and are on opposite sides of the debate once more, this time regarding . The Belgian former world champion was eliminated by the world No. 1 at the this year and gushed over the quality of his opponent.

Brecel entered the match playing some of the best since he won the himself in 2023, but fell 13-8 to Trump, who looked set to compete for his second title only to be bettered by . Trump won the last five frames to beat Brecel, who went on to claim that his opponent that day is the best player in the history of the sport.

"I think he's been the best player for maybe the last five years, so it's no surprise," the Belgian Bullet said after his defeat. "He actually always plays like a number one, I think some years maybe the number one wasn't as good as him. I think he's probably the best number one that's ever been, maybe. For me he's probably the best ever."

It was a bold statement at the time, despite Trump's dominance on tour in modern times. The Bristol potter only has one world title to his name and although expected to finish his career with multiple Crucible wins, Hendry has not even placed Trump in his top five.

The seven-time world champion named as his number one, Williams second, third, fourth and then fifth.

He explained his Trump omission to the podcast: "Number five. This could be out of two players. Judd Trump, for what he's won, has got to be considered, but he's only won one world title.

"Steve Davis is my number five. Six world titles. His utter domination of the 80s. People will scream that the players weren't as good, I don't care. If he was playing the way he did in the 80s he'd be in the top 16 today.

"He was the ultimate winning machine and someone I learned a lot from in my whole attitude to the sport."

Once again, Hendry and Brecel offer different opinions, having .

pundit Hendry has levied repeated criticism at Brecel, including telling the quarter-finalist: "I honestly don't know what he's doing with his career. I haven't got a clue. I see him a lot on Instagram, he's riding his bike all over the place, he's going out to dinners with his girlfriend, he seems to be having a lovely time."

Any gripe between the pair appeared to have been put to bed in Sheffield this year, however, with in the early World Championship rounds.