the most majors (21). The debate who is the greatest is over...
@@Kornhulio18 I was merely pointing out that Ronnie couldn't do it in Henry's hey day oh and also if it was at a lower level then why did it take him so long? Anyway I actually think Ronnie is the best snooker player of all time due to longevity! However both in there pomp I'm taking Hendry.
Jimmy’s got his rose tinted hurricane glasses on
Nothing wrong with that. Higgins was the biggest inspiration to snooker and a good mate of Jimmy's.
@@johnmc3862His list is automatically biased then
An admirable accolade and analysis mate ✅
Cannot argue with that Jimmy. All legends of this great game
Ronnie, Mark Williams and John Higgins are absolute favourite snooker players. In that order.
Did he just put Mark Selby ahead of John Higgins and Mark Williams???? WTF?
It's a poor list IMHO.
I would have J.Higgins on level 2 and Williams at 3.
Jimmy 🇮🇪 the only player in history of the game if he was playing your dad mum son daughter brother sister gran grandad an wife at the same time you'd still want him to win ☘️
great video Jimmy. nice one.
Agree with the top two but Higgins is ahead of Williams and Selby in my opinion. Absolute granite player and his career speaks for itself.
100% Not enough credit to Hendry either.
@@johnmc3862 Hendry is the reason the game is played the way it is and has been since his prime. I remember him saying, “I’d rather lose a frame by missing a pot than playing a poor safety”. Summed him up and the likes of Ronnie and most who have arrived since have emulated or tried to emulate his aggressive style of play.
@@johnmc3862 Hendry is the reason the game is played the way it is and has been since his prime. I remember him saying, “I’d rather lose a frame by missing a pot than playing a poor safety”. Summed him up and the likes of Ronnie and most who have arrived since have emulated or tried to emulate his aggressive style of play.
Higgins doesn't deserve any place. You know why.
I’ll always remember the 2017 final vs Selby, yes John bottled it a bit but only after Selby bored the life out of him. They have the same amount of world titles but theirs only one winner. Higgins still respects safety and can grind it out but selby goes beyond that, to the point of gamesmanship sometimes.
Mark also beat Ronnie in WSC final, but no one says that Mark better than Ronnie. By the way, till last year John was the only one who beat Mark in WSC final. Mark is only 40 now and he's already lose in final to the guy who never won anything big before and still can't reach at least quarterfinals of ranking event after, and John was 42 when he lose to 34 yo Mark who was already multiple times World, UK and Masters champion then. So don't you think that compare these two in one match, when Mark was at his prime and John was in two decades from his prime isn't fair? With all due respect to Mark, prime Higgins was far better than him, and if they met in their primes, John would have won this easily.
Ronnie,hendry,Davis,Higgins,selby ,jimmy my top 6 love jimmy was just unlucky to keep running into a phenomenal prime Hendry in world finals should of won 2 of those
Coulda woulda shoulda
if Fred Davis got to the worlds semi final in 1978 and Joe was a better player, then it's a bit harsh to put joe last
I am sure he would have faired really well in the modern game
Apart from that I agree with most of your picks Jimmy
He invented the modern game. Number one in my book.
Hard to find someone with a more informed opinion than Jimmy White. I agree with everything he said, though it was generous of him to put John Higgins on the list at all considering what happened in Ukraine. I guess White didn't have much choice, though, considering that Higgins was never truly held to account for it.
What are you talking about? You do Realise that John Higgins never got done for match fixing cause he never actually fixed any games. He got done for failing to report that he was approached to throw matches. He said he only agreed to get out of an awkward situation and even if that's not true and he was seriously considering taking the money THE FACTS are that he never actually went through with it. After all,it's only words and if you got done for words most of us would be in jail ,cause we've all said stuff like " I'll kill you " but most of us never went through with it and killed anyone.
So why should he have been punished more? All he did was not report the incident, he was punished for that,paid his fine and served his ban,so that's that.
John Higgins behind Williams and Selby, 🤔🤔
Cheat
@@cjns5253How?
