The Class of '92 is a group of three professional snooker players: Ronnie O'Sullivan from England, John Higgins from Scotland, and Mark Williams from Wales. All three were born in 1975, Williams on 21 March,[1]Higgins on 18 May,[2] and O'Sullivan on 5 December.[3] They all turned professional during the 1992–93 snooker season and have become known for their collective dominance of the sport—which includes a combined 99 ranking titles, 39 Triple Crown titles, and 14 world titles—as well as their longevity as top-ranked players.[4][5] O'Sullivan has compared the Class of '92 to the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal in men's singles tennis.[6]
The Class of '92 has collectively won 99 ranking titles, of which O'Sullivan has won 41, Higgins 32, and Williams 26. All three players have won each Triple Crown event multiple times, for a combined total of 39 Triple Crown titles.[7][8] The three players have won a combined 14 world titles, three by Williams, in 2000, 2003, and 2018;[9] four by Higgins, in 1998, 2007, 2009, and 2011;[10] and a record-equalling seven by O'Sullivan, in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2022.[11] As of the 2024 World Championship, they have made a combined total of 88 appearances at the event's main stage at the Crucible, with O'Sullivan having featured 32 times, Higgins 30 times, and Williams 26 times.[12][13] All three players have reached the semi-finals of the World Championship on three occasions: in 1998 (with Ken Doherty), in 1999 (with Stephen Hendry), and in 2022 (with Judd Trump). At least one member of the Class of '92 featured in 18 of the 25 World Snooker Championship finals contested between 1998 and 2022.
The Class of '92 has collectively compiled over 2,950 century breaks in professional competition. O'Sullivan passed the 1,200 threshold on 22 April 2023,[14] Higgins passed the 1,000 threshold on 19 September 2024,[15] and Williams passed the 600 threshold on 21 September 2023.[16][17] These include 31 officially recognised maximum breaks, of which O'Sullivan has made 15, Higgins 13, and Williams 3.[18][19] From the time Higgins first became world number one in May 1998 until the end of the 2023–24 snooker season, the Class of '92 players held the top ranking spot for a cumulative 5,334 out of a total 9,499 days.[20]
Longevity
Known for their longevity in the sport, the Class of '92 players have continued to win titles and set records into their late 40s. At the end of the 2021–22 snooker season, after 30 seasons on the professional tour, all three players were ranked within the top eight in the world.[18] As of March 2025, O'Sullivan is the oldest winner of all three Triple Crown events, having won his seventh world title in 2022, aged 46years and 148days;[21] his eighth UK Championship title in 2023, aged 47years and 363days;[22] and his eighth Masters title in 2024, aged 48years and 40days.[23] O'Sullivan has made the most appearances in the final stages of the World Championship at the Crucible, with 32 as of the 2024 event; Higgins is joint second with Steve Davis, having made 30 appearances. Higgins holds the record for the longest uninterrupted tenure in the top 16 of the world rankings, at over 29 years; he first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 snooker world rankings and remained a top-16 player continuously until the conclusion of the 2024 English Open, a period spanning 10,738 days.[24][25] Higgins is the oldest player to have made a maximum break in professional competition, achieved at the 2024 Championship League when he was aged 48years and 268days.[26] By winning the 2025 World Open at the age of 49years and 287days, Higgins became the second-oldest player to win a ranking event, after Ray Reardon, who won the 1982 Professional Players Tournament aged 50years and 14days.[27] Higgins also set a new record for the longest interval between a player's first and most recent ranking title, his victory at the 2025 World Open coming 30years and 129days after his maiden ranking title at the 1994 Grand Prix.[27] At the 2024 Tour Championship, Williams and O'Sullivan set a record for the highest combined age (97) in any ranking snooker final.[28]
Honours
All three players were honoured by Queen Elizabeth II for their services to snooker. Williams received an MBE in 2004,[29] Higgins received an MBE in 2009,[30] and O'Sullivan received an OBE in 2016.[31] All three have been inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame.[32]
Triple Crown and ranking events
The three players have won a total of 99 ranking events to date, O'Sullivan having won 41, Higgins 32, and Williams 26. They have also achieved 39 Triple Crown wins between them, O'Sullivan having won 23, Higgins 9, and Williams 7.
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