Amazing match! Hendry was so focus and brilliant in the 90s,for me is outstanding how good Hendry was at that time,especially with long shots....But,Ronnie's speed is out of this world.How fast he was when he was younger,how good positions,i mean in 10 seconds he potted 2 balls,sometimes 3 with brutal positions...it was a matter of time when Ronnie will overtake Hendry no matter that Hendry weakened And Ronnie began to learn from easy mistakes and matured into the best player I have ever seen... I repeat, speed game from Ronnie is out of this world..by far the most talented player, regardless of billiards or snooker, leaving good positions so quickly and accurately,I just can't imagine new player or anyone who can repeat that.
Two of my top 3 players. Funny to see the rocket side of Ronny back then, and how he's imporoved since then (some mistakes he doesn't do now). This match to me is clearly an example of what these two players will be remembered for : O'Sullivan a pure talent (the best ever to me), and Hendry a potting machine in the 90's who punished you at each mistake,, really sad he lost it so quickly in the 2000's
These are my faves and why: Steve Davis - First time I recall watching snooker was when Steve was playing. He was at the peak of his career and winning the major tournaments so naturally I followed the winner 😉 Ronnie O'Sullivan - This guy was immense to watch and watching THAT 147 break live had me hooked on watching and supporting him even more. But THAT 147 was so special to watch as a spectator. Astonishing! Stephen Hendry - No homo but this guy just looked pristine, he was young and dashing and was virtually unplayable. I was hooked from the first time I saw him play. Ken Doherty - Honestly, it was that mars bar that caught my attention and drew me in to watch and support him. In addition his personality made him seem like a real genuine character. He may not have been the greatest to walk the earth in terms of titles but he had my backing every time he played.
To me the difference between Hendry and everyone else during this era were two things. For starters, his ability to control the cue ball while setting up his 2nd and 3rd shots. The other was an intense focus.
@@nickycotton6137I think hendry was at his best when he plays fast. Hendry had the perfect Mix between speed and control. Ronnie in his early days is super fast but sometimes he would lose focus and miss a simple shot. He became more like hendry in the 2000s and slowed his game down to a better speed.
There’s a difference between best and greatest, O Sullivan has reached the best standard perhaps, the way he can play at times is as good as I’ve ever watched, yet Hendry in these days barely missed, he was a machine, he went 36 competitive matches unbeaten not long before this and 5 consecutive World Titles in this time was i actually think his greatest achievement and he’s still two clear of O Sullivan but he was superior in this game, he had winning momentum and O Sullivan wasn’t the finished article mentally yet. Hendry never won the Masters again after this though, the black ball he missed to win the 1998 one was the beginning of the end of his dominance.
To be honest I believe Hendry never managed to play his best ever snooker again was nothing to do with Ronnie O'Sullivan.It was caused by Steve Davis breaking Hendry cue.He played with that particular cue since a child.Any good snooker player will tell you once is gone it will never be replaced.
Thank you so very much for uploading this superb match! All frames intact - should be a must, but sadly isn't, so it's a joy instead, plus the slightly silly B&H hostesses… I enjoyed every minute.
Obviously hendery was remarkable..but this man wasted 10 precious years of his career..if he did not retired in 2011 may be snooker titles a different picture...
@@omegaman6494 ,I also miss that venue... Atmosphere has never been the same since it left there. Always sounded & felt like being inside a boxing ring.
@@allangrant6349 ,that is absolute rubbish; Hendry's cue was broken during a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok when he was on his way back from the Thailand Open. Get your facts straight before posting such crap.
Ah, 90s snooker, the good ole days when the reds were brown :) Joking aside, thanks so much for the upload of yet another classic, walters147, much appreciated!
Hendry done alright. Top break of 144 winning a gold medal and £10 thousand. He also won the trophy. A big bottle of champagne and £125 thousand first prize...
He missed plenty in this match and got very lucky at times. Ronnie was not as good here as he became after 2004. Even the current old Ronnie would beat the crap out of this young Ronnie. He'd also beat the crap out of this Hendry.
@@michaeltrumph121, this is becos Ron is playing with hendry in his prime. Ronnie dose miss alot too in 2000 Era, who don't? Even ding has faded off without even one world championship title. Why is every hendry hater is attacking him for slacking even after he had won 7 time wsc, 36 ranking title, 775 centuries, and irony ppl keep praising ding for playing well without any achievement!!! LMAO.
It took Ronnie O'Sullivan 20 years from when he started playing to become world champion and Hendry just 9 years. Who is the greatest and best player of all time on those statistics and still holds the record of 36 ranking wins years after his retirement
@@andrefilipe147 A hell of a lot more ranking tournaments these days though. Had the season been as full of events in the 90s-early 00s that record would be much higher
Anybody noticed that hendrys stance in those year's when he was at his best is way more to the left? I find it interesting because hes been working with siterite and he talks about finding it weird being shifted to one side more that been the left. I wonder if he even knows that himself that his stance had changed over the years. Just an observation would be a good question to ask him if anyone follows him on Twitter.
