Stephen Hendry’s honest verdict on whether Ronnie O’Sullivan is better than him | Other | Sport

Stephen Hendry offered a humble response when Ronnie O’Sullivan labelled him as the ‘greatest player I’ve ever seen’. O’Sullivan is still competing professionally and will go in search of an eighth World Championship crown when the most prestigious event in snooker kicks off later this month.

While the odds are stacked against him, should O’Sullivan go on and taste victory at the Crucible, it will see him pull clear of Hendry in the list of all-time winners. Like O’Sullivan, Hendry has seven Crucible titles to his name and is a player the Rocket has always been quick to praise.

That was the case this weekend, when the two were appearing in the Snooker 900 event – a fast-paced, 15-minute (900-second) per-frame snooker format – in Ireland. O’Sullivan said of Hendry: “Stephen is the greatest player I’ve ever seen. It’s a privilege for me to be with him in the same table.”

The highest of praise from a player most consider to be the greatest of all time. Understandably, Hendry, who was standing next to O’Sullivan, was taken aback by the 50-year-old’s kind words. He replied: “You can’t get a higher praise from a better player. Ronnie is obviously the GOAT. He’s taken the game to a level I thought we might never see.”

Before adding: “He’s an artist with the cue ball, that’s the beauty of snooker. Nobody has done it better than Ronnie.”

“I will probably have three or four genuine attempts at it. I think that is going to be my main goal for the rest of my career, to try and win one more. If I can that would be great, but still just try and enjoy the game, enjoy the crowds and enjoy the tournaments.”

He’ll get his campaign up and running against one of the qualifiers, with John Hendry his most likely round two opponent, should they both win their opening match. O’Sullivan has been placed in the same half of the draw as reigning champion Zhao Xintong, who beat him in the semi-final of last year’s edition.