Both of them beat Higgins in a world final
Spot on rankings
John Higgins credit to the sport ... Everyone seems to forget about the match fixing 🤔
Cause those of us who actually follow snooker know that he never fixed any matches nor did he get done for match fixing. He got done for failing to report that he was approached to throw matches. He said he only agreed to get out of an awkward situation, even if that's a lie and he was considering it,the facts are that he never went through with it. After all it was only talk and all of us have said " I'll kill you " at some point but we haven't actually killed anyone.
Big difference in not reporting that you've been asked to fix games and actually excepting money to throw matches
@@davidmellish3295 not in my eyes
But it's your opinion
@@karlpreston3416 No,it's NOT my opinion, IT'S FACTS,it's what happened. It's A FACT that he was done for not reporting he was approached, IT'S A FACT that he was investigated and no evidence of throwing any matches,IT'S A FACT that there was no money traced ( that's how Stephen Lee was caught ) IT'S A FACT that no witnesses came forward to say he'd cheated.
So it's GOT NOTHING to do with mine or your personal opinions, IT'S FACTS and you can't argue with facts
Plus I never said he was caught for match fixing that's a FACT
but I believe the intention was there
@@karlpreston3416 I never said that you said he was caught for match fixing, I was just pointing out the facts because you did say that it was my opinion. So I responded by saying that it wasn't my opinion but the actual facts of what happened and in this case even if he had been considering taking the money ,at the end of the day he never went through with it
John Higgins behind Alex Higgins you've got to be kidding Jimmy
Couple of things wrong here:
You put yourself in (never do this come on)
Williams ahead of Higgins
Yourself ahead of Joe Davis
Other than that, it's alright.
Steve Davis always reminds me of Mark Selby, very similar in their methods. Jimmy is similar to Mark Williams but took less risks hence is more successful. Joe introduced the game; Reardon made it known as a serious game; Davis brought in the professionalism in it; Alex gave it flair; Jimmy gave it sex appeal; Hendry raised the bar for the modern game we see today; Ronnie has applied it the best.
J Higgins should be higher, alongside Williams and Selby.
yeah I'd agree with that list.. even remember poor ol Jim missing that black against Hendry.. he was so so close to winning it.. and it's such a shame such a brilliant player didn't manage it.. but Jimmy was a joy to watch when he was on form..👍
Higgins’s needs to up a level
1. Ronnie
2. Hendry
3. Higgins
4. S Davis
5. M Selby
6. M Williams
7. Trump
8. Robertson
9. Murphy
10. Ding
Which Higgins?
@@davidcopson5800 John
At last, Ray Reardon gets included ! He was an important figure in his hayday, was the link between the old and new style of snooker, he deserves more respect 😁
Imho Ray Reardon should be up there with Davis and Hendry, fabulous player.
Reardon was also the only player who Steve Davis felt psyched out by.
Brilliant Video Jimmy , and you got it spot on ...
Alex at the top always jim come on would not be a game as it is today without him
My top 10:
1.) Big Bill Werbeniuk (best player drunk)
2.) Cliff thorburn (first 147 in WC)
3.) Kirk Stevens (first 147 in Masters)
4.) Dennis Taylor (beat Steve Davis in his absolute prime)
5.) Toni Drago (holds record for fastest century break)
6.) Graeme Dott (amazing potting ability)
7.) Marco Fu (Legend from China)
8.) Stephen Lee (made one of the best shots of all time)
9.) Peter Ebdon (beat unbeatable Hendry in a word final)
10.) Ken Doherty (beside missing the last black for 147, he beat Hendry after Hendry won 5 WC in a row).
Gave a nice day
Good stuff. Only thing number 5 is now O'Sullivan who beat Drago record relatively recently last Nov 2022 Scottish open. Century in 204 seconds beating Drago by 7 seconds at 211.
I never knew Thorburn got a 147 in the toilet.
Thing is Bill Werbeniuk didn't used to get drunk - he used to drink so heavily so that it numbed a shaky nerve in his arm, but his tolerance was so high it didn't even get him tipsy!
