After witnessing Ronnie O'Sullivan finally tie his longstanding record of seven World Snooker Championship titles, Stephen Hendry said he was "surprised it's taken him so long."
The seemingly inevitable came to pass on Monday when 'The Rocket' fired to an 18-13 final win over Judd Trump in Sheffield. O'Sullivan, 46, surpassed Ray Reardon as the oldest player to triumph at the Crucible, clinching a seventh world crown some 21 years after winning his first.
By contrast, Hendry won all seven of his titles over the course of a decade (1990-99) and made only 27 tournament appearances compared to O'Sullivan's 30. And the man known as the 'King of the Crucible' predicted his old foe will be determined to go on and break the record outright.
"Deserved win," Hendry told the BBC . "As I said on the commentary, he's taken snooker to new heights. I'm actually surprised it's taken him so long to get to seven - that's how good he is! When I got six to equal Steve [Davis], I had to get seven. I presume it'll be the same for Ronnie, he'll have to get eight. I'm sure he won't be happy until he's done that. That will be the aim - as simple as that.
"He's a winning machine. He said he doesn't look at the records but he'll want to get eight. Absolutely. The way he's dominated this World Championship from start to finish, it's been an outstanding performance.
"OK he's maybe not been put under the pressure but that's because he's played so well and has refused to let people put him under pressure. He's just been wonderful. The compliments, you can't give him enough the way he's played here."
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O'Sullivan signed off his tournament in style despite a late comeback attempt from final foe Trump. 'The Juddernaut' trailed 12-5 at one stage but finished on the receiving end of a more respectable 18-12 scoreline, and The Rocket ended his competition with a new career best of 15 Crucible centuries.
That doesn't quite match the record of 16 centuries Hendry has long held, a tally that Mark Williams managed to tie at this year's contest. However, O'Sullivan has gained parity where it counts and is now on the verge of taking the World Championship record as his own.
Despite his achievement, O'Sullivan played down his latest feat and praise his fellow record-holder as he told the BBC : "I think it meant more to him [Hendry] than me to have seven world titles but we will share it. Hendry is an absolute legend of the game. It is just a number - I do not get too caught up in that."
