Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry: Who has the most World Snooker Championship titles, what is the record?

Updated 18/04/2023 at 13:20 GMT

With the action well underway at the 2023 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, let's look at some of the key stats involving the legendary duo of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry, who currently share the record for the most titles at the sport's most famous venue in the modern era. The Rocket will be looking to surpass his fellow snooker icon in this latest edition.

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The greatest snooker tournament of the year - the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield - defines careers and legacies, and it is largely responsible for how each era of the sport is judged as each winner goes down in the history books.

Despite the fact that many of the sport's biggest names have endured seasons to forget thus far, the World Championship can entirely make up for that with glory at the Crucible marking a campaign as hugely successful in any player's career. For Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and others, a winning run in Sheffield would surely erase any lingering frustrations from previous tournaments.

While for some players, such as O'Sullivan, Trump, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson and Mark Williams, each edition of the World Championship affords a huge opportunity to add their tallies, for others it is simply about being on top of the world for one glorious moment.

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In this article, we start by looking at the two players who have the most world titles to their names in the modern era, but we also recap what key names have said about their personal tallies - and those of their rivals - in this most cherished event in the sport.

How many World Championship titles have O'Sullivan and Hendry won?

Stephen Hendry and O'Sullivan each have a staggering seven world titles to their names - the Scot from three fewer appearances - and the legendary duo are out in front on the all-time list, which you can see below.

The Rocket will be gunning for the outright record as the reigning champion having triumphed in very emotional and memorable fashion in last year's edition of the iconic event.

What needs to be pointed out, of course, is that the below list is reflective of the fact that the 'modern era' of the sport is considered to have begun in 1969. Prior to that, the event was a 'challenge format' and not the knockout format that the competition now has.

If we were to factor in world champions from prior to 1969, the English trio of Joe Davis, Fred Davis and John Pulman would be atop the standings with 15, eight and eight titles to their names, respectively.

PLAYER	WORLD TITLES	YEARS WON	APPEARANCES
Stephen Hendry	7	1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999	27
Ronnie O'Sullivan	7	2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022	30
Steve Davis	6	1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989	30
Ray Reardon	6	1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978	19
John Higgins	4	1998, 2007, 2009, 2011	28
Mark Selby	4	2014, 2016, 2017, 2021	18
Mark Williams	3	2000, 2003, 2018	24
John Spencer	3	1969, 1971, 1977	18

How many World Championship titles can O'Sullivan win?

Well, let's ask one of his best friends, and fellow snooker legend, Jimmy White, who famously came up agonisingly short of claiming a world title of his own in heartbreaking fashion on six separate occasions at the Crucible.

O'Sullivan has the ability to win a staggering 10 World Championship titles if he applies himself correctly, according to White.

"Most snooker players would agree he is the greatest player ever," White said in the Eurosport studio.

"If he [O'Sullivan] applies himself right and practises properly, he can win 10 [world titles] - and who is to say that he won't."

Trump, who was the beaten finalist last year, said of O'Sullivan: "[This is] an amazing achievement, and he will go down as the best player of all time. He just keeps getting better and better.

"I think his determination, dedication, you can see out there he barely misses a ball over the 31 frames. I think he was the best player throughout the whole time by quite a distance."

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The man himself has also given his thoughts ahead of his bid to win an outright-record eighth world title.

“I try to get a perspective on the game and on my life, and I think that is better now," said O'Sullivan.

"I don’t want to be defined by snooker, a result, achievements. If they come, great. But yeah, I probably play it down.

"I will be trying my hardest this year, obviously. I think I have another four good genuine attempts at [winning an eighth world title].

“I do care, of course, I care. I just try to have a better perspective on it. It is a big part of my life, but not all of my life. I am not going to invest everything into it.

“If it happens, great. I don’t have to be fully focused 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Once I put my cue down, I try to forget about snooker and enjoy my life."

Ronnie O'Sullivan | World Snooker Championship (WST)

Image credit: Other Agency

What about Hendry?

While his most recent eagerly-anticipated comeback did not go according to plan, O'Sullivan himself has warned against anyone criticising the legendary Scot.

“Stephen does what Stephen wants,” O’Sullivan told The Sportsman. “He is a seven-time world champion. If he wants to turn up and play, then great.

“If he doesn’t, then he has won it all. He is an absolute legend of the sport. He can come in here and play in his underpants if he likes. We should all bow to him. He is a hero of mine.

“Others probably see him as just another player, but I don’t. I see him as one of the greatest sportsmen I have ever known. He is like Tiger Woods.

“He puts them all to shame. He has got balls, as we say. Big trousers. It is highly unlikely he will win four best-of-19 matches [to qualify for the Crucible] – but never write Stephen off.

“And no one should criticise him. Even if he got beaten 10-0 and the highest break was 12, no one has the right to criticise Stephen Hendry.”

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