The upcoming German Masters will provide the usual contenders with their first opportunity to land ranking event silverware in 2026.
But for those lower down the rankings, the trip to Berlin will signify that time is beginning to run out in their quest for tour survival.
There are seven ranking events left on the ongoing 2025/26 calendar, but realistically, only four of them are available to the whole tour.
The World Grand Prix (draw already fixed), the Players Championship, and the Tour Championship each boast restricted fields based on the one-year standings.
The reality is that the German Masters, the Welsh Open, the World Open, and the season-concluding World Championship, where Judd Trump is the outright betting favourite with odds of 7/2 with Luckycapone, stand as the remaining beacons of hope for those hovering just inside or outside the safety zone.
Indeed for some, it’s only the World Open and the World Championship as the qualifiers for the German Masters and Welsh Open have already come and gone.
For China’s Lyu Haotian, who currently ranks 57th on the provisional end-of-season rankings, he’ll be turning his attention to the last two tournaments after bowing out of both recent preliminary competitions.
Lyu’s rolling two-year tally of £104,350 looks healthy enough to guarantee his crucial top-64 status and with it a membership card for another season, but he won’t be able to rest on his laurels just yet.
In 64th on the provisional end-of-season list with £82,800 is Jordan Brown, boasting a buffer of just £1,150 on Mark Davis who lies a rung lower on the ranking ladder.
Davis has been a professional on the main tour since 1991 while Brown is a former ranking event champion, so the demise of either would represent a significant story.
In between Lyu and Brown currently lie Liu Hongyu, Fan Zhengyi, Robbie Williams, Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Ben Mertens, and Jamie Jones.
Among them, Liu, Fan, and Williams have each qualified for both the German Masters and the Welsh Open – providing a big boost in their aspirations to remain on the circuit.
Williams, though, has a lead of less than £10,000 on Davis in 65th, and with so much prize money on offer at the World Championship alone, that could be wiped out very quickly.
Provisional end-of-season snooker rankings
Totals correct as of January 25th, 2026
| Rank | Player | in German Masters | in Welsh Open | Provisional Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Lyu Haotian | X | X | £104,350 |
| 58 | Liu Hongyu | O | O | £103,700 |
| 59 | Fan Zhengyi | O | O | £100,550 |
| 60 | Robbie Williams | O | O | £91,550 |
| 61 | Ishpreet Singh Chadha | O | X | £90,550 |
| 62 | Ben Mertens | X | O | £86,450 |
| 63 | Jamie Jones | O | O | £83,400 |
| 64 | Jordan Brown | O | X | £82,800 |
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 65 | Mark Davis | O | X | £81,650 |
| 66 | Sanderson Lam | O | X | £77,200 |
| 67 | Robert Milkins | O | X | £71,500 |
| 68 | Wang Yuchen | X | X | £64,750 |
| 69 | Duane Jones | X | X | £64,000 |
| 70 | Gong Chenzhi | X | X | £63,600 |
| 71 | Antoni Kowalski | X | O | £63,400 |
Further down, and in serious jeopardy of losing their professional statuses, are Sanderson Lam, Robert Milkins, Wang Yuchen, Duane Jones, Gong Chenzhi, and Antoni Kowalski.
The standout name there is, of course, Robert Milkins, who won the second of his two ranking titles as recently as 2023.
Milkins is more than £11,000 adrift of Brown in 64th, but one positive for the Milkman is that he’s currently in a strong place to be awarded a fresh tour card through the one-year list.
As usual, the top four players on the one-year rankings who haven’t otherwise safeguarded their tour survival are expected to receive new two-year cards.
Alfie Burden – an amateur but having accrued significant prize money through his success at the Shoot Out – is in pole position ahead of Milkins.
Lam and Artemijs Zizins represent the others who are provisionally set to benefit from this pathway, but a lot can and probably will change between now and the campaign’s climax.
Either way, there will be plenty of anxious affairs and nervous waits with this year’s tour survival battle beginning to heat up in Berlin.
Important upcoming dates:
Jan 26 to Feb 1: German Masters
Feb 3 to 8: World Grand Prix (top 32 from one-year list)
Feb 10 to 12: World Open qualifiers
Feb 17 to 22: Players Championship (top 16 from one-year list)
Feb 23 to Mar 1: Welsh Open
Mar 16 to 22: World Open
Mar 30 to Apr 5: Tour Championship (top 12 from one-year list)
Apr 6 to 15: World Championship qualifiers
Apr 18 to May 4: World Championship
Featured photo credit: WST
As I recall, the cameras focused on Sanderson Lam several times as he sat in the crowd of the recent Shootout event.
Yes, it is surprising that Milkins is in jeopardy such a relatively short time after winning a ranking event — he beat Shaun Murphy in the final of the 2023 Welsh Open, and played quite well.
The milk man might be safe from having his round cancelled just yet. Assuming he doesn’t call quits himself and park up his float.