Ronnie O’Sullivan will end 2023 as the snooker world number one in the rankings.
Last week’s Scottish Open was the final event to count towards the official rolling two-year standings during this calendar year.
While the Rocket generated a few headlines for his withdrawal from the tournament, his absence in Edinburgh had no bearing on his status at the top.
Top 16
O’Sullivan has been the world number one since just before capturing his seventh world title at the Crucible Theatre in 2022.
There were a few occasions during the first half of this campaign when it had appeared as though he might surrender that position.
Several other withdrawals from ranking events left the door ajar for his nearest rivals to usurp him.
World champion Luca Brecel and Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen initially couldn’t take advantage of their opportunities.
Following his incredible hat-trick of triumphs in October, Judd Trump then got himself within £10,000 of becoming the world number one again.
However, O’Sullivan’s wonderful win at the UK Championship earlier this month, for which he earned £250,000, has extended his buffer in first place.
The 48 year-old will have a lot of ranking points to defend in the second half of this term so his status will be threatened soon again, but he ends 2023 at the top.
Trump is in second place ahead of Allen and Brecel in third and fourth respectively.
Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, and Mark Williams complete the top eight, with Kyren Wilson in ninth ahead of Ali Carter.
Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Zhang Anda, Robert Milkins, Barry Hawkins, and Jack Lisowski are the others in the top 16.
Gary Wilson, meanwhile, has risen back up to 17th spot following his successful defence of the Scottish Open.
Beaten finalist Noppon Saengkham is up four places to number 22 in the official world snooker rankings.
| Official 2-Year World Rankings | Dec 18, 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £1,017,500 |
| 2 | Judd Trump | £904,000 |
| 3 | Mark Allen | £833,500 |
| 4 | Luca Brecel | £738,500 |
| 5 | Mark Selby | £611,000 |
| 6 | Shaun Murphy | £479,000 |
| 7 | Neil Robertson | £443,500 |
| 8 | Mark Williams | £443,000 |
| 9 | Kyren Wilson | £396,500 |
| 10 | Ali Carter | £389,000 |
| 11 | Ding Junhui | £379,500 |
| 12 | John Higgins | £373,500 |
| 13 | Zhang Anda | £333,000 |
| 14 | Robert Milkins | £316,000 |
| 15 | Barry Hawkins | £310,000 |
| 16 | Jack Lisowski | £302,500 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Gary Wilson | £295,500 |
| 18 | Tom Ford | £293,500 |
| 19 | Hossein Vafaei | £289,500 |
| 20 | Ryan Day | £265,500 |
Race to the World Grand Prix
The Scottish Open was an important event on the calendar as it was the last to count towards the race to the World Grand Prix.
Only the top 32 players from the one-year ranking list – based on results from this season only – qualify to participate at the Morningside Arena next month.
Some notable names failed in their last-gasp attempts to earn an invitation to Leciester in the New Year.
Luca Brecel, Kyren Wilson, Robert Milkins, and Stuart Bingham all finished below the cut-off point.
Neil Robertson, who has endured a difficult spell of form and didn’t enter the Scottish Open, is near the bottom of the one-year rankings and will also miss out.
Jamie Jones was the last player to sneak a World Grand Prix spot, the Welshman finishing in 32nd place by a margin of just £500 from Si Jiahui.
The likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, and reigning champion Mark Allen have all safely qualified for the lucrative ranking tournament.
World Grand Prix draw
Judd Trump (1) vs Jamie Jones (32)
Lyu Haotian (16) vs Chris Wakelin (17)
Mark Selby (9) vs Yuan Sijun (24)
Ali Carter (8) vs Wu Yize (25)
Barry Hawkins (5) vs Cao Yupeng (28)
John Higgins (12) vs Shaun Murphy (21)
Hossein Vafaei (13) vs Matthew Selt (20)
Mark Williams (4) vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (29)
Zhang Anda (3) vs Dominic Dale (30)
Mark Allen (14) vs Jack Lisowski (19)
Noppon Saengkham (11) vs Xiao Guodong (22)
Ding Junhui (6) vs Rikcy Walden (27)
Tom Ford (7) vs Jordan Brown (26)
Gary Wilson (10) vs David Gilbert (23)
Zhou Yuelong (15) vs Stephen Maguire (18)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) vs Pang Junxu (31)
BetVictor Series bonus
The Scottish Open, meanwhile, was the sixth event of this season’s BetVictor Series.
Once again, the leading performer after the eight counting events will receive a jackpot worth £150,000.
Robert Milkins bagged the bonus last season, partly thanks to his triumph at the Welsh Open.
This term, Judd Trump is currently way out in front and in prime position to pocket the prize money for the third time.
The Englishman has a lead of more than £100,000 on his closest challenger, making it highly unlikely that he will be caught in time.
Only the German Masters and the Welsh Open are left on the BetVictor Series calendar this season.
| BetVictor Series | Dec 18, 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £204,000 |
| 2 | Barry Hawkins | £102,500 |
| 3 | Gary Wilson | £90,000 |
| 4 | Chris Wakelin | £66,500 |
| 5 | Noppon Saengkham | £63,000 |
| 6 | Mark Allen | £60,500 |
Higgins v Murphy, Williams v Un Nooh and Allen v Lisowski are three ties that stand out for me.