Quality of the evening session just summing up these two greats and their break building. 70+ in every frame & average frame time of about 12 & a half minutes. Just sensational snooker. Shame that Ronnie lost a bit for focus for 5 frames in the afternoon session…
This is Ronnie at his inconsistent worse, not thinking about shots, just recklessly hitting the ball & hoping for something in the 1st session which cost him. Fortunately he stopped doing this about 13 years ago which has made him a ruthless winning machine, incredible match player & the greatest of all time.
they say histort repeats itself but i see this theory is invalid with these two gifted players we will never see such great artists like ronnie and stephen
Which is strange because hendry only started playing snooker when he was 13. 3 years later he turns pro. Thats insane natural ability. I would say the reason hendry became more polished quicker was due to his strong mentality and the good management of ian doyle. Ronnie spent his early career pissing about partying and his dad wasnt around to keep him on the straight and narrow. Once ronnie hit 26/27 and seen the example of higgins and hendrys work ethic he became a much more consistent player and overall better.
@johnmccaughey2722 yeah ronnie just doesn't seem to care on certain safety shots.., very quickly hes getting down when he sees "a shot" any shot to just get it to baulk somewhere...really the intend isn't there to do the best he can..and he's just going for shots in general that could require a bit more thought
The workmanship way Hendry took O'Sullivan apart in that era (and the Embassy Open) should be proof enough that "Greatest" doesn't have anything to do with longevity! Hendry was a winning machine that attained records in just ten years that have taken O'Sullivan twenty or more to achieve. Hendry never seemed to find any shot too extreme and could read a table like no other. 10 years or 30 years, it doesn't matter. This match and many more like it against EVERYBODY showed that Hendry could keep an opponent in their seat and win by a larger margin than anyone. When his time was over … as it is for everyone, Hendry did so without ever slandering anybody. If only O'Sullivan could say the same. Now THAT"S an O'Sullivan stat that will last as long as his victories do or me. It's more than just how you cue the ball that makes a champion.,
Abolutely correct. In fact if his cue hadn't been broken then developing the yips he would have been out of sight. Only won one more title after his cue was broken says it all.
exactly. Hendry changed the game, smashed all the records and dominated like nobody ever has before or since. And he did it all while still in his 20s.
Not to mention dismantleing o'sullivan in two pressuere semi finals in 99 and 2002- Hendry would have had an 8th if it was anyone but 'kin Ebdon! The fact that his century hall in that 2002 tournament still stands says it all in my opinion! considering the advances and opportunities in the modern game to score heavily
Humans are a bizarre species, they will convince themselves of whatever they want to believe. I can't grasp how people cant see the greatness in both players and look at the stats to decide the truth. Totally granted Ronnie got flogged on this one but in the sum total of both careers the rocket is ahead on all but one account now and that is a 7th world championship. No one can deny the Hendry is a legend though.
he and hendry are pals. henry was still in his prime here. ronnie not quite good enough yet. a 25 year old ronnie would not miss those shots or play so recklessly. he'd be clearing the table. ronnie in his prime played like an in-prime hendry - break building, etc. 2:49:47 look at the cue ball control. he didn't have the cue ball control yet.
The two best players and now Ronnie has won it 7 times... Hendry was a very high decent player when he was good but O Sullivan is the most talented and greatest snooker player ever... Hendry won his titles all in the same decade... o Sullivan has been winning titles continuously all throughout his life in all the different changes of his snooker career.
Hendry was better than O' Sullivan has ever been and is more talented. ronnie started playing at 7, Hendry when he was 12 but Hendry became the youngest world champion ever, not Ronnie. Ronnie had a crucial 5 years of practice more but still say people he is more naturally gifted??? It maybe looks that way but Ronnie's game is the result of practicing hard starting from a young age, not the result of being naturally gifted. Of course he is, but it only plays a 10% role... Hendry was better...
@@ironmaiden1377 I like Ronnie more than Hendry, I think he is more aggressive and is a better potter, but it doesn't change the fact that Hendry has won 7 world championships to Ronnies 5. However if you are on about overall triple crown tournaments then yes Ronnie is the better player
These two are fucking stupid. Selby makes centuries regular & is one of the best players of all time and the modern game today often sees players make multiple centuries with great safety on regular occasions.
im a ronnie fan but honestly those who say selby isnt a great player obviously dont understand the game of snooker. Even though selby isnt up there with ronnie and hendry but he is still a beast.
@Dynamite Kid Stephen won 7 world titles in his 20s.. Even with the crowd always against him at that age he handled the pressure amazingly, never complained he just won. That's something Ronnie could never do. He's lucky he's always had fans support behind him especially the ones that always keep calling out and shouting to unsettle his opponents. Not to mention he complains and moans about any little thing from a light, to a crowd member calling out or moaning to the referee who is just doing their job.. He hasn't got the class Hendry did neither could he handle the pressure Hendry did. Remember when he walked out of that match against hendry? Yeah real classy that wasn't it.. An insult to all the paying snooker fans, the audience watching at home and of course stephen himself.. And despite that who was still decent enough to check on him in his dressing room after? Oh yeah Hendry.
