Stephen Hendry

Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969 ) is a Scottish professional snooker player who is best known for dominating the sport during the 1990s, when he became one of the most successful players in its history.

Hendry started playing snooker in 1981, aged 12, when his father bought him a child-sized snooker table as a Christmas present.

In 1983, he won the Scottish Under-16 Championship, and made his first televised appearance on Junior Pot Black.

In 1984, aged 15, he became the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Amateur Championship.

After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season.

In 1985, after retaining the Scottish Amateur Championship, he turned professional aged 16 years and three months; he was then the sport's youngest ever professional.

He was managed by entrepreneur Ian Doyle.

In the 1985–86 season, Hendry won the Scottish Professional Championship, becoming the youngest player to do so.

He qualified for the 1986 World Snooker Championship, losing 8–10 to Willie Thorne in the first round on his debut.

In the 1986–87 season, Hendry retained his Scottish Professional Championship title.

He reached his first ranking semi-final at the Classic, but lost 3–9 to Steve Davis.

Hendry and Mike Hallett won the 1987 World Doubles Championship, defeating Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn 12–6 in the final.

He reached the quarter-finals of the 1987 World Championship, but lost 12–13 to defending champion Joe Johnson, despite coming from 1–8 and 8–12 behind to force a deciding frame.

In the 1987–88 season, Hendry won his first ranking title, beating Taylor 10–7 in the final of the Grand Prix.

He captured his second ranking title at the British Open, where he defeated Hallett 13–2 in the final.

He also won his third consecutive Scottish Professional Championship.

By the end of his third professional season, he reached number four in the world rankings and was named the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year for 1987.

Although he failed to win a ranking title during the 1988–89 season, he won the Masters on his debut, defeating John Parrott 9–6 in the final.

Hendry's five consecutive Masters titles between 1989 and 1993 and five consecutive world titles between 1992 and 1996 are both records in the modern era.

One of three players to have won all three Triple Crown events in a single season, he is the only player to have achieved the feat twice, in the 1989–90 and 1995–96 seasons.

His 777 career century breaks include 11 maximum breaks, putting him behind only O'Sullivan (15) and John Higgins (13) for the most officially recognised maximums in professional competition.

He reached his first world semi-final at the 1989 World Championship, but lost 9–16 to the eventual champion Davis.

The 1989–90 season marked the beginning of Hendry's period of dominance.

He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990 aged 21 years and 106 days, surpassing Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds.

From 1990 to 1999, he won seven world titles, setting a modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022.

Hendry also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 23.

His 36 consecutive victories in ranking events between March 1990 and January 1991 and his 29 consecutive wins at the Crucible between 1992 and 1997 also remain modern-era records.

He won his first UK Championship, defeating Davis 16–12 in the final; won his second Masters, defeating Parrott 9–4 in the final; and won his first world title at the 1990 World Championship, beating Jimmy White 18–12 in the final.

He became the second player to win all three Triple Crown events in the same season, after Davis had first achieved the feat two seasons earlier.

Awarded an MBE in 1994, he was twice named the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year, in 1987 and 1996.

Hendry's form became less consistent after his sixth world title in 1996 and his career declined in the 2000s, his play increasingly affected by the yips.

He reached the last of his nine world finals at the 2002 World Championship but lost in a deciding frame to Peter Ebdon.

He won his last ranking title at the 2005 Malta Cup and reached his last ranking final at the 2006 UK Championship, losing 6–10 to Ebdon.

His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 41, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.

In the 2011–12 season, he fell out of the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time in 23 years.

Although he compiled his 11th career maximum in his first-round match against Stuart Bingham, he announced his retirement from professional snooker at age 43 after losing 2–13 to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals.

After almost nine years in retirement, he returned to the professional tour in 2021 under an invitational tour card.

He also competes on the World Seniors Tour and regularly features as a commentator and studio pundit for snooker coverage on BBC and ITV.

He qualified for the 2012 World Championship, where he made his 27th consecutive Crucible appearance.

Aged 17 years and 3 months, he was then the youngest player to compete at the final stages of a world championship, a record he held for 26 years until Luca Brecel made his Crucible debut in 2012 aged two months younger.