Judd Chump

Crazy shot to go for in a final frame.Great comeback by allen though,short list for the worlds.

interesting to know what he tweeted when 3-1 in front
and what he tweeted when he bottled it.

The worst thing you can do is believe your own publicity, far better you take your results as the only yardstick.

Trump is great to watch but as the finished article he is a long way off.
The above point about Jimmy is a great one and he really was the grandfather of naughty snooker but it cost him dear.

Great shots are not new and have been around since the game began, the ever improving conditions have made them more common thats all.

Trump at present is a million miles from being the next Hendry or O'sullivan and while he still has many years left in him these defeats are best avoided because they do suggest even to yourself your not as good as you think you are and that doubt does pile up.

No way he is a million miles from o sullivan,but agree he plays ridicules shots at crucial times.He is the best player in the world at the moment,but if he were to play robertson or a selby in a final i think he would struggle to win due to their game plan,ie slow it down and frustrate the kid.How good he will be when he gets the tactical part of the game right is anyones guess,but he sure is a great potter.

the stunning.

Ronnie at 16 was a better all-round player than Trump is now.

The class and depth of the nineties is greatly underrated.

Davis left a legacy of properly trained youngsters in the art of safety.
One of the great myths of snooker is Hendry could not play safety but he could and did, it was only when the safety was as difficult as the pot that he took chances because he would rather lose a frame from a pot than a poor safety.

I love watching the likes of Robbo and Trump but fear their natural games are their strength and maybe its too late to change styles.
Robbo is trying a more balanced game but maybe that will in the end prove a weakness.
I am going for Selby in this years worlds, probably because its his last real chance and Trump maybe has a few harsh lessons to learn yet.
I hope he does not get sucked in by the bullshxt, snooker does not need saving its in great health.                           He needs to win matches or he will live the rest of his life wondering why he did a Jimmy.

Trump

Potting 10/10
Positional Play 4/10 (his potting disguises how poor his positional play is)
Safety 8/10
Shot Selection 0/10

And he is nowhere near the best player in the world at the moment..? He has won two ranking events in his career?

The calculator,

Your sum adds up, perhaps a bit generous on the safety and slightly harsh on the shot selection but you make your point well.

Moondan,

I guess I rated him that way, because when I see him play safe, it's pretty decent - just don't see it anywhere enough.
In my view, the shot selection is the difference between him being a solid number one right now, or being in a pack of six/seven players who are all capable of winning any event. I'm guessing he believes the hype of "naughty snooker", and feels right now that taking on almost everything is the way to go. But playing that way since the UK, he has lost to Robertson, O'Sullivan, Maguire and Allen, and in not one of those matches was he particularly unlucky - just gave those guys lots of chances - which they duly took.
So that is why he got a 0, perhaps a little harsh, but it is a MAJOR handicap for him.

He is no Davis, Hendry, Higgins (John) or O'Sullivan in my book - but he could be the best of a solid but not great era.

Calculator,

Could not have put it better.

Over the years I have watched so much snooker I could pinpoint where they have altered the playing conditions and while some wont have it the effect is has been quite drastic.

I do have some sympathy with players now because its like playing on a sheet of ice and shots along the cushion are now odds on to get, where with the longer pile they were odds against.
Like you I dont feel I am watching extra special players but maybe these tables have made it difficult for them to impose themselves.

I have been waiting for Allen and Trump to segregate themselves from the rest, maybe we are beginning to see that.
Any thoughts on who will make up the top 5.?

Right I'll go for my top 5 in 5 years time.

1. Judd Trump
2. Mark Selby
3. Mark Allen
4. Michael White
5. Neil Robertson

Close : Lisowki, Ford, John Higgins, Woolaston, Ronnie(???), Ding, Jamie Jones, Jimmy Robertson

The Calculator,

Yes I think you have got it covered.

I would not have Higgins or Ronnie because I really cant see either winning much from here on in.
I know that does not sit well with most but history suggests its the way it is.
Davis never really took his A game past his 12th season, Hendry past his 15th and although they still won their domination was on the wain.
Williams, Higgins and O'sullivan never dominated except for the odd season but all were a class above todays players and although John had a great season last year I will oppose them in almost every match they play simply because I do think they are just not as good as a few years ago and its this that becomes a mind game and its really the opponent they never beat.
If Hendry could not win beyond his twentieth season I firmly believe nobody will.
I would throw Cope into your list because the guy just has to mature into the player we know he is.

Ronnie at 16 was a better all round player than trump is now.Look how long it took ronnie to get to a world final.Trump has got to the final of the 2 biggest tourneys on the circuit,and without doubt is the best in the world at the moment.Only a matter of time before he gets shot selection sorted then you can properly judge him,but to say he is a million miles from o sullivan is laughable in the extreme.

The stunning,

I can assure you Ronnie was a better player at 16 than Trump is now.
Trump does not have a Davis or Hendry to deal with or a few other names I could throw in.

Extremely overrated is not a wild claim to make about many of these potters.
Hendry stopped Ronnie winning 3 world titles in the nineties and if you watched those games you would understand they were high class affairs and thew tables were a little more demanding.

I am a big fan of Trumps but in my humble opinion his game is much the same as it was several years ago, its just that all the real class players such as Williams, O'sullivan and Higgins to name just 3 are well into natural decline.
I will also add that most snooker observers 0r ex players agree with Steve Davis's assumptions.

Sorry that should have read,

Most observers or ex players do not agree with Steve Davis's assumptions, about thyis being a standard of snooker never seen before, in fact they think that is laughable.