Honourable mention for Bill Werbeniuk, no other snooker player in history could sink that many bevvies and stand up, never mind play snooker ha ha
@@andymerrett Ha ha, I don't even reckon Alexandra the great could keep up with Bill, Bill would have 20 pints for breakfast ha ha
Controversial decision was John Higgins position. I think the ban tarnished his achievements for many.
I think what many don't talk about and what makes him the GOAT in my eyes in that's he's done it over 30 years. Both Hendry & Davis ruled for a decade each before better players came along. Who else can claim to stay at the top for that amount of time and still be challenging for titles?
Still miss Willie Thorne cliff Wilson
Ronnie
Hendry
Steve Davis
Reardon
John Higgins
Mark Williams
Alex Higgins
Mark Selby
Jimmy White
Joe Davis
That's the order for me
If modern day players drank as much as Alex before a match they’d win jack shit UP THE HURRICANE 🍺
Ronnie had this crazy winning streak when he was a youngster in qualifying for tournaments etc, then carried on beating the best players just as easy. He is the goat for sure
Neil Robertson should be in instead of Jimmy White (and I'm a J White fan), he's done the triple crown plus 3 other majors, he has to be in.
1 world title, not a chance.
@@johnmc3862 1 more than J White, and N R has 5 other majors while J W has only 2 majors in a lot easier era.
Jimmy knows more than me and I get the argument about the strength in depth but relentless Hendry in his prime beats them all. Ronnie is the GOAT, his record speaks for himself but if Hendry had followed Ronnie I think the record books would possibly look different.
Prime Jimmy and Ronnie around the table though is what I loved to watch.
Higgins goes above Selby and Williams.x
Higgins shouldn't get a place, match fixers not allowed!!
Ray reardon should be higher on this list 6 worlds and he taught ronnie his tactical side and safety etc
Selby over Higgins! Am I missing something 😂
Selby is much better than little tubs and tubs is a cheater
Yes, Selby won in a harder era. I'd have him above Higgins too, as Higgins won most when there were few tournaments and the standard was much lower. After Barry Hearn took over, the number of tournaments increased, the standard improved a lot and Selby has won the hard way.
Hes done more winning over a shorter period of time
And he’s not finished yet
Nobody enjoys watching Selby that alone should remove him from the list
I love Jimmeh
I think Judd Trump should be up there as he is already in the top list on most snooker records and has done so in such a short time.
Please share the snooker records Trump has? According to you, he tops most of them?
Yeah Judd is much too good to not even get mentioned
My top 10 list:
1. Ronnie O'Sullivan
2. Stephen Hendry
3. John Higgins
4. Steve Davis
5. Mark Selby
6. Mark Williams
7. Ray Reardon
8. Judd Trump
9. Neil Robertson
10. Alex Higgins
That is a very good list bro
Eddie Charlton is the GOATS, absolutely shocking omission
No Eddie Charlton or Terry Griffiths? 😉😜
I think Paul hunter would be in that list had he not passed
I knew Ronnie would be top before the video even started 👍
Bloody hell! You sure know your stuff!!
Wow, genius.
Nothing gets past you!
That's a hard one to swallow for John Higgins
At his nest, Henry untouchable, reduced ronnie to tears. Yes ronnie a genius but for sheer winning ability and mentality, Hendry in league of his own
Ronnie didn’t peak till 2004 onward and he hammered Hendry in the 04 and 08 finals Hendry looked depressed. Ronnie also whitewashed him the Premier League final.
Henry on the nest. Oooh, that's naughty.
Jimmy is spot on with his commments on how Reardon helped O'Sullivan with his game.
Recency bias is outrageous on this 😂
Ronnie o sullivan, joe davis,stephen hendry,selby,paul hunter,steve davis,Alex Higgins,john Higgins, Mark Williams,
Alex Higgins is the GOAT to me. He made snooker grow. If it wasn't for him and Steve Davis who looked up to him, snooker wouldn't be like this now
I'm not sure I agree with Jimmy's assessments here. If I went by my own feeling - my preference would obviously be Hendry but if we look at the full history but I would argue that ranking Joe Davis that low denigrates how good a player he was in that era. Ronnie is a damn good snooker player but to call him the best of all time is perhaps a touch premature.
