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  "path": "/2026/06/23/stephen-hendry-names-top-16-snooker-players-last-50-years-28884379/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-23T05:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Snooker",
    "Sport",
    "Ronnie O'Sullivan",
    "Stephen Hendry",
    "World Snooker Championship",
    "Sign up here",
    "World Snooker Tour’s Snooker Club podcast",
    "Zhao Xintong",
    "Mark Selby",
    "Mark Williams",
    "Ronnie O’Sullivan",
    "Masters",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Seven time world champion Stephen Hendry has picked out his top 16 from the last 50 years (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nStephen Hendry has named his top 16 snooker players of the last 50 years and it is sure to cause plenty of debate.\n\nThe seven-time world champion has named a top 16 for the Crucible era, which dates back to the 1976/77 season.\n\nSome very big names miss out, including a string of former world champions, while three players who have never conquered the Crucible do make the cut.\n\nHendry has leant towards the modern player more, with the likes of Ray Reardon, Cliff Thorburn and John Spencer missing out.\n\nAlso getting the chop after being initially considered were the likes of Ken Doherty and John Parrott, despite winning the greatest prize in snooker.\n\nHendry, of course, had to put himself on the list, and obviously that came at the business end after his immense career.\n\n##  Are you snooker loopy?\n\nYou're in the right place. I'm Phil Haigh, and I cover the game we all love for **Metro**.\n\nIn my newsletter, The Table, I analyse the biggest talking points, pull back the curtain on the sport and crown the biggest winners and losers every week.\n\nSign up here.\n\nPhil has been reporting on snooker for over a decade\n\nHere are the 16 players Hendry considers the best of the last 50 years, as revealed on World Snooker Tour’s Snooker Club podcast.\n\n2024 world champion Kyren Wilson made the cut (Picture: Getty Images)\n\n### 15 = Kyren Wilson\n\nWorld Championships: 1\nTriple Crowns: 2\nRanking Titles: 10\n\n### 15 = Mark Allen\n\nWorld Championships: 0\nTriple Crowns: 2\nRanking Titles: 12\n\n### 14. Alex Higgins\n\nWorld Championships: 2 (1 in Crucible era)\nTriple Crowns: 5\nRanking Titles: 1 (world rankings began after some of Higgins’ titles)\n\n### 13. Paul Hunter\n\nPaul Hunter tragically died at just 27 years old (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nWorld Championships: 0\nTriple Crowns: 3\nRanking Titles: 3\n\n### 12. Neil Robertson\n\nWorld Championships: 1\nTriple Crowns: 6\nRanking Titles: 26\n\n### 11. Ding Junhui\n\nWorld Championships: 0\nTriple Crowns: 4\nRanking Titles: 15\n\n### 10. Shaun Murphy\n\nWorld Championships: 1\nTriple Crowns: 4\nRanking Titles: 13\n\n### 9. Zhao Xintong\n\nZhao Xintong won the world title in 2025 in style (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nWorld Championships: 1\nTriple Crowns: 2\nRanking Titles: 6\n\n### 8. Jimmy White\n\nWorld Championships: 0\nTriple Crowns: 2\nRanking Titles: 10\n\n### 7. Steve Davis\n\nWorld Championships: 6\nTriple Crowns: 15\nRanking Titles: 28\n\n### 6. Judd Trump\n\nWorld Championships: 1\nTriple Crowns: 5\nRanking Titles: 31\n\n### 5. Mark Selby\n\nMark Selby added another Triple Crown title to his collection last season (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nWorld Championships: 4\nTriple Crowns: 10\nRanking Titles: 25\n\n### 3 = Mark Williams\n\nWorld Championships: 3\nTriple Crowns: 7\nRanking Titles: 27\n\n### 3 = John Higgins\n\nWorld Championships: 4\nTriple Crowns: 9\nRanking Titles: 33\n\n### 2. Stephen Hendry\n\nStephen Hendry gives Ronnie O’Sullivan the edge over himself (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nWorld Championships: 7\nTriple Crowns: 18\nRanking Titles: 36\n\n### 1. Ronnie O’Sullivan\n\nWorld Championships: 7\nTriple Crowns: 23\nRanking Titles: 41\n\nOn his top two, Hendry said: ‘I’m tempted purely for argumentative purposes to put myself above Ronnie because the backlash would be huge.\n\n‘He’s got to be above me for the fact that he’s won eight Masters and eight UK Championships. 17 maximums, 1,400 century breaks.’\n\nExplaining how he came to his decisions over the whole list, Hendry said: ‘Obviously what they’ve won has got to come into it, how successful [they’ve been]. I think players I enjoy watching will have to come into it.\n\n‘John Spencer and Ray Reardon I didn’t play against and didn’t really watch a lot of them actually playing, so I probably won’t include them for the simple reason I didn’t watch them play a lot.’\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Stephen Hendry names his top 16 snooker players of last 50 years"
}