With a huge prize fund at the Saudi Arabia Masters in Riyadh, there were naturally plenty of changes in the snooker rankings.
The inaugural staging of the huge tournament wasn’t without controversy but ultimately concluded in thrilling fashion, with Judd Trump edging Mark Williams 10-9 on the final black.
It was the third ranking event of the 2024/25 snooker season following Championship League Snooker and the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Let’s take a look at how the mega event at the Green Halls impacted the snooker rankings.
World number one
Judd Trump was already the world number one heading into the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, having reclaimed top spot during his recent run to the final in Xi’an.
With an additional £500,000 in earnings, the Englishman has pulled well clear of the chasing pack and now boasts an enormous lead at the summit of the standings.
Trump doesn’t have a big amount of money to defend between now and the end of the campaign, meaning it’s highly unlikely that he’ll surrender top spot any time soon.
World champion Kyren Wilson could only reach the last 16 in Riyadh, but with Mark Allen losing his opening fixture and taking away zero ranking points, the Kettering cueist has usurped the Northern Irishman into second place.
Allen, who began the summer as the world number one, has a lot of points to defend from two seasons ago and will struggle to stay at the top end of the official rolling snooker rankings.
Top 16
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby stay in fourth and fifth respectively ahead of Mark Williams, who rises three places to sixth after bagging £200,000.
After losing early again, Luca Brecel has slipped down to seventh and there are increasing concerns over the Belgian Bullet’s tour survival.
That might seem strange to say, but with half a million pounds coming off his tally next April, Brecel has a provisional end-of-season ranking of 62 – just inside the crucial top 64 cut-off point.
Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, and Gary Wilson complete the top ten ahead of Ali Carter, who has struggled a bit since winning Championship League Snooker.
Zhang Anda stays in 12th in front of fellow Chinese competitor Si Jiahui – snooker’s newest member of the elite top 16.
Si has risen nine places to break into the top 16 for the first time in his career following an impressive run to the last four in Saudi Arabia.
Tom Ford and Jak Jones are next in the standings ahead of John Higgins, the Scot just about holding onto his status among the top 16.
Who were the other movers?
Xiao Guodong has begun the season in decent form, and his quarter-final appearance at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters has helped him move up six places in the rankings and back into the top 32 at number 29.
Elliot Slessor and Scott Donaldson both rose seven places to number 35 and number 43 respectively.
The biggest mover, though, was Jimmy Robertson with the Englishman improving his position by 14 spots to number 38.
| Official 2-Year World Rankings | Sept 9, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £1,474,000 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £978,500 |
| 3 | Mark Allen | £974,000 |
| 4 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £739,500 |
| 5 | Mark Selby | £660,500 |
| 6 | Mark Williams | £658,000 |
| 7 | Luca Brecel | £654,500 |
| 8 | Shaun Murphy | £598,500 |
| 9 | Ding Junhui | £466,500 |
| 10 | Gary Wilson | £456,400 |
| 11 | Ali Carter | £439,500 |
| 12 | Zhang Anda | £437,350 |
| 13 | Si Jiahui | £349,400 |
| 14 | Tom Ford | £343,850 |
| 15 | Jak Jones | £332,500 |
| 16 | John Higgins | £309,850 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Ryan Day | £301,400 |
| 18 | Barry Hawkins | £297,850 |
| 19 | Jack Lisowski | £295,900 |
| 20 | Robert Milkins | £286,000 |
| 21 | David Gilbert | £284,850 |
| 22 | Hossein Vafaei | £266,500 |
| 23 | Stuart Bingham | £251,900 |
| 24 | Chris Wakelin | £245,400 |
| 25 | Zhou Yuelong | £238,850 |
1-year snooker rankings
Like in previous years, the single-season rankings will determine qualification spots for several lucrative ranking events.
Last season, the top 32 from this list qualified for the World Grand Prix, the top 16 for the Players Championship, and the top 12 for the Tour Championship.
Judd Trump is again way out in front following his massive takings from Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, all the players who reached the latter stages in Riyadh have set themselves up nicely to compete in all three of those big tournaments later in the campaign.
Among those struggling to make much headway are Mark Allen and Mark Selby, who are currently ranked outside the crucial top 32.
