Ronnie O'Sullivan revealed his thrill at matching records held by Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry as he vowed to play on for years to come.
A sixth UK Championship title for O'Sullivan in York equalled the remarkable haul that Davis accumulated in his 1980s pomp.
O'Sullivan also joined Hendry on 18 triumphs in Triple Crown tournaments, the series made up of the blue-riband World, UK and Masters events.
He grew up with Davis as his hero, before joining a professional tour that Hendry dominated throughout the 1990s, which was O'Sullivan's formative decade as a professional.
"I totally respect them," O'Sullivan said. "They were just so much better than everybody else and everybody loves a winner, don't they?
"They love somebody that can dominate a sport and Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry did that.
"Phil Taylor in darts, Tiger Woods in golf, Michael Schumacher in Formula One. You have to admire it, their longevity and their skill."
At the age of 42, O'Sullivan is giving off no signs of slowing up. He has landed three ranking titles inside two months, moving him to 31 for his career and just five short of Hendry's all-time record, which looks increasingly assailable.
Shot of the day? Certainly up there 👏
Another Scot safely through round 1 of the @Dafabet Scottish Open, Glasgow's very own Stephen Maguire 🔥 #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/BwVrnULLXl — World Snooker (@WorldSnooker1) December 11, 2017
Shaun Murphy, the player he beat 10-5 in the York Barbican final, predicted O'Sullivan could stay at the top for another decade.
Whether five-time world champion O'Sullivan ever matches Hendry's record of seven Crucible titles remains to be seen, and that looks to be the greatest challenge remaining for him.
Refreshingly, he is not talking of retirement, as he has so often during his career. Instead, O'Sullivan is newly energised, striking a positive balance between snooker and outside interests, such as his television punditry and becoming a published novelist.
He has spoken of a wish to go into the I'm A Celebrity jungle next year, and should he take part in the ITV show that may mean he misses the UK Championship.
Yet far from giving up snooker, O'Sullivan sees the sport again as a fundamental part of his life.
"It keeps me on the straight and narrow," he said.
"If I wasn't playing snooker I'd probably be a little bit off the rails, enjoying myself, all that sort of stuff. As long as I play snooker it reels me in a bit, so I'll keep playing so it keeps me out of trouble.
"I don't practice as much as I probably used to or feel like I should, but it seems to be working and I'll keep showing up and being a nuisance."
O'Sullivan competes at the Scottish Open this week and faces Michael Georgiou, a player he thrashed 6-1 in York, in his opener on Tuesday.
Fergal O'Brien, meanwhile, is out of the tournament.
Dubliner O'Brien lost 4-1 against Zhang Anda in round one.
Gerard Greene was a 4-2 winner over Zhao Xintong.
Marco Fu began the defence of his title in emphatic fashion after a comfortable 4-0 first round victory over Duane Jones in Glasgow.
The world number nine, who came from 4-1 down to defeat home favourite John Higgins in a 9-4 victory last year, edged past his Welsh opponent in the opening three frames before sealing his win with a wonderful 101 break at the Emirates Arena.
Maguire overcame his Betway UK Championship semi-defeat to eventual champion O'Sullivan with a convincing 4-0 success against Alex Borg, racking up breaks of 60 and 95, while Judd Trump also advanced by the same scoreline in his first round match with Robin Hull.
Higgins hit three half-centuries to progress to the second round with a 4-1 win against Jack Lisowski, Ricky Walden beat Billy Joe Castle 4-2, while there were victories for Dominic Dale, Michael White and David Grace in the best-of-seven format.
World number seven Barry Hawkins was among the first round casualties following a 4-2 defeat to Jamie Jones, 2006 world champion Graeme Dott also lost by the same scoreline to Rory McLeod and Martin Gould fell to a final-frame defeat to Thailand's Noppon Saengkham.