Class of '92 (snooker)

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Class of '92
Ronnie O'Sullivan[a]
John Higgins[b]
Mark Williams[c]

The Class of '92 is a group of three professional snooker players: Ronnie O'Sullivan from England, John Higgins from Scotland, and Mark Williams from Wales. All three were born in 1975, Williams on 21 March,[1] Higgins on 18 May,[2] and O'Sullivan on 5 December.[3] They all turned professional during the 1992–93 snooker season and have become known for their collective dominance of the sport—which includes a combined 98 ranking titles, 39 Triple Crown titles, and 14 world titles—as well as their longevity as top‑ranked players.[4][5] O'Sullivan has compared the Class of '92 to the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal in men's singles tennis.[6]

Achievements

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The Class of '92 has collectively won 98 ranking titles, of which O'Sullivan has won 41, Higgins 31, and Williams 26. All three players have won each Triple Crown event multiple times, for a combined total of 39 Triple Crown titles.[7][8] The three players have won a combined 14 world titles, three by Williams, in 2000, 2003, and 2018;[9] four by Higgins, in 1998, 2007, 2009, and 2011;[10] and a record-equalling seven by O'Sullivan, in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2022.[11] As of the 2024 World Championship, they have made a combined total of 88 appearances at the event's main stage at the Crucible, with O'Sullivan having featured 32 times, Higgins 30 times, and Williams 26 times.[12][13] All three players have reached the semi-finals of the World Championship on three occasions: in 1998 (with Ken Doherty), in 1999 (with Stephen Hendry), and in 2022 (with Judd Trump). At least one member of the Class of '92 featured in 18 of the 25 World Snooker Championship finals contested between 1998 and 2022.

The Class of '92 has collectively compiled over 2,900 century breaks in professional competition. O'Sullivan passed the 1,200 threshold on 22 April 2023,[14] Higgins passed the 1,000 threshold on 19 September 2024,[15] and Williams passed the 600 threshold on 21 September 2023.[16][17] These include 31 officially recognised maximum breaks, of which O'Sullivan has made 15, Higgins 13, and Williams 3.[18][19] From the time Higgins first became world number one in May 1998 until the end of the 2023–24 snooker season, the Class of '92 players held the top ranking spot for a cumulative 5,334 out of a total 9,499 days.[20]

Longevity

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Known for their longevity in the sport, the Class of '92 players have continued to win titles and set records into their late 40s. At the end of the 2021–22 snooker season, after 30 seasons on the professional tour, all three players were ranked within the top eight in the world.[18] As of July 2024, O'Sullivan holds records as the oldest winner of all three Triple Crown events, having won his seventh world title in 2022, aged 46 years and 148 days;[21] his eighth UK Championship title in 2023, aged 47 years and 363 days;[22] and his eighth Masters title in 2024, aged 48 years and 40 days.[23] O'Sullivan holds the record for the most appearances in the final stages of the World Championship at the Crucible, with 32 as of the 2024 event; Higgins is joint second with Steve Davis, having made 30 appearances. When Williams defeated O'Sullivan in the final of the 2024 Tour Championship at the age of 49 years and 17 days, he became the second-oldest player to win a ranking event, after Ray Reardon, who won the 1982 Professional Players Tournament aged 50 years and 14 days.[24] He and O'Sullivan also set a new record for the highest combined age (97) in any ranking snooker final.[25] Higgins holds the record for the longest uninterrupted tenure in the top 16 of the world rankings, at over 29 years; he first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 snooker world rankings and remained a top-16 player continuously until the conclusion of the 2024 English Open, a period spanning 10,738 days.[26] Higgins is also the oldest player to make a maximum break in professional competition, achieved at the 2024 Championship League when he was aged 48 years and 268 days.[27]

Honours

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All three players were honoured by Queen Elizabeth II for their services to snooker. Williams received an MBE in 2004.[28] Higgins received an MBE in 2009.[29] O'Sullivan received an OBE in 2016.[30] All three have been inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame.[31]

Triple Crown and ranking events

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The three players have won a total of 98 ranking events to date, O'Sullivan having won 41, Higgins 31, and Williams 26. They have also achieved 39 Triple Crown wins between them, O'Sullivan having won 23, Higgins 9, and Williams 7.