Luca Brecel and Ding Junhui are other notable names who need to improve having banked zero ranking points this term so far.
| 1-Year Snooker Rankings | Sept 9, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £576,000 |
| 2 | Mark Williams | £223,000 |
| 3 | Kyren Wilson | £209,000 |
| 4 | Shaun Murphy | £114,400 |
| 5 | Si Jiahui | £113,400 |
| 6 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £85,500 |
| 7 | Jimmy Robertson | £64,000 |
| 8 | Xiao Guodong | £59,400 |
| 9 | Neil Robertson | £59,350 |
| 10 | David Gilbert | £53,350 |
| 11 | Scott Donaldson | £46,350 |
| 12 | Stuart Bingham | £45,400 |
| =12 | Gary Wilson | £45,400 |
| 14 | Jack Lisowski | £44,400 |
| 15 | Pang Junxu | £41,400 |
| 16 | Elliot Slessor | £37,350 |
| 17 | Daniel Wells | £36,500 |
| 18 | Zhang Anda | £35,350 |
| 19 | Matthew Selt | £35,350 |
| 20 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | £34,400 |
| 21 | Ali Carter | £33,000 |
| 22 | Yuan Sijun | £31,400 |
| 23 | Hossein Vafaei | £31,000 |
| 24 | Ben Woollaston | £26,000 |
| =24 | Wu Yize | £26,000 |
| 26 | Gong Chenzhi | £26,000 |
| 27 | Ryan Day | £25,400 |
| 28 | Chris Wakelin | £24,400 |
| 29 | Xu Si | £23,350 |
| 30 | Jackson Page | £23,000 |
| 31 | Barry Hawkins | £22,350 |
| 32 | Graeme Dott | £21,400 |
| — | — | — |
| =47 | Mark Selby | £14,000 |
| =47 | Mark Allen | £14,000 |
| N/R | Ding Junhui | £0 |
| N/R | Luca Brecel | £0 |
What is the next snooker event?
The next event on the World Snooker Tour calendar is the English Open at the Brentwood Leisure Centre, where Judd Trump is the defending champion.
There will be a preliminary phase for the tournament from Thursday to Saturday, where lower-ranked players will attempt to join the top 32 in the last 64.
The main stages begin next week on Monday, with the champion to be crowned on September 22nd.
More details for the English Open, including the draw and how to watch, will be published on this site later this week.
2024/25 WST calendar
Note: Dates are provisional and subject to change
COMPLETED
Championship League Snooker
Champion: Ali Carter
Shanghai Masters
Champion: Judd Trump
Xi’an Grand Prix
Champion: Kyren Wilson
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters
Champion: Judd Trump
English Open
Champion: Neil Robertson
British Open
Champion: Mark Selby
SEPTEMBER
30th to Oct 2nd
International Championship qualifiers
(Ponds Forge, Sheffield)
OCTOBER
6th to 12th
Wuhan Open
(Wuhan, China)
20th to 27th
Northern Ireland Open
(Waterfront Hall, Belfast)
28th to 30th
Scottish Open qualifiers
(Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield)
NOVEMBER
3rd to 10th
International Championship
(Nanjing, China)
11th to 17th
Champion of Champions
(Toughsheet Community Stadium, Bolton)
16th to 21st
UK Championship qualifiers
(Mattioli Arena, Leicester)
23rd to December 1st
UK Championship
(York Barbican, York)
DECEMBER
4th to 7th
Shoot Out
(Mattioli Arena, Leicester)
9th to 15th
Scottish Open
(Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh)
16th to 22nd
– German Masters qualifiers
– World Open qualifiers
(Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield)
JANUARY
12th to 19th
The Masters
(Alexandra Palace, London)
27th to February 2nd
German Masters
(Tempodrom, Berlin)
FEBRUARY
10th to 16th
Welsh Open
(Venue Cymru, Llandudno)
MARCH
TBC
World Grand Prix
(TBC)
3rd to 9th
World Open
(Yushan, China)
17th to 23rd
Players Championship
(Telford, England)
31st to April 6th
Tour Championship
(Manchester Central, Manchester)
APRIL
7th to 16th
World Championship qualifiers
(EIS, Sheffield)
19th to May 5th
World Snooker Championship
(Crucible Theatre, Sheffield)
Featured photo credit: WST
