Mark Selby Returns to World Number One in Rankings

Mark Selby is back at number one in the world rankings after the latest update on the official two-year list.

The see-saw battle this season between Selby and Trump at the top of the world rankings continued in the latest revision of the order.

It’s the third time already during the 2021/22 term that the English duo has traded places, with Selby reclaiming the world number one position that he briefly held in between the British and Northern Ireland Opens.

Such is the rolling system in operation, last week’s outcome at the English Open had little bearing on the matter, with Trump’s fall to second place already guaranteed as a result of the loss of more ranking points from this period in 2019.

It doesn’t help Trump’s cause that he has been unable to defend the points from his lucrative successes in that year’s International Championship and World Open, with Chinese events yet to return to the calendar in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

With Trump having more points to defend for the remainder of this season in comparison to Selby, the next switch in the order may not happen as quickly.

That, of course, will depend on the outcome of several big-money events on the horizon – including the UK Championship and the World Grand Prix.

Following his dramatic English Open victory, meanwhile, Neil Robertson remains in fourth spot but in close proximity to Ronnie O’Sullivan in third.

The Australian separately rises into first place on the BetVictor European Series standings – a series of eight events on the schedule from which the highest earner at the end will receive a £150,000 bonus.

Robertson leads Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Allen by £4,000, with John Higgins not too far behind in third thanks to back-to-back runner-up finishes in the two recent events sponsored by BetVictor – an online gambling platform.

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Meanwhile, on the one-year snooker rankings that will determine progress to the Cazoo Series of tournaments – the World Grand Prix (top 32), Players Championship (top 16), and the Tour Championship (top 8) – British Open champion Mark Williams leads the way ahead of Allen, Robertson, Higgins, and Championship League winner David Gilbert.

Barry Hawkins, Jack Lisowski, and Ding Junhui are among the notable players who are currently ranked outside the top 32 on the one-year list, with qualification for December’s World Grand Prix imminent.

The next event with ranking implications on the calendar is the UK Championship, which commences at the Barbican Centre in York in two weeks.

Featured photo credit: WST