Davis 80's Vs Hendry 90's

[gavpowell]

Davis didnt have to deal with the emergence of higgins O'Sullivan Williams Doherty and Ebdon during his peak for me that is the golden generation of snooker

The first three I'll give you, but Ebdon and Doherty? I can't see them as much other than "also rans" - I don't think either of them will be remembered in the same light as even Williams, who I consider inferior to Higgins and O'Sullivan.

[FOXMULDER]

Hendry all the way.

Hendry at his peak was a monster, even compared with today's players. Remember, he beat O'Sullivan in the Semi's of the World Champs one year when Ronnie was at his best. Few have done that.

[FOXMULDER]

RE: Alex Higgins

I think he would struggle to make the top-32 in the current generation. He hit the ball very hard, and used lots of side spin, both of which would make it difficult to control the cue ball on modern match tables.

[mattyshinobi22]

Hendry all the way.

Hendry at his peak was a monster, even compared with today's players. Remember, he beat O'Sullivan in the Semi's of the World Champs one year when Ronnie was at his best. Few have done that.

davis beat o sullivan in the u.k final

[mattyshinobi22]

RE: Alex Higgins

I think he would struggle to make the top-32 in the current generation. He hit the ball very hard, and used lots of side spin, both of which would make it difficult to control the cue ball on modern match tables.

cloths bit thicker back than maybe why he hit the balls harder, also most of time he was in crowd pleasing mode. seen some you tube vids of him playing delicate shots when they required it. think he would of adapted to todays cloths

[Tred]

Fascinating thread. I seem to remember a program on ITV years ago called "Who's the greatest" where Steve Davis came out on top in a similar comparison with Ray Reardon and Joe Davis (although, I think Barry Hearn was one of the judges!).

One thing that's always bugged me is why did it take Jimmy White so long to make an impact? In the 80s, he only made it to one World Final, in the 90s he made it to 5 when he was arguably passed his best! Players seem to mature into rounded match players far quicker these days.

I think Alex Higgins at his best would easily be a top 32 player, although like Ronnie and Jimmy, he'd struggle with consistency. I also think Mark Williams is highly underrated, his comeback to no 1 last season was perhaps a more remarkable achievement than either of his World Championship wins.

John Higgins' 4 championship wins are also very impressive. It'll be interesting to see how many more World Championships he, Williams and O'Sullivan can win between them now. Trump's arrival and the more fluid ranking system and ptc events certainly makes it feel like "the changing of the guard".

But, ultimately, you'd have to give it to Hendry. Hard to imagine anyone dominating the sport in the same way now. The competition is just too good.

[FOXMULDER]

davis beat o sullivan in the u.k final

news to me...

[gavpowell]

He may be thinking of The Masters.

[deant1982]

davis beat o sullivan in the u.k final

It was the masters (1997)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Masters_(snooker)

[mattyshinobi22]

It was the masters (1997)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Masters_(snooker)

yeh thats it sorry all, knew it was a final

[FOXMULDER]

Yeah, but I would hardly say ROS was at his best during that final against Davis.

My point was, Hendry beat ROS in the 1999 world semi when ROS was playing phenomenal snooker. I've never seen a player play so well and get beat.

[Csmith]

Longevity is worthy of consideration. Davis made it to a UK final in 2005 along with a few other finals during the 2000's. Hendry is really struggling in recent years and if he fails to reach another final, it's worth noting.