Which four snooker players would feature on your Mount Rushmore? For you, which individuals have either had the most impact; are/were the best players; made the greatest contributions; or had the most significant effect on how you currently watch snooker? I think this poses an interesting topic because I think many would take a different perspective as to who belongs at their snooker mountaintop.
Ray Reardon
Six time World Champion Ray Reardon was one of the first, if not, the first player to really capture the hearts of viewers as the modern era of snooker was beginning to make some headway. A terrific tactician and a thirst for blood on the table, Reardon owned the 1970s, winning titles at an age most wouldn’t even fathom happening currently. Following the success of Pot Black, Reardon became the first No. 1 snooker player and inspired generations of players to want to pick up a cue.
Steve Davis
Transitioning from the 1970s came the golden age of snooker, for which there was one key figurehead that took technique and match-play to the next level. Steve Davis was a force to be reckoned with during the 1980s, creating and holding many of the records that have been broken by the prodigies that followed him. Following his success on the table, Davis has transitioned into an ambassadorial role mixing his duties of punditry, commentary and analysis in order to educate the masses.
Stephen Hendry
Considered by many as the greatest of all time, I don’t think you’ll find many Snooker Mount Rushmore’s that didn’t have Stephen Hendry as one of the faces. Hendry was quite possibly the most dominant player of all time, bringing an attacking style to the table which is emulated and practised to this day by players of the current crop. Clearing up and winning the frame wasn’t necessarily a significant part of snooker prior to Hendry’s appearance, and who knows what the current standard would be if it weren’t for the seven time champions involvement.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
There isn’t a single person that makes the game of snooker look as easy as Ronnie O’Sullivan does. O’Sullivan turns snooker into a true art form when he plays and he’s backed this with numerous titles over the course of his three decade (and counting) career, alongside running away with all records set by the aforementioned champions before him. There really isn’t enough time or space to list everything O’Sullivan has done for the sport but chances are if you’re reading this, then you know exactly who O’Sullivan is and why he belongs on Snookers Mount Rushmore.
You can see that my Mount Rushmore follows the natural path of the key players which dominated their respective eras. And it could be considered the more conventional selection for this snooker mountaintop. Which is why I’ll probably make a follow-up in the future with an alternate Mount Rushmore selection of snooker players.
This isn’t to diminish any other player or their contributions to the sport i.e. Joe Davis, Rex Williams etc. And my current selection may suffer a little from recency bias as a result of it, but I think it shows just how difficult it is to limit your choice to just four snooker players. Hence, why I think I’ll be following this up in the future perhaps with Snooker Mount Rushmore’s for break-building, long potting, entertainment etc.
But let me know! Which four players would be on your Snooker Mount Rushmore and why?
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