Class of '92
Ronnie O'Sullivan[lower-alpha 1]
John Higgins[lower-alpha 2]
Mark Williams[lower-alpha 3]

The Class of '92 is a group of three professional snooker players—Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, and Mark Williams—who all turned professional during the 1992–93 snooker season and have become known for their collective dominance of the sport as well as their longevity as top-ranked players, which O'Sullivan has compared to that of the Big Three (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal) in men's singles tennis.[1][2][3] All three players were born in 1975, Williams on 21 March, Higgins on 18 May, and O'Sullivan on 5 December.[4][5][6] The trio has won a combined 96 ranking titles, with O'Sullivan having won 40, Higgins 31, and Williams 25. All three players have won each Triple Crown event multiple times, for a combined total of 38 Triple Crown titles.[7][8] At the end of the 2021–22 snooker season, after 30 seasons as professionals, all three players were ranked within the top eight in the world.[9]

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 three players have won a combined 14 world titles, three by Williams, in 2000, 2003, and 2018;[10] four by Higgins, in 1998, 2007, 2009, and 2011;[11] and a record-equalling seven by O'Sullivan, in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2022.[12] As of the 2023 World Championship, they have made a combined total of 85 appearances at the event's main stage at the Crucible, with O'Sullivan having featured a record 31 times, Higgins 29 times, and Williams 25 times.[13][14] 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).

The Class of '92 has collectively compiled over 2,800 century breaks in professional competition, including 30 officially recognised maximum breaks, of which O'Sullivan has made 15, Higgins 12, and Williams three.[9] From the time Higgins first became world number one in May 1998 until the end of the 2022–23 snooker season, the Class of '92 players held the top ranking spot for a cumulative 4,963 out of a total 9,128 days.[15] They continue to win events, and have set longevity records in the sport. At the 2022 World Championship, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion in snooker history, aged 46 years and 148 days.[16] At the 2022 English Open, aged 47 years and 270 days, Williams became the oldest player to make a maximum break in professional competition;[17] at the 2023 British Open, aged 48 years and 194 days, he became the second-oldest player to win a ranking event, after Ray Reardon.[18] By the end of the 2022–23 season, Higgins had spent a record 28 consecutive seasons ranked within the world's top 16.[9]

Triple Crown and ranking events

The three players have won a total of 96 ranking events to date, O'Sullivan having won 40, Higgins 31, and Williams 25. They have also achieved 38 Triple Crown wins between them, O'Sullivan having won 22, Higgins nine, and Williams seven.

Triple Crown

Tournament Ronnie O'Sullivan John Higgins Mark Williams Total
World Championship 74314
UK Championship 83213
Masters 72211
Total 22 9 7 38

Ranking events

Tournament Ronnie O'Sullivan John Higgins Mark Williams Total
World Championship 74314
UK Championship 83213
Welsh Open 45211
World Open 1449
British Open 1438
German Masters 2226
China Open 2136
Scottish Open 2204
Shanghai Masters 2103
Players Championship 2103
European Masters 1113
Thailand Masters 0033
Irish Masters 2002
World Grand Prix 2002
Northern Ireland Trophy 1001
Dubai Classic 1001
English Open 1001
Tour Championship 1001
International Championship 0101
Indian Open 0101
Australian Goldfields Open 0101
Northern Ireland Open 0011
WST Pro Series 0011
Total 40 31 25 96

Time as World Number 1

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 26 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 18 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 29 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 17 days.
Judd Trump and Mark Selby.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 4 April 2022 1 May 2023[lower-alpha 4] 393 1 year and 27 days.
Total: 4,963 of a possible 9,128 days. (54.4% over 25 years)
Source: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.[15]

See also

Notes

  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 2022/23 season.

References

  1. ↑ Alderman, Elgan (9 August 2023). "Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams thriving as snooker's 'three Mexicanos'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Staniforth, Mark (28 April 2022). "Snooker's 'Class of 92' – John Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams reach World Championship semis". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "O'Sullivan compares 'Class of 92' to tennis greats". BBC Sport. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Mark Williams". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "John Higgins". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "A Class Apart?". WPBSA. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "Higgins hails snooker's Class of 92 after securing World Championship quarter-final". Telegraph & Argus. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Hendon, Dave (20 June 2022). "How Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams achieved snooker immortality - 30 years of Class of '92". Eurosport. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Mark Williams beats John Higgins to win third title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Higgins beats Trump to win fourth title". BBC Sport. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan wins sixth World Snooker Championship at Crucible". Sky Sports. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Bower, Aaron (15 April 2023). "O'Sullivan survives Pang fightback to seal first-round win at the Crucible". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Williams hits Robertson for six". World Snooker Tour. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Ranking Records". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ↑ 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. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Nunns, Hector (16 December 2022). "Neil Robertson makes semi-final of English Open despite Mark Williams' 147". The Sportsman. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Wonderful Williams claims gold in Cheltenham". World Snooker Tour. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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