Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel have named their greatest snooker players of all time, with both current stars agreeing that Ronnie O'Sullivan is the undisputed GOAT. The lists, shared with Metro, highlight the challenge of comparing eras while emphasizing the high standard of modern play.
Brecel's top five: O'Sullivan leads, Trump second
2023 world champion Luca Brecel placed O'Sullivan first, followed by Judd Trump, John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Stephen Hendry. 'Obviously, Ronnie O'Sullivan. Easy,' Brecel told Metro. 'And then it's a tough one between Judd, Selby and Higgins. I would actually say Judd, number two. People struggle to put guys like Judd number two because he's still very young, but it's obvious that he's much better than Steve Davis or Hendry.'
Brecel justified Trump's high ranking by citing his own experience playing against him. 'With Judd, he's so much better than those guys. Obviously as a player, when you play Ronnie a lot, Judd a lot, you know which one is the most difficult and I think Judd is really up there.' The Belgian lost to Trump 13-8 in the 2025 World Championship quarter-final, recalling: 'I was playing so well in that World Championship and I felt like I could win it that year as well, but he was unstoppable against me.'
Lisowski's expanded list includes Wu Yize and Zhao Xintong
Jack Lisowski struggled to limit his selection to five, ultimately naming seven players: O'Sullivan, Trump, Higgins, Wu Yize, Mark Williams, Zhao Xintong, and Stephen Hendry (added as a late seventh). 'Ronnie, Judd, Higgins, Wu Yize, Williams, Xintong. That's what I reckon,' Lisowski said. He acknowledged forgetting Hendry initially: 'Hang on. Did I put Hendry in there? F***ing hell, stick Hendry at seven, or else I'll get a b******ing.'
Lisowski noted the difficulty of comparing eras, citing the explosion in century breaks. 'You look at their centuries as well, people have so many more centuries now, compared to the older guys. But it's hard to compare eras. You could put Steve Davis in there, I don't know, but that's all I see now, I'm only really going back the last 20 years.'
Ken Doherty's traditional top five contrasts modern views
1997 world champion Ken Doherty offered a more traditional list in May: 'Ronnie, Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, John Higgins, and Mark Selby.' He defended Hendry's legacy, baffled by suggestions he should be lower. 'Stephen Hendry almost won six in a row here [the Crucible]! No one will ever, ever do that again. And as great as the other players are, even Ronnie, Ronnie won a seven in 30 years. Stephen won seven in 10. No one will dominate the game the way he played. And if he had been around with the era today, he would have actually got better.'
Doherty's list underscores the enduring debate over how to weigh peak dominance versus overall longevity and standard of play.
