There were a few changes in the snooker rankings after the British Open concluded in Milton Keynes on Sunday.
Ryan Day beat Mark Allen 10-7 to claim the £100,000 top prize, which catapulted the Welshman back up the rankings list.
The race for the world number one position remains quite tight, while there are a few other things to consider in the months ahead.
World Number One
Despite suffering a disappointing defeat at the opening hurdle of the British Open, Ronnie O’Sullivan safely held onto the world number one position.
After O’Sullivan’s early exit, Judd Trump could have pipped him to top spot by winning the tournament, but the Englishman lost to Allen in the last 16.
Trump remains the closest threat to usurping the Rocket, but with points coming off his tally for his 2020 Northern Ireland Open triumph he remains quite far back.
Neil Robertson in third and fourth placed Mark Selby are within striking distance too, but for now the place at the summit belongs to O’Sullivan.
Top 16
Day’s success resulted in the most lucrative payday of his career, which in turn helped him to return to the top 16 for the first time since 2019.
That pushed Ricky Walden out of the elite bracket that will determine who will be invited to this season’s Masters at the Ally Pally.
The seeding cut-off point for the Masters will be after the conclusion of the UK Championship again, with the likes of Walden, Hossein Vafaei, David Gilbert, and Anthony McGill chasing an invitation to the prestigious tournament.
Day and former Masters champion Yan Bingtao are the players most in jeopardy of losing their top 16 positions before then.
Allen, meanwhile, has risen back to number ten in the official world snooker rankings after reaching the final of the British Open.
| 1 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £1,034,000 |
| 2 | Judd Trump | £943,000 |
| 3 | Neil Robertson | £861,000 |
| 4 | Mark Selby | £828,500 |
| 5 | John Higgins | £520,000 |
| 6 | Kyren Wilson | £483,000 |
| 7 | Zhao Xintong | £450,000 |
| 8 | Mark Williams | £446,000 |
| 9 | Barry Hawkins | £339,500 |
| 10 | Mark Allen | £327,500 |
| 11 | Luca Brecel | £326,000 |
| 12 | Jack Lisowski | £323,000 |
| 13 | Shaun Murphy | £309,000 |
| 14 | Stuart Bingham | £303,500 |
| 15 | Yan Bingtao | £251,500 |
| 16 | Ryan Day | £246,000 |
Champion of Champions
Another big invitation tournament takes place before all that, with the Champion of Champions back in Bolton in a few weeks.
Fourteen of the 16 places have been determined already, with the likes of former champion Trump, world champion O’Sullivan, and Masters winner Robertson guaranteed invites.
The remaining two spots could potentially go to the winners of the Hong Kong Masters, which got under way today, and the upcoming Northern Ireland Open.
However, if the winner of those events has already qualified via another means, the rankings list will determine the other Champion of Champions participants.
Selby is the highest ranked competitor not already guaranteed an invite, with world number eight Mark Williams next in line to benefit.
Featured photo credit: WST