Big Hendry fan in his time, no one had come close to how good he was, O'Sullivan has surpassed that, I never thought it was possible. O'Sullivan is the GOAT.
Massive Hendry fan and being Scottish and local lad to me. He probably changed the game the most single handedly with attacking and opening the reds up. I have to agree though that Ronnie is the goat and I never thought that I'd be saying that 10 years ago. Anyone that plays snooker will understand how difficult using opposite hand is and ronnie is nearly as good, amazing.
If Ronnie is the goat how come he turned professional in 1992 and never stopped Hendry winning the world title in in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999. Hendry also the runner up in 1997.
So Hendry got to the final 7 times (!) after Ronnie turned professional. Ronnie got to none. Zero WC finals in the 1990s. How the heck is he the goat? He never stopped Hendry dominating the 1990s. It's impossible for him to be better than Hendry. Hendry was at his best in the 1990s and won way more titles than O'Sullivan. That's a fact.
@@bobsmithy9024 was ronnie not allowed to build up the same as Hendry? Davis used to smash Hendry up for years
I've posted a new message about cognitive bias. It explains why people incorrectly think O'Sullivan is the greatest. You can check it out.
😊
@@bobsmithy9024 I've posted a new message about bullshit bias.... Explains why ronnie is the goat... have a look :). It pains me to say it, I'm massive Hendry fan but ronnie been at top for longer now. Ideally I don't want him to beat Hendry records but probably going to happen and get an 8th. Hendry will always be my fav player and he is responsible for modern scoring imo.
Ray Reardon deserves to be considered, glad that he is here. I'd say though that he deserves to be above Selby, Higgins and Williams. He turned professional aged 35. Won his first world championship aged 38 and won 6 of them by the time he was 46. Won his final ranking event and was world no. 1 for the final time aged 50.
People speak of O'Sullivan/Hendry's seven titles and Davis's six, but don't seem to mention Reardon's six as much. Reardon seems to get overlooked because he played his early career in snooker's 'dark age', the period between Joe Davis's mythical era and the Davis/Higgins era when snooker was first regularly televised. With the exception of Joe Davis it's sometimes as if the game started in 1980. Yet his titles were also knockout tournaments, unlike the challenge titles of the Pulman era. By the time snooker was getting daily coverage (1978ish onwards) Reardon's success had mostly passed, but he was still capable of beating top players. As late as 1988 he beat Steve Davis 5-0 in the British Open. He also likely didn't achieve nearly as much as he could have done, considering that he may have won many titles in the 1950s and 1960s.
Jimmy is always underhanded with hendry. Hendry could still argue to be the best of all time at his best I have never seen anyone play the game better even Ronnie. Ronnie has gone past him as the GOAT due to longevity
Hendry won 5 Masters in a row and 5 worlds in a row. You'll never see that again. For that alone he's still the GOAT
@@billycarroll385 even Hendry himself says it if Ronnie is playing his A game nobody even Hendry at his A game can beat him. However, mentally Hendry was superior especially in the era they played together. Ronnie was far from stable.
When 4 of your world titles are against a serial bottler, it undermines your greatness. Ronnie is clearly best ever for being the best over 3 generations. Winning them quickly just shows you're beating the same people. Like a heavyweight champion beating young guns at an age you should be declining.
@john wedgbury Doesn't matter who you play. Winning 5 Worlds on the spin is an absolutely unbelievable achievement that in my view doesn't get spoken about enough
5 in a row doesn't get spoken about enough, but by the age hendry, was declining, ronnie at same age had 3 worlds, and has still equalled him. Hendry is great, but still second for me. Alex should be higher for the impact he had in popularising the game for tv. Todays prize money has lots to thank alex for, I'd have him slightly higher too.
Beautiful piece, authentic badgers hair, hand tufted
Eurosport have mugged Jimmy off here, getting him to partake in this nonsense
Interesting that he says he found Davis more difficult to beat over hendry.But John Higgins that low I would replace Alex Higgins and put John there but overall good list
Only he lost all the finals to Hendry
😅
Only he lost all the finals to Hendry
😅