Triple Crown

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Tournament Ronnie O'Sullivan John Higgins Mark Williams Total
World Championship 7 4 3 14
UK Championship 8 3 2 13
Masters 8 2 2 12
Total 23 9 7 39

Ranking events

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Tournament Ronnie O'Sullivan John Higgins Mark Williams Total
World Championship 7 4 3 14
UK Championship 8 3 2 13
Welsh Open 4 5 2 11
World Open 1 4 4 9
British Open 1 4 3 8
German Masters 2 2 2 6
China Open 2 1 3 6
Scottish Open 2 2 0 4
World Grand Prix 3 0 0 3
Shanghai Masters 2 1 0 3
Players Championship 2 1 0 3
European Masters 1 1 1 3
Thailand Masters 0 0 3 3
Irish Masters 2 0 0 2
Tour Championship 1 0 1 2
Northern Ireland Trophy 1 0 0 1
Dubai Classic 1 0 0 1
English Open 1 0 0 1
International Championship 0 1 0 1
Indian Open 0 1 0 1
Australian Goldfields Open 0 1 0 1
Northern Ireland Open 0 0 1 1
WST Pro Series 0 0 1 1
Total 41 31 26 98

Time as World Number one

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Player From To Days Total
Ray Reardon, Cliff Thorburn, Steve Davis, and Stephen Hendry.
John Higgins 5 May 1998 1 May 2000 728 7 years, 11 months, and 27 days
Mark Williams 2 May 2000 6 May 2002 735
Ronnie O'Sullivan 7 May 2002 5 May 2003 364
Mark Williams 6 May 2003 3 May 2004 364
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4 May 2004 1 May 2006 728
Stephen Hendry.
John Higgins 8 May 2007 5 May 2008 364 3 years, 4 months, and 19 days
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 May 2008 3 May 2010 728
John Higgins 4 May 2010 26 September 2010 146
Neil Robertson.
John Higgins 13 December 2010 2 May 2011 141 8 months and 30 days
Mark Williams 3 May 2011 11 September 2011 132
Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, and Ding Junhui.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 25 March 2019 11 August 2019 140 4 months and 18 days
Judd Trump and Mark Selby.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4 April 2022 6 May 2024[d] 764 2 years, 1 month, and 3 days
Mark Allen and Judd Trump.
Total: 5,334 of a possible 9,499 days. (56.2% over 26 years)
Source: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[20]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ O'Sullivan at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic.
  2. ^ Higgins at the 2015 Paul Hunter Classic.
  3. ^ Williams at the 2015 German Masters.
  4. ^ The end of the 2023–24 season.

References

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  1. ^ "Mark Williams". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  2. ^ "John Higgins". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ^ Staniforth, Mark (28 April 2022). "Snooker's 'Class of 92' – John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams reach World Championship semis". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  5. ^ Alderman, Elgan (9 August 2023). "Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams thriving as snooker's 'three Mexicanos'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ^ "O'Sullivan compares 'Class of 92' to tennis greats". BBC Sport. 28 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. ^ "A Class Apart?". WPBSA. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ^ Parsons, Ben (25 April 2022). "Higgins hails snooker's Class of 92 after securing World Championship quarter-final". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  9. ^ Hafez, Shamoon (7 May 2018). "Mark Williams beats John Higgins to win third title". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  10. ^ Ashenden, Mark (2 May 2011). "Higgins beats Trump to win fourth title". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan wins sixth World Snooker Championship at Crucible". Sky Sports. 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. ^ Bower, Aaron (15 April 2023). "O'Sullivan survives Pang fightback to seal first-round win at the Crucible". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Williams hits Robertson for six". World Snooker Tour. 17 April 2023. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan rockets past Hossein Vafaei at Crucible with session to spare". The Guardian. 22 April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Higgins hits 1,000th century in English Open defeat". BBC Sport. 19 September 2024. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Mark Williams, the Welsh potting machine". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  17. ^ Hendon, David (21 September 2023). "Mark Williams has made his 600th career century". Twitter. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  18. ^ a b Hendon, Dave (20 June 2022). "How Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams achieved snooker immortality - 30 years of Class of '92". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  19. ^ "147 Breaks: Full list". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Ranking Records". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. ^ Kane, Desmond (3 May 2022). "'A miraculous work of sports Pulp Fiction' – How Ronnie O'Sullivan defied time to cement legacy as snooker GOAT". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Oldest winner of snooker's UK Championship". Guinness World Records. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Rocket soars to eighth Masters crown". World Snooker Tour. 14 January 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Wonderful Williams claims gold in Cheltenham". World Snooker Tour. 2 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Mark Williams beats Ronnie O'Sullivan in Tour Championship final after winning seven frames in a row". Sky Sports. 7 April 2024. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Robertson regains top 16 spot and ends Higgins' record streak". World Snooker Tour. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Higgins makes 13th maximum". World Snooker Tour. 10 February 2024. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  28. ^ "MBE joy for Williams". BBC News. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  29. ^ "How Queen Elizabeth II honoured snooker's greatest icons including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Steve Davis". Eurosport. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  30. ^ King, Matt (6 May 2016). "Ronnie O'Sullivan receives an OBE". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Hall of Fame | WPBSA | Snooker". WPBSA. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
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