The latest snooker rankings update follows the conclusion of the 2025 Welsh Open, the season’s 13th ranking tournament.
Mark Selby sealed a 24th career ranking success with a 9-6 defeat of Stephen Maguire at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Sunday.
The Englishman was never behind in the contest, eventually pulling away from his determined opponent with a late three-frame burst at the finish.
Selby had survived a couple of gruelling encounters during the week, edging both Elliot Slessor and John Higgins in final-frame thrillers.
But the 41 year-old saved his best snooker for the final showdown, where he compiled a brace of tons to claim the Welsh Open crown for the second time.
Let’s take a look at how it all impacted the various snooker rankings lists.
Top 16
Through pocketing the £100,000 champion’s cheque, Mark Selby rises to third in the official rolling two-year world rankings.
Way out in front remains Judd Trump, who despite having not entered the competition in Wales still boasts a lead over Kyren Wilson of more than half a million pounds.
The latest withdrawal from Ronnie O’Sullivan sees the Rocket drop to fourth, just ahead of Mark Williams and Luca Brecel.
Mark Allen moves above Shaun Murphy, who drops to eighth after the points he claimed for finishing runner-up at the 2023 Welsh Open were deducted from his tally.
Chinese duo Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda remain unchanged and complete the top ten in front of Barry Hawkins, Si Jiahui, and John Higgins.
Ali Carter and Gary Wilson are in 14th and 15th respectively ahead of Xiao Guodong, who didn’t play in this year’s Welsh Open but nevertheless replaces Jak Jones in the top 16.
Who were the other movers?
A lot of the other positions just outside the top 16 have stayed the same.
Stephen Maguire’s reward for reaching a first ranking event final in five years is a boost in his ranking position, however.
The Glaswegian was looking like dropping out of the world’s top 32 in recent months, but the £45,000 runner-up prize has seen him return to 26th in the standings.
Robert Milkins, meanwhile, has dropped eight places to number 32 after the points for his 2023 Welsh Open triumph were subtracted from his total.
For a lot of players further down the rankings, the upcoming World Open will be the last opportunity to earn valuable ranking points before the season-ending World Championship.
That means the race for tour survival is well and truly heating up.
The likes of Marco Fu, Anthony Hamilton, and Joe Perry are below the crucial top 64 cut-off point for safety on the provisional end-of-year rankings.
| Official 2-Year World Rankings | Feb 17, 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £1,754,700 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £1,227,800 |
| 3 | Mark Selby | £783,000 |
| 4 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £693,000 |
| 5 | Mark Williams | £641,600 |
| 6 | Luca Brecel | £633,900 |
| 7 | Mark Allen | £597,400 |
| 8 | Shaun Murphy | £586,900 |
| 9 | Ding Junhui | £547,000 |
| 10 | Zhang Anda | £499,550 |
| 11 | Barry Hawkins | £466,050 |
| 12 | Si Jiahui | £429,700 |
| 13 | John Higgins | £412,250 |
| 14 | Ali Carter | £402,800 |
| 15 | Gary Wilson | £386,400 |
| 16 | Xiao Guodong | £364,000 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Jak Jones | £362,800 |
| 18 | Chris Wakelin | £341,400 |
| 19 | Neil Robertson | £335,050 |
| 20 | Tom Ford | £328,950 |
| 21 | David Gilbert | £292,150 |
| 22 | Wu Yize | £286,600 |
| 23 | Stuart Bingham | £269,900 |
| 24 | Jack Lisowski | £263,600 |
| 25 | Hossein Vafaei | £259,800 |
1-year snooker rankings
The top 32 from the one-year list qualify for the World Grand Prix, which will take place in Hong Kong for the first time in March.
Beyond that, the top 16 will feature at the Players Championship and the top 12 at the Tour Championship.
The Welsh Open was the last event that counted towards the race to the World Grand Prix, so the lineup for that event is now known.
Stephen Maguire was way outside the top 32 before the week in Wales began, but by reaching the semi-finals he had done enough to seal his ticket to Hong Kong.
Luca Brecel is the only member of the top 16 who has failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix.
Selby rises eight places to fourth on the one-year snooker rankings, guaranteeing his involvement in the three lucrative events on this series.
Points earned at next week’s World Open will have an impact on the races to both the Players and Tour Championships.
| 1-Year Snooker Rankings | Feb 17, 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £949,200 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £517,800 |
| 3 | Xiao Guodong | £281,500 |
| 4 | Mark Selby | £260,000 |
| 5 | Mark Williams | £255,600 |
| 6 | Neil Robertson | £227,050 |
| 7 | Barry Hawkins | £224,550 |
| 8 | Ding Junhui | £211,000 |
| 9 | Si Jiahui | £209,200 |
| 10 | Shaun Murphy | £200,900 |
| 11 | Chris Wakelin | £184,400 |
| 12 | Wu Yize | £181,600 |
| 13 | Mark Allen | £148,400 |
| 14 | Lei Peifan | £141,000 |
| 15 | John Higgins | £138,750 |
| 16 | Jack Lisowski | £121,600 |
| 17 | Zhang Anda | £117,550 |
| 18 | Ali Carter | £110,800 |
| 19 | Elliot Slessor | £107,250 |
| 20 | Jimmy Robertson | £102,600 |
| 21 | Pang Junxu | £102,400 |
| 22 | David Gilbert | £97,150 |
| 23 | Stephen Maguire | £95,750 |
| 24 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £94,500 |
| 25 | Xu Si | £92,050 |
| 26 | Tom Ford | £91,950 |
| 27 | Yuan Sijun | £91,600 |
| 28 | Stuart Bingham | £89,400 |
| 29 | Jackson Page | £89,300 |
| 30 | Jak Jones | £75,300 |
| 31 | Matthew Selt | £73,250 |
| 32 | Gary Wilson | £72,400 |
| — | — | — |
| 33 | Hossein Vafaei | £69,800 |
| 39 | Luca Brecel | £59,400 |
The Home Nations Series bonus
The 2025 Welsh Open was the concluding event of four on the Home Nations series.
Neil Robertson, helped by his victory at the English Open earlier this term, topped the series rankings to pocket the £150,000 jackpot.
The handsome sum won’t count towards the official snooker rankings lists but will be a handy bonus for the Australian to enjoy.
Robertson becomes the fourth different winner of the prize after John Higgins, Robert Milkins, and Judd Trump – the latter having won it on three occasions.
What is the next snooker event?
There is a brief respite on the snooker calendar before the action returns in a week’s time with the next ranking event.
The World Open will be back in Yushan from February 23rd to March 1st with most of the marquee names expected to attend.
More details will be published here on SnookerHQ.com in the build-up to the tournament.
Featured photo credit: WST
I make it a 42nd career title for Selby.
He’s established a new record, by five years, of the longest gap between Welsh Open titles. Neil Robertson held the record until yesterday, going 12 years (2007-2019) between successes.
Zhou Yuelong’s position on the one year list reinforces the view his career is starting to stagnate. He’s young enough to turn it around though.