The infamous Class of ’92 have withstood the test of time in snooker better than anyone else in the sport. Despite being over 40 years old, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams are still displaying their fortitude as they continue to win tournaments and make major finals, whilst staying around the top of the rankings. But how much of an impact did these three make in their formative years?
During the 1990s, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams won a combined 26 ranking titles, along with a further 15 non-ranking trophies. This doesn’t take into account the numerous other finals that they also contested. Their triumphs also included 8 Triple Crowns, all which was achieved during the decade of Stephen Hendry, as well as during their early 20s (or in some cases, even younger than that!).
O’Sullivan contributed 7 of the total 26 ranking titles accumulated in the 1990s, one of which included his historic UK Championship in 1993 where he became the youngest player to win a ranking tile – a record still held to this day. He added another UK title in 1997 as well as a Masters in 1995 where he beat fellow rival Higgins. And of course, how could one possibly forget his effortless 5:08 maximum break during the WSC in 1997?
Williams matched O’Sullivan’s 7 ranking titles during the 1990s although his victories started from 1996 with the Welsh Open. While Williams hadn’t reached the peak of the early 2000s, he was still proving to be quite the force as he captured the UK title in 1999 and the memorable Masters victory against Hendry the year prior. At such a young age, Williams was showing his impressive ability as he was able to reach the semi-finals of the WSC in 1998 and then the final in 1999. And we all know what happened in the following year.
Lastly, Higgins, who perhaps was the most impressive of the three during the 1990s. Out of the 26 ranking titles, Higgins was responsible for 12 of them alone, almost matching the combined efforts of O’Sullivan and Williams. Higgins proved to be such a devastating competitor as he won three ranking titles in a single season as a teenager in 1994/95. He became the only one of the Class of ’92 to complete the Triple Crown before the turn of the century as he secured the World and UK Championship in 1998, then the Masters in 1999.
The most impressive thing about these three legends are the ages at which they were accomplishing these feats. In their early to mid-twenties, they were already displaying tremendous all-round match-play, something which takes most players years to hone in. I think they really have spoiled the perception of future generations because of this, due to the fact that expectations are placed highly for newcomers that make their way into the scene.
For example, Judd Trump didn’t really hit his stride until his thirties, which it still a very young age in the sport, but I think because of the likes of the Class of ’92, many expected him to be in this position at a significantly younger age. In actual fact, Trump is probably at the normal point of the progression curve in his career. As are many other players on the circuit.
John Parrott spoke about it quite well during the Crucible’s 40th year anniversary documentary in that the game struggles to have players like O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams coming in at all, let alone in packs of three like they did in 1992. There certainly won’t be another calibre of these three, and I think the fact that they all came in at the same time is what enabled them to achieve what they did during the 1990s.
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