Mark Allen’s victory in the World Grand Prix on Sunday has strengthened his position in the snooker rankings.
The Northern Irishman beat Judd Trump 10-9 in an entertaining showdown at the Centaur in Cheltenham to pocket the £100,000 top prize.
It represented the ninth ranking title of his career, and he became only the tenth player in the history of the game to win three in the same campaign.
Official World Snooker Rankings
Allen rises to number three on the two-year world snooker rankings, his highest ever position on the official list.
The Pistol actually places at number two on the provisional end-of-season rankings, and a strong finish to this term could see him take the number one spot for the first time.
At the moment, Ronnie O’Sullivan holds onto that coveted position despite an indifferent recent spell in ranking tournaments for the Rocket.
Mark Selby remains second and Trump stays in fourth, with Neil Robertson dropping to fifth and outside the top four for the first time since 2019.
The remainder of the top 16 is as you were, with Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao still in the elite bracket despite their current suspensions.
Further down, it’s getting to the nitty-gritty period for the players fighting for tour survival around the top 64 cut-off point.
Monday’s news that the Turkish Masters has been cancelled means that, as it stands, there aren’t many opportunities left to win ranking points between now and May.
Oliver Lines, Elliot Slessor, Mark Davis, and the suspended Li Hang are hovering just above the cut-off point at present.
Jackson Page, Andy Hicks, David Grace, and Alexander Ursenbacher are among the players currently below the top 64 and in trouble of being relegated from the pro circuit.
| 1 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £992,000 |
| 2 | Mark Selby | £810,000 |
| 3 | Mark Allen | £759,500 |
| 4 | Judd Trump | £740,000 |
| 5 | Neil Robertson | £713,500 |
| 6 | John Higgins | £490,500 |
| 7 | Mark Williams | £465,500 |
| 8 | Kyren Wilson | £441,500 |
| 9 | Zhao Xintong | £417,000 |
| 10 | Luca Brecel | £375,500 |
| 11 | Shaun Murphy | £352,500 |
| 12 | Jack Lisowski | £329,000 |
| 13 | Barry Hawkins | £320,000 |
| 14 | Stuart Bingham | £292,500 |
| 15 | Ryan Day | £271,500 |
| 16 | Yan Bingtao | £234,500 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Gary Wilson | £218,000 |
| 18 | David Gilbert | £216,500 |
Race to the Players Championship
On the one-year snooker rankings based on this term’s performances alone, Allen is way out in front having accumulated more than half a million pounds in prize money during the last few months.
The player in second is British Open champion Ryan Day, who by contrast has tallied just £144,000 over the course of the same period.
The top 16 players on this ranking list after the conclusion of the Welsh Open will be invited to compete in the Players Championship.
Australia’s Robertson is on the cusp in 16th place, although drops to 17th on the provisional standings as Joe O’Connor has already won his preliminary tie for Wales.
World champion O’Sullivan is way down in 20th spot and will likely need a run to the final of the Welsh Open in order to guarantee breaking into the top 16 in time for Wolverhampton.
| 1 | Mark Allen | £502,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Day | £144,000 |
| 3 | Kyren Wilson | £127,500 |
| 4 | Ding Junhui | £124,500 |
| 5 | Mark Selby | £121,000 |
| 6 | Gary Wilson | £103,500 |
| 7 | Judd Trump | £101,000 |
| 8 | Luca Brecel | £101,000 |
| 9 | Jack Lisowski | £88,000 |
| 10 | Zhou Yuelong | £77,500 |
| 11 | Shaun Murphy | £73,500 |
| 12 | Mark Williams | £67,500 |
| 13 | Tom Ford | £64,500 |
| 14 | Barry Hawkins | £63,500 |
| 15 | Xiao Guodong | £58,000 |
| 16 | Neil Robertson | £57,500 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Joe O’Connor | £56,500 |
| 18 | Noppon Saengkham | £55,500 |
| 19 | Lyu Haotian | £52,000 |
| 20 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £49,500 |
BetVictor Series Rankings
With no events on the BetVictor Series played since the New Year, the situation remains the same.
With just three events to go, Allen leads the way with £107,000 but is just £3,000 in front of Selby, who lies in second.
Kyren Wilson is third on the list after losing in the early rounds of the English Open before Christmas, with the Kettering cueist now £5,000 adrift of Allen.
The player with the most points after the eight BetVictor-sponsored events this campaign will earn a jackpot bonus of £150,000.
The next counting tournament is the Snooker Shoot Out, which commences on Wednesday in Leicester.
| 1 | Mark Allen | £107,000 |
| 2 | Mark Selby | £104,000 |
| 3 | Kyren Wilson | £102,000 |
| 4 | Gary Wilson | £93,500 |
| 5 | Luca Brecel | £78,500 |
Featured photo credit: WST
The news that the Turkish Masters is not to be played is a big blow. It limits playing opportunities for most of the tour now to just the Shootout and the Welsh Open before Sheffield.