@Dynamite Kid Due to longevity we can give Ronnie the title of greatest of all time, but the best of all time is another matter. Take mid 90s Hendry and whichever version of Ronnie you prefer, first to 100 frames then who do you fancy?
Stop arguing brothers the greatest snooker player in the history ever was Joe Davis he won 15 world championships and could have easily won up-to 25 had his reign not been interrupted due to world war 2 Stephen Hendry and Ronnie o Sullivan are both greats but Joe Davis for me was the greatest a lot of players themselves admitted including Henry and Sullivan themselves that Joe Davis was the greatest this being said I think Stephen Henry and Ronnie o Sullivan could both fight for the best of second spot which they should for all the rightful reasons to be so. I don't think personally I am wrong here atleast.
Hendry was never the same after someone broke his snooker cue & god only knows how many more titles or how long his career would of lasted if Steve Davis hasn't of broken it lol
The difference in class of opposition that Hendry had to beat to reach the final (before beating O'Sullivan in a thoroughly convincing manner in the final) was chalk and cheese basically. The opponents O'Sullivan had to play were basically journeymen pro's, in comparison to the class Hendry had to beat.
@Storm Woods Why don't you have a look at the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Challenge. Final match, deciding frame ???.... Then come back in your delusional fan-boy manner and tell us all, that in his 'peak' - Hendry wasn't the 'GOAT'.
LOLz... @ Storm Woods !!!.... The way you talk anyone would think that Hendry was still playing professional Snooker ROTFLMAO, and that he hasn't scored another century since April 2012 WC. He retired eight years ago FFS. Do you honestly fucking think that his tally of centuries would have stayed where they are had he not retired ?... Mmm ???. He would still be comfortably ahead of O'Sullivan otherwise and even the ultimate O'Sullivan fan-boi such as yourself would know that. Or are you really just in the fantasy world that I suspect you are.
Ronnie didn't care about losing. He attacked everything and seemed like he didn't want to be there. When he doesn't want to be there he does this "still to this day"
By his own admittance, 2005 w.c. hendry v ros. The most outplayed he has ever been in his career. Semi final. Admittedly Ros was top dog that time. Hendry was outplayed. But as always Hendry never gave up till the final ball.
You jokers are forgetting something...this is Hendry at the best he ever was and Ronnie was in the very beginning of his ascent. Ronnie was just winning things on raw talent. Hendry was a seasoned, polished machine at the height of his career. Hendry has said, numerous times, Ronnie is far better than he ever was and is the greatest player to ever pick up a cue. When Ronnie was in his swing (like the final 3 frames of this year's, 2020 semi final world championship match against Selby) he cannot be beaten. Simply cannot be beaten. The greatest game of Joe Davis' life or Stephen's or Alex higgins' or Jimmy white, cannot beat Ronnie at his top game. Hendry is the 2nd best player of all time. Talent and game goes to Ronnie. Talent also goes to hurricane and Joe Davis, over Hendry, but his game was more consistent than higgins' and I don't think Joe could stand a match against a modern player.
Your reply is matter , I have been watching and playing snooker for the past 12 years and I have also watched almost all 90th era tournaments , I reached to a point where it is very hard to judge between Hendry and Ronnie , so I have found that 1- Ronnie is the most talented ever , he can do things others can't , in terms of cuing , potting and coming from behind .. so once he is in mood no one can stop him and the history witness that , but so many times Ronnie played reckless matches not just shots I do not want to just mention shots ,,no , even reckless matches, which frustrated me to the hell , that's the difference between him and Hendry and this is why Hendry has 7 world titles , I think if Ronnie committed to play the right shots and discipline he could have won 10 world title instead of 6. Ronnie has the ability to do every thing ,, so by committing these mistakes he beats himself , I still do not believe Ronnie can be beaten unless he was committing mistakes not even amateurs do. 2- Hendry is the best player ever who played snooker game , why and how? ,, he committed himself to follow best strategy and to be discipline in terms of taking right shot , never attempted to take a shot without knowing where the cue ball is going to be ended , for example there is a chance on a red but cueball can not be on color ball , whereas Ronnie did that so many times for unknown reasons . so he stayed committed till the last frames of his career .
@keflar5 are you having a stroke? EVERY LIVING professional snooker player, and the late William thorn have stated Ronald Antonio o'sullivan is the greatest snooker player to have ever lived. Not a single professional thinks Hendry over Ronnie except Ronnie and of course Ronnie isn't going to say he's the greatest ya daft imbecile.
yeah, people were different back in the nineties, more real, more individual, millions now look the same, very few individuals now, green shirt with jeans, blue blazer his dad gave home, brown leather shoes his grandad left him in his will, individual, now dressing out of JD Sports is the opposite of this.
Maybe, but what would be careless playing against Steven Hendry probably is ok normally. Steven was lethal on the long shots like the opening shot in the first frame, although yeah that one was actually a slightly careless shot by Ronnie.
@@RonniePickeringMate so Hendrys prime ended after 2003. The head to head is misleading too bcos a lot of those games were minor tournaments. The margin is about the same
