How Much Did Stephen Hendry Win During The 1990s?

Stephen Hendry was the Undisputed King of the 1990s. Match after match, win after win and title after title, Hendry reigned supreme in a manner and with a win-rate that elevated his status to one of the, if not THE, all-time greatest. ‘Peak-90s’ Hendry is often what many refer to when referencing the success of the seven-time World Champion, but just how much did Hendry win during this decade?

Out of Hendry’s total 36 ranking titles, 27 (75%) came during this decade. This includes his momentous five ranking events in the 1990/91 season (click here to read about that) as well as his 11 ranking final win streak between 1993 and 1997, matched only by Mark Selby. Hendry reached a total 38 ranking finals during the 1990s (looking at calendar years, not seasons), which gave him a ranking final win rate of 71%. Alternatively, you could look at it as Hendry winning 7 out of 10 ranking finals he would reach.

Hendry’s success with non-ranking events were just as triumphant. He was able to secure a further 27 non-ranking trophies to his name out of the 40 finals he reached, giving a 67.5% win rate in finals. When you combine this with his ranking victories, during the 1990s Hendry was able to win 69% of finals he competed in. It’s actually quite impressive considering if you look at his record, it suggests that Hendry was winning at least five tournaments each season, which was pretty much the case every year (particularly in the former half of the decade).

Nearly all of Hendry’s Triple Crown success came during the 1990s, a factor that firmly places him as the greatest of all time in the eyes of many fans. Hendry established his legacy as he clinched his famous 7 World Championships, 5 Masters and 4 UK Championships during his period of dominance. What makes this astonishing is that this single-handedly matches the combined efforts of the Class of ’92 in the decades that followed. Of course, there is always going to be an argument towards level of competition, but that can’t take away from this formidable win rate.

Stephen Hendry did a lot more to contribute to snooker aside from his winning streaks. He changed the way the game was played (click here to read about that) and pioneered the aggressive break-building approach to snooker we currently observe nowadays. He took the level set by Steve Davis and others before him and raised the bar to evolve the game to the standard we’re used to seeing today.

Fun fact – out of the 54 tournaments won by Hendry, 16 of them were majors. This means that nearly one-in-three wins resulted in a Triple Crown for the legend.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: Stephen Hendry Post 2000s Career

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

Snooker Tips: Performing the Screw Shot

It’s a shot that visually looks so simple on screen, yet when you approach the table with a cue in hand and attempt to bring the cue ball back following a strike, an amateur can become humbled quite quickly and appreciate the technical challenges the game of snooker poses. If you struggle with the screw shot, hopefully this Short will give some useful pointers to take into the next practice!

• Keep a level cue

When first practicing a screw-back shot, the instinct may be to raise the butt of the cue in order to generate more spin however, you should keep the cue as flat as possible in order to avoid any inadvertent swerve imparted on the cue ball. Having a low bridge hand will help with flat cueing.

A method of practicing flat and level cueing would be to place the rest/spider on the table and practice striking underneath it without making contact with the extension (credit to snookergames.co.uk for this tip).

• Focus on timing and follow-through, not power

Arguably the most important factor in playing a shot that isn’t plain ball is to ensure a smooth and consistent follow-through. In the case of a screw-back, less is more and when you take power out of the equation (particularly as an amateur learning to strike the ball), you’ll find that you’ll get a better action than if you focused on power.

• Practice soft screw shots

Try potting the blue off its spot from a close distance (preferably off straight), focusing on the point of the cue ball where you’re going to strike. Don’t worry too much about potting the blue, rather practice getting the desired backspin. You can gradually increase the distance between cue and object ball or practice screwing back further as you start getting the feel of how you should be delivering the cue.

• Confidence and cue acceleration

Easier said than done, but if you approached a screw shot in the same manner as you would a plain ball shot, you’d probably play the shot more confidently. Chances are if you’re not getting enough screw-back on the shot, there is a chance you’re decelerating (click here to read about how that works).

• Hitting the cue ball low enough

A lot of the time when the cue ball isn’t having the desired effect when screwing back, players just aren’t hitting low enough – almost to the point that it unintentionally turns into a stun shot. Practicing shots close to the object ball will help identify errors in your striking and delivery which will make for more effective practice going forward.

What are some of your best tips for generating backspin? Let me know in the comments!

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: Snooker Table Maintenance - What You Need To Know

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

What is ‘Decelerating’ in Snooker?

Decelerating is a term you hear often used by the commentary box, mainly when a player misses a shot in a particular way. It can be a bit of a struggle to get one’s head around but I’m hoping to clear up the confusion about what decelerating is and how it applies in the context of a snooker shot. Believe it or not, it’s actually not that complicated to understand.

In the simplest terms, decelerating is when a player is delivering a shot, they ever so slightly slow down their stroke right as they’re about to make impact with the cue ball. So instead of delivering the stroke in a consistent start-to-finish speed, there’s a subtle drop in cue speed towards the end of the stroke, thus causing deceleration. It’s a very slight/difficult thing to notice which is probably why you only really hear Stephen Hendry calling it out on commentary when this event does happen.

What causes deceleration? It can be any number of factors, internal or external. Externally, there could be a twitch in a players arm as they’re playing the shot, an extra bit of tension in the arm or grip, all of which could affect delivery on the shot. Internally, which I feel is most common is when a player has second thoughts on their shot in the middle of playing it, causing them to not fully commit during shot delivery, also causing deceleration and affecting the outcome of the shot.

How does deceleration affect the pot? Snooker is a game of fractions as John Virgo so frequently says, and this applies to how a player delivers a shot. A slight change in speed upon impact with the cue ball will affect the amount of spin imparted on the cue ball and change the outcome of the pot from what the player originally intended, hence the object ball going offline and missing the pot.

Timing is a key element of playing a shot exactly as it was planned in your mind and perfecting your timing is the difference between regular players and professionals that make the game look frustratingly easy. Timing is probably more useful in a close quarter, break-building scenario as opposed to a long pot where deceleration is more often associated. However, timing plays its part in every shot and being able to accelerate the cue in a fluid, confident manner reduces the effects of deceleration.

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: The Impact of Snooker Tips

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!

Snookers Mount Rushmore

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?

---

Like this Short? Click here to read: Snooker Records You May Not Know About

Have an idea for a Short post? Feel free to get in touch using the social media links below! Thanks for reading!