The World Grand Prix has passed and we are in the midst of the Welsh Open. As we head towards the business end of the season, there have been a few movements in the world rankings following the events of the past few weeks. Which players have been doing well and which need to be careful as we approach the World Championship?
The most notable change is Robertson’s jump to No. 2 in the rankings. His short run at the WGP last year meant that almost all his prize money from winning this year was added to his ranking total. Added with his string of successes at Austria and Germany further boosts his position to a comfortable No. 2 in the world.
O’Sullivan has dropped a couple spots to rank No. 6 – now surpassed by Selby and Higgins. The gap is fairly minimal so he could reclaim a higher spot with some tournament success but the change mainly comes from his WGP win in 2018 being subtracted from his total. If he is unable to add to his ranking position, there is a likely chance that he could drop to No. 7 (overtaken by Allen); particularly with the Players Championship coming up, which will deduct a significant £125,000 from his ranking position if he isn’t able to defend that title once again.
As the World Championship approaches, there are those that need to be cautious about their ranking position. M. Williams has enjoyed a comfortable voyage in the Top 3 thanks to his WSC triumph in 2018. Failure to match that this year means his ranking has the potential to fall from No. 3 to somewhere in the double digits as his total will then hover around the £400k mark.
This will be beneficial for Selby and Higgins as they will be keeping their eyes on getting into the No. 3 position. However, it won’t be a guarantee as they have significant sums that will be lost in the rankings once the season closes. Selby has prize money from the China Open to lose while Higgins has his WSC runners-up money to be subtracted. This is where if players like Allen or O’Sullivan can bag a big win in the next few weeks i.e. from one of the remaining Coral Cup tournaments, this will benefit their ranking tremendously.
In and around the Top 16 region of the rankings are where players are much closer. Dott’s recent performance these past few weeks have been useful to get him up a couple of places to No. 19. He now faces battle with numerous players such as Bingtao, Perry, G. Wilson, Un-Nooh and Carter as they try to capture No. 16. The main way to see who has a good chance at remaining/breaking into the Top 16 is by looking at each player.
There are two players that can suffer a drastic drop in their ranking position. K. Wilson (currently No. 8) has the potential to fall closer to the lower end of the Top 16 as his semi-final runs at the China Open and WSC in 2018 would mean a £100k+ loss in ranking points. Secondly, Hawkins (currently No. 11) could stand to lose a lot more with his runs at these same tournaments two years ago. Without further success in the remainder of the season could mean a falling out of the Top 16 for Hawkins. This is all assuming that both players get minimal ranking points for the rest of the season, which of course won’t be the case but it gives a general idea.
The last person to speak about is the No. 1 himself. It’s reasonable to say that Trump will be at the helm of the world rankings for quite some time. As we draw to the end of the season, Trump doesn’t have many ranking points remaining from the 2017/18 season to lose. Coupled with his tournament success last season as well as his continuing victories this season means that Trump has no reason to worry.
The only person that could potentially catch him is Robertson although that is heavily dependent on Robertson winning the World Championship and claiming the 500,000 ranking points. Even then, he may not completely topple Trump from the rankings but that will be the only way anyone could get close to the No. 1 spot.
Anyway, that’s this edition of the snooker rankings update! This will return any time there is a significant change in the rankings. So, there will most likely be another one after the World Championship. See you then!
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