With the UK Snooker Championship currently being played in York, the fifth year in succession it has been staged in the city, Hugh MacDougall picks his top five cuemen.

IT'S remarkable to realise that six of the players who came to York last week for the first two rounds of the UK Snooker Championship weren't born when Steve Davis won the first of his half dozen world titles.

That was in 1981 and 24 years later he's still going strong. The 'Nugget' has won everything in the game, accomplished every feat. Not content with that, he has kept setting himself personal targets.

That's the sort of hunger that marks out great champions from the names you barely remember, the one-offs, fine players at the time and whose achievement merits respect, but not quite the stuff of legends.

Dennis Taylor's black ball world title triumph over Davis will always be among the most dramatic finishes in the annals of sport. Ronnie O'Sullivan's record fastest 147 maximum and outsider Shaun Murphy's world title win earlier this year will also forever rank as amazing performances.

There are countless feats you can single out down the years, but the real giants of sport and those gifted with not only exceptional talent but genius have the authority which earns lasting fame.

Davis took snooker to a higher level, changed the game and made young lads want to be as good as him.

Young lads at the time like Stephen Hendry, the determined, poker-faced Scot who proved that anything Davis could do he could do better. His phenomenal achievements are not likely to be overtaken.

The bare statistics speak for themselves.

Davis: six world titles, 28 ranking titles, earnings of over £5million, made an MBE and also awarded an OBE for his snooker achievements.

Hendry: seven times world champion, 36 ranking titles, eight maximum 147 breaks in competition, close to 700 century breaks in top class competitive play, earnings of over £8million, honoured with an MBE for services to snooker.

And at number two in the world rankings, Hendry is still hunting for even more success.

He is undoubtedly the greatest snooker player of all time.

Yes, but no flair, no panache in their style of play, some might say of Davis and Hendry. They might not be as flamboyant as a few others, but there isn't anything they can't do and haven't done to perfection.

Hendry is the most focussed player I've ever seen. His concentration is superb. It's a privilege to watch this master craftsman at work.

The one thing which the great free-rangers haven't got is that unrelenting consistency which brings regular success.

There is nothing more exciting in snooker, though, than seeing Ronnie O'Sullivan in full flow. He is probably the most naturally gifted player there's ever been. When not bedevilled by his personal demons his mind is razor-sharp and positive and he uses his cue as if it was a magician's wand.

But his temperament lets him down, as it did in York on Saturday when petulantly he spent half the second session of his match against Mark King with his towel over his head and face. Not the conduct of a great champion.

The only other player with skill to compare with Ronnie's was Alex Higgins, with Jimmy White in his younger days in the same category. The 'Hurricane' and the 'Whirlwind' were great entertainers and while Jimmy is still a huge draw on the circuit he's not the force he was.

I reckon that Ronnie has the edge on Alex and Jimmy, but I can't rate him the greatest player, which is about making the most of the opportunities you get. Ronnie isn't doing that despite his great talent and the way he's going, losing interest in snooker, it's not likely that he will.

So my top five snooker players are: 1 Stephen Hendry, 2 Steve Davis, 3 Ronnie O'Sullivan, 4 Alex Higgins, 5 Jimmy White.

To have your say, send your suggestions to the Sportsdesk, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York YO1 9YN, or email to sport@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 09:53 Tuesday, December 13, 2005