Nearly every snooker blogger and his dog has done this topic before. Well, I am no different now.
Let’s be honest, we know who is doing to be No. 1. It is not Dechawat Poomjaeng, I’m afraid. While I keep up the feigned suspense, we can always debate who else should’ve won the World Championship. No player wants to be among the best players to never win the World Championship, much like the best players to never win a ranking title.
So here’s the Top 5! Also for the sake of simplicity, I will just include current tour players. So the likes of Eddie Charlton and Doug Mountjoy won’t be included. Maybe later down the years there will be a Top 10!
Anyways, let’s debate!
5. Ali Carter
There are a number of players who will say they underachieved. Stephen Maguire and James Wattana are particular examples. But Ali Carter already achieved a huge amount but could’ve achieved more.
Ali Carter won four ranking events and four minor or non-ranking events. Though he never won any Triple Crown competition yet, he reached two World Championship finals in 2008 and 2012. Both of which are against Ronnie O’Sullivan. He lost 18-8 and 18-12 respectively. Each time he had to beat players ranked above him. In 2008, he got past seeds Shaun Murphy and Peter Ebdon. In 2012, he came back from 9-12 down to beat Judd Trump in the decider, followed by defeating Maguire in the semis. Most famously, he scored his first 147 in 2008, which he is rather pleased about it.
You could say that the Captain was very unlucky to come up against the Rocket twice where he performed superbly. Therefore, you could conclude that had Carter faced another player in the final, he might’ve won at least one of them. One of the main reasons why he is on this list is this: if this is what he already achieved, imagine how much he would’ve won if he hadn’t been suffering from Crohn’s disease. Or if he hadn’t faced testicular cancer one occasion or lung cancer a few years later.
A lot time out of the sport fighting to eventually beat both cancers would’ve took a lot of toll. Reaching two World finals, winning tournaments and beating cancer twice is phenomenal. But it is hard for me not to think that had his health problems got in the way, he would’ve won a lot more.
4. Matthew Stevens
‘The Welsh Dragon’ has achieved surprisingly little for a player of his statue, if you look at his trophy cabinet. He has won two of the most prestigious events in the snooker world. In 2000, he was victorious against Ken Doherty by beating him 10-8. Despite being 4-0 behind in the 2003 UK Championship, Stevens managed to be one of the very few players to defeat Stephen Hendry by making a comeback to win 10-8.
Surprisingly, this was the only ranking event he has won to date. He lost seven ranking finals, the latest won was in the 2013 World Open, where he lost to Mark Allen 10-4. Two of them were in the World Championships.
Matthew Stevens has a very good record at the Crucible. Three quarter-finals, four semi-finals and two final appearances at the World Championships is seriously impressive. However, some will remember how he lost his two World finals in 2000 (vs. Mark Williams) and in 2005 (vs. Shaun Murphy). They are mainly down to inspired player from his opponents, his failure to keep his lead and a bit of bad luck. In both finals, Stevens led 10-6 overnight, even against Williams he was 12-6 up. In both finals, he lost 18-16, which was so gut-wrenchingly close.
The match that unfortunately showed his habit of sacrificing big leads was in the Last 16 of the 2007 World Championship. Stevens led 11-5 and 12-7 against Murphy, only to then get knocked out 13-12. Since then, he qualified for the World Championship five times in the last ten years. He did reach the semi-finals in 2012, but since he lost his prized cue, his form is slowly declining. It is such a shame because Matthew Stevens had such a wealth of talent and yet he is always a bridesmaid and never the bride.
3. Judd Trump
Judd Trump was heralded as the future of snooker. Though his breakthrough came later than the likes of Hendry, O’Sullivan and Davis, he took the snooker world by storm in 2011. After winning the China Open, he blitzed past everyone with his attacking power and his brand of ‘naughty snooker’. He reached the final that year and came up against 3-time World Championship winner John Higgins. Despite leading 12-9, Higgins used his experience to battled back and win 18-15. Trump hasn’t reached a World final since.
It is not to say Judd Trump hasn’t achieved anything since. He won the UK Championship and reached the final a few years later. He won many ranking and non-ranking titles and still kept his reputation for being an entertainer. However, he hasn’t escape any criticism. He fell foul of having a touch of bravado about him and enjoying his social life too much. Despite this, he still achieved two semi-finals and two quarter-finals.
A lot of people have said that 2015 was his best chance, but he failed to beat underdog Stuart Bingham in the semi-finals. He then suffered a humiliating defeat in 2016. He crowed arrogantly that he can play to a very high and rate standard. He drew against outsider Rory McLeod and, even though you could argue he sustained a shoulder injury in the second session, he lost 10-8 in the first round, such a shock was that he didn’t even attend his post-match interview. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.
