Ken Doherty: Ronnie O'Sullivan Is 'Without Doubt' The Greatest Ever
The Panel recently sat down for an exclusive interview with snooker great Ken Doherty to get his thoughts on this year's World Championship and some of the legendary players involved.
The 1997 world champion knows what it takes to come out on top at The Crucible and has played against some of the greatest snooker players of all time.
Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins are in action at this year's tournament, and Ken spoke to Gambling.com about the two legends of the game.
He also discussed the dreaded 'Crucible Curse' and whether it will be broken in the future.
Ronnie Is The Greatest Of All Time
Seven-time world champion O'Sullivan is gracing the stage at The Crucible again this year, and is many people's pick of a potential winner.
The enigmatic 'Rocket' is chasing a record-breaking eighth success in Sheffield, and whether he wins or not, Doherty believes he is the best player the sport has ever seen.
When asked if winning an eighth title would make O'Sullivan the best ever, he said:
"Yes, I think it does. But whether he wins his eighth title or not, I think he probably just edges Stephen Hendry because of the titles that he's won.
"Overall, O'Sullivan's longevity, the amount of titles, all the records that he's broken - I think without a shadow of a doubt, he's the best player that's ever played."
O'Sullivan beat Ali Carter in this year's first round, and Ken believes that he will improve even more as the tournament progresses.
"He played really well in Wednesday’s session. He won the first five frames in a really superlative style. It was like the old Ronnie.
"He was playing at about 14 or 15 seconds a shot, which is ridiculous at the World Championship. Some of the shots he played, left-handed, right-handed - the speed and execution were just sublime.
"Ali Carter probably lost this match on Tuesday in the first round of the first session, because he was 3-1 down, and he should have been 3-1 up, at least. So he could have been going into Wednesday’s session ahead of him by a margin.
"I think he let O'Sullivan off the hook, and Ronnie got sharper and stronger. I wouldn't say Ronnie O'Sullivan is back to his best, but if he keeps playing, he'll get better and better, and more confident with the new cue. He's playing with a titanium ferrule, which takes a little bit of getting used to.
"But if he keeps going on, he'll get stronger and stronger and be a real danger. He's got his confidence back and looks really up for it."
Higgins Could Struggle Against Younger Players
Another legend in action at this year's World Championship is four-time winner Higgins.
The Scot won 10-7 against Joe O'Connor in round one, but at 49, Doherty thinks he could struggle to keep up with the younger players.
Speaking of Higgins, Ken said: "He's playing good stuff. He won the Tour Championship only a few weeks ago. He's full of confidence. Yes, he got a bit emotional - but that happens at the Crucible. He wants to win a fifth title.
"He'll have to probably run into Ding Junhui, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, or Mark Williams - whoever that might be in that bottom half. So he'll have some tough matches along the way.
"He's still one of the greats and one of the best, even now at the top of the game. I think himself and Williams would be a real cracker of a quarter-final if they both get through.
"The only thing I would say for John Higgins is, can he last the marathon of the 17 days? He's already had a tough match.
"If he has another tough match in the last 16, then he has another tough match in the quarter-final.
"How much stamina can he have at nearly 50 years of age?
"And can he last the pace against these younger players that are a little bit fitter, particularly like the Judd Trumps of this world?"
Crucible Curse Strikes Again
Kyren Wilson became the latest victim of the dreaded Crucible Curse this year, with the defending champion going down 10-9 to Lei Peifan.
The curse grows in infamy yearly, and Doherty was surprised that Wilson fell at the first hurdle in 2025.
"That’s 48 years now that the ‘Crucible Curse’ has been going on, and Wilson has fallen at the first hurdle.
"It was a big surprise to me and everybody else. I thought he could have gone really deep and been the one that broke the curse, because of his record coming into it. Four tournament wins this season, and playing beautifully.
"He'd been talking about it quite a lot. He broke mirrors and put umbrellas up in his house - he was only short of running over a black cat!
"He didn't believe in superstitions or the curse or anything like that, but it still happened.
"As I keep saying to everybody, the Crucible does certain things to players that no other venue does. It’s the atmosphere, the history, the crowd - and it certainly had an effect on Wilson in the first round."
So, what is Doherty's opinion on whether it will ever be broken?
"I think it will be broken," he said. "There's no doubt about it.
"Will it be broken before it moves away from the Crucible? I certainly hope it [the World Championship] never moves away. But it's very hard to come back and defend that title, as we've all found out.
"Somebody will break it, but you don’t tempt fate, as it can come back and bite you. You don't tempt the snooker gods either, because they never forgive you.
"So it's a lesson Wilson learned, he tried to be a little bit different, I can understand that.
"He's a lovely guy. I thought he carried the ambassadorial role of being world champion superbly well over the past 12 months. He’s been really, really good in that respect."