The standard is way higher now than it has ever been,make no mistake about it.Just look at the breaks in the early qualifying rounds its unreal.Even look at the snooker played in the regional pro am events its crazy high.Who are these observers,i never here them.Do me a favour with your trump is no better than he was several years ago,he is a different player.And you don't rate ding,robertson,higgins,selby etc..i think they are half decent.

Ding, Robertson, Selby etc right now are half decent. As is Trump.

That is the problem... they are all half decent. No more than that.
If Trump is that great, why can I back him at 6.6 for the Crucible??? Surely he'd be evens or lower??

Why in gods name would he be evens?? Does the best player have to be evens.Any one of 10 could win the worlds this year,back in the 90s you would have a shortlist of 3,maybe 4.Hendry was in a league of he's own year on year,only for steve james he would of being going for 8 in a row against ken!No way he would dominate in this era like the 90s,not denying he is the greatest of all time.I never said trump was GREAT,just stated he is the best in my opinion at present and is far from a million miles behind o sullivan as was mentioned earlier.Roll on the crucible!

Yeah, but if you wanna compare him in any way to O'Sullivan, why is he any one of ten who can win it this year???
In terms of talent, it's hard to quantify how close he is to O'Sullivan, but in my opinion he is no nearer than players like Robertson, Ding and in the past players of the like of Doherty, Ebdon, Parrot, and I hate to say it, White. (And I am talking about potential, in terms of achievement, he doesn't even figure anywhere near that list yet).
And I disagree wholeheartedly that Hendry wouldn't dominate today. I think he would still win 7/8 world titles, as he had it all, including the most important thing, bottle.

The stunning,

You sound like a snooker fan so no way do I want to say for definite my opinion is worth more than yours but I will say what I firmly believe.

I have watched and gambled on all the great players of snooker since 1972.
As late as the early to middle 80s I have witnessed the ref using a hair dryer on the cloths before the match started and in the mid session interval, especially when its been a rainy day.

In the last 20 years running around off several cushions has become progressively easier and in this present day it just requires the lightest of shots. Screwing back just requires timing and no strength whatsoever.
The late eighties saw better cloths the nineties the fast cloth, the 2000s the super fine cloth and in the last couple of seasons we have seen the extra super fine cloth, this cloth has not only been used on the playing surface but also around the cushions and pockets.
We have also seen a new table introduced, and though they will tell you this was to make the game harder, its aim has been to make bigger breaks easier but they cant say that.

Cont,

Throughout my years going to tournaments just about everything has changed except one thing and that has been the players of pro standard have always cued as straight as each other and played the game to the best of the conditions available.

Improvement in the game has been conditions led.
Of course the ability of players is not the same but the truely great players of each era would have been great in any era, snooker is not rocket science and if anything many shots that were common years ago are lost to the modern game because in some ways the game has lost something.

I am continually shocked by balls that seem to be missing by a good half a ball drop and balls that hit the near cushion or jaw still drop.
That just never happened in years gone by.

Nobody has more time for Steve Davis the player than me but what I can never forgive him for is,  he has completely misrepresented the game of snooker and all its older players.

He has abused his position fronting snooker by not educating newer fans as to why this great game has progressed and changed so much.
Why he does that I do not know, but I do know this, Him and his Parrot do not represent the views of the vast majority of players both old and new.

Anyway like you its roll on sheffield and may the best players win.
For me its the most imporant 17 days in the sporting calender.

By the way, Ronnie was at his absolute best between 16 and 25, he may not have won what he should have but as a player he was something else.

Trump does many great shots, more than was the case a couple of years ago, the thing thats says much to me is so do all the other players and many have found a game they never had until the tables was changed.
I think that explains a lot.

I would also like to agree wholeheartedly with  The calculators assessment of Hendry.

Ronnie had an effect on the audience it could get noisy as was the case with Alex and Jimmy.
Stephen had a completely different effect, you always had a sense of awe with him, it was clinical stuff.
I sat and watched him compile seven centuries in his 10-5 victory over doherty in the uk final and Ken was no pushover and nor did he roll over;
I agree wholeheartedly with Ronnie on this subject when he said that Stehen is by far the best player to have picked up a cue.

I also believe that overall the nineties were stronger than today.

When you consider the lineup that Stephen beat to take that historical seventh, it included Paul Hunter, Ronnie, Williams and the pressure must have been the most intense possible it seems insulting and ridiculous to deny him his rightful place at snookers top table in the modern game, couple that with his record its a form of madness.
In my opinion John higgins as great as he is is nothing more than a luke warm Hendry and his record proves that.

Points well made lads!All about opinions for sure.It should be beyond question that hendry is the greatest,but as i said,he would'nt be winning as many world titles as he did in the 90s.My reasoning is not that he wouldn't be the the best player,but he would surely get caught in the first round at some stage by the undoubted higher quality of the players coming through,where in his era there was a lot of dead wood in the early rounds.On o sullivan,i think he is the most talented sportsman of any sport i watch,only messi could rival him but he should have won way more.Not sure he has another worlds in him,think he tries harder than ever but maybe the love of the game is gone.Would be amazed if trump didn't match his 3 worlds.Recall that uk final,magic,but what about the 96 liverpool victoria final,o sullivan comes back from 8-2 down to tie at 8-8...then hendry knocks in a 147 in the decider.Either ya have it or ya dont!

Bad attitide.Bad hair and a right tweet imo