Ronnie O'Sullivan once named the three toughest opponents of his professional career in snooker - and said they were 'almost impossible' to beat in their prime.
O'Sullivan turned professional in 1992 at the age of 16, and he became the youngest player in snooker history to win a major title when he defeated Stephen Hendry 10-7 in the UK Championship final the following year.
Having now spent over 30 years in the game, 'The Rocket' has played against numerous generations of snooker players.
Only two of the top 16 players from his first season - Jimmy White and Hendry - remains active at professional level, although Ken Doherty, who won three tournaments that year, still plays.
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O'Sullivan, who is a record-equalling seven-time world champion alongside Stephen Hendry, won his first world title in 2001 by beating John Higgins 18-14.
He lifted the trophy for a second time three years with a 18-8 win over Graeme Dott, before suffering a surprise Crucible quarter-final elimination at the hands of Peter Ebdon in 2005.
It was around that time, O'Sullivan revealed, that he believed the snooker field was at its toughest in terms of the top players - and 'The Rocket' said in a 2020 interview with Eurosport that his three most challenging opponents were all on top of planet snooker at that time.
He explained: "I've always said that snooker enjoyed a golden era when Hendry, Higgins, [Mark] Williams, [Matthew] Stevens, the great Paul Hunter and myself were battling it out.
"I truly believe that was the best top six [players] ever.
"For me, getting through Hendry, Higgins and Williams in their prime was almost impossible.
"To beat two of them was so, so tough. Nobody has made me fight as tough as that trio in their prime.
"In some way, the players these days go for their shots a lot more. They are much more aggressive. They miss a few balls to let you in, and are less focused on safety.
"The games are much more enjoyable for me these days than years ago, when you had several players you didn't really like playing because you knew they could match you."
Between the start of his career and 2005, O'Sullivan finished as runner-up in six ranking events - with Hendry, Higgins or Williams getting the better of him on each of those occasions.
Higgins and Williams are both still active and inside the top 16, with the pair having shared seven World Championship titles between them,
Hendry, who has seven on his own and dominated snooker in the late 1980s and 1990s, retired in 2012 before making a comeback on an invitational tour card in 2020. He still holds that tour card, although hasn't played since October.
Topics: Snooker
Ryan Smart