Stephen Hendry is a huge admirer of Trump as well as a critic. Hendry said with his natural ability, Trump should’ve won at least one World title by now. Most of the answers to why he hasn’t cropped up this season. Trump admitted that he once enjoyed winning at least a title per season and staying pat rather than complete domination. Since adding brother Jack onto the team, Judd increased the practice hours and became more dedicated and it reaped rewards this season. A Masters trophy and two ranking events is not too shabby and shows that there is plenty more to come, recently making him one of the favourites to win at the Crucible by the bookies this year.
Maybe 2019 is indeed his year because he has put more work in. It is certainly not the case that he wasted his talent but more likely that he should have. That’s a lot considering he has won many trophies now. The reason why he is at No. 3 on the list is because there are two players who are touted to win even more than Judd! I think you know who they are!
2. Ding Junhui
It was in the China Open 2005 where 18-year-old Ding Junhui beat legend Stephen Hendry to win his first ranking title. It was in the same year he became the first overseas player to win the UK Championship. When he lost 10-3 to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2007 Masters final, the Rocket predicted that he would be a multiple World Champion. Fast forward to present day, Ding as won 13 ranking titles, 4 minor-ranking titles and 4 non-ranking titles, including winning the second Triple Crown event, the Masters in 2011. Not to mention a few World Cup medals and 6-reds trophies.
Yet Ding’s name is not on the World Championship trophy.
Ding has appeared at the Crucible every year since 2007 initially had a very poor record at the World Championship. Even between 2007-2014, he only reached the quarter-final stages twice, with his best chance being in 2011, where he lost to unseeded Judd Trump 17-15 in the semi-finals. Even in during the season where he won five ranking titles, he suffered one of the biggest Crucible shocks in modern snooker history. He lost to debutant Michael Wasley 10-9, despite leading 6-3 in the first session.
Since then, Ding’s Crucible record flourished. After reaching a quarter-final, Ding reached his first World Championship final, despite being forced to qualify in the first place. Despite a few spirited comebacks, he never led the final, losing to Mark Selby 18-14. He lost to Selby the following year in the semi-final and last year, lost to Barry Hawkins in the quarters.
So why does Ding have a poor record? Does he feel the pressure of having the entire country of China on his shoulders? Should he be used to the Crucible by now? The problem with his best chances were that they were all close – he did have chances to win? Stephen Hendry picked on Ding’s poor attitude at times like he didn’t want to be playing snooker.
Surprisingly for Ding, time is running out. A new wave of Chinese youngesters such as Zhou Yuelong, Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong are threatening to make an impression. Worst case scenario, even they could beat Ding to the World Championship title, however unlikely that may be. Considering Ding was portrayed as the hero of Asia, holding the dreams of the entire nation. Perhaps because the world of snooker had high hopes for Ding it is even more surprise that it hasn’t happened yet.
1. Jimmy White
It’s not a shock, is it? You would expect any man who won ten ranking titles and twenty-two non-ranking events to have won the World Championship. You would also be surprised to hear that the same man reached four World Championship semi-finals and six finals didn’t kiss the lady on the trophy. Unfortunately, that man is the ‘Whirlwind’, the ‘People’s Champion’ – Jimmy White. It is one of the most tragic stories in the sport’s history that one of the most entertaining players in history never got the biggest prize.
He is still a professional, but the odds of him winning one now are hugely unlikely. So how come Jimmy still hasn’t won the World Championship yet? A multitude to reasons, to be quite honest. His rebellious and lavish lifestyle with the likes of Alex Higgins and Kirk Stevens didn’t help matters. Jimmy mentioned in his autobiography that his addiction to crack cocaine cost him ten World titles. As well as his struggle with drink and gambling, it would’ve cost him thousands of pounds and a lot of trouble. Ken Doherty mention that Jimmy was always a wild one in the mould of Higgins.
The other reason was his lack of bottle. He always had the flair and the aggression. But he is let down by his concentration and playing while under pressure. The main examples were in the 1992, where he was 14-8 ahead of Stephen Hendry. Hendry ended up winning ten successive frames to win that title. The most famous example was during the decider of the 1994 final. White was in first and was among the balls, but missed a black off the spot. Hendry cleared up to clinch the title. It was due to pure pressure. The Scotsman was able to handle it, which is why he won so much.
The other main reason is due to a lot of bad luck. Losing six finals was one thing, but losing five in a row must be torture. Losing four to the same man (Stephen Henry), especially when Hendry had a broken elbow one tournament, was deeply unlucky. As Jimmy White said of Hendry after losing the 1994, “He’s beginning to annoy me!” You can argue that Jimmy would’ve won a lot more had he not been around. Also, more players just manage to perform at their best against Jimmy. He lost the 1982 semi-finals 16-15 to Alex Higgins due to one of the most famous and incredible clearances anyone could witness from the Hurricane (THAT 69 break).
However, everyone still loves Jimmy White. The fact that he is so resilient to still continue playing the sport despite those hardships is incredible. We can still hope and dream………
