Zhao Xintong has broken new ground on the official snooker rankings list, rising to number four in the world after his dominant victory at the Tour Championship.
Zhao won his sixth career ranking title with an assured 10-3 defeat of Judd Trump in the final at the Manchester Central on Sunday.
With basically no ranking points to defend until the 2027 World Snooker Championship comes around, Zhao is currently on a constant upward trajectory on the main two-year rankings list.
He began the 2025/26 season as the world no.11 and has rapidly moved up the ladder since then, eclipsing his previous best of number six earlier this year.
With the Tour Championship triumph transpiring after earlier glories at the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship, Zhao has accumulated £480,000 from top prizes alone in 2026 already.
Added to the £500,000 that he pocketed for winning last year’s World Championship and other smaller cheques he has picked up in between, Zhao has now broken the £1 million threshold for the first time in his career.
The 29 year-old has risen to a new career high of number four in the world, with just Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, and Neil Robertson currently above him in the standings.
There is, in fact, a possibility that Zhao could end this season as the snooker’s world number one.
If he were to retain his world title and collect a second £500,000 prize, Zhao would usurp Trump as the leading-ranked competitor should the latter also exit the upcoming World Championship in the opening round.
In that scenario, Zhao would pip Trump by a mere £1,000.
The Chinese cueist certainly underlined his credentials as the best player in the world at present with his destruction of Trump in Sunday’s title-deciding showdown.
If he isn’t to dislodge Trump this term, it seems like it will be only a matter of time before he catches the Englishman sometime during the 2026/27 campaign.
Australia’s Robertson, meanwhile, could also finish the campaign as world number one if a similar situation materialises and he wins the World Championship with Trump crashing out early.
Wilson, though, is about to lose his winnings from his 2024 triumph in Sheffield so is set to slip down the pecking order somewhat.
Back to the official list, Mark Williams drops down two places to sixth after the prize money for his victory at the 2024 Tour Championship was deducted from his rolling tally.
John Higgins moves up to fifth, with Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, and Xiao Guodong remaining unchanged from seventh through to ninth.
Elsewhere, Wu Yize moves up to his own career-high ranking of number ten in the world ahead of Barry Hawkins.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, who opted to skip the week’s action at the Tour Championship, drops down two spots to 12th with Chris Wakelin, Mark Allen, Si Jiahui, and Ding Junhui completing the top 16.
These players will all be seeded at the World Championship and will therefore definitely feature in the round-of-32 stage at the Crucible Theatre.
| Official 2-Year World Rankings | Apr 6, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £1,675,550 |
| 2 | Kyren Wilson | £1,367,100 |
| 3 | Neil Robertson | £1,175,550 |
| 4 | Zhao Xintong | £1,126,550 |
| 5 | John Higgins | £918,350 |
| 6 | Mark Williams | £873,400 |
| 7 | Mark Selby | £819,350 |
| 8 | Shaun Murphy | £786,800 |
| 9 | Xiao Guodong | £643,900 |
| 10 | Wu Yize | £635,900 |
| 11 | Barry Hawkins | £635,350 |
| 12 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £571,250 |
| 13 | Chris Wakelin | £569,200 |
| 14 | Mark Allen | £517,750 |
| 15 | Si Jiahui | £469,400 |
| 16 | Ding Junhui | £435,850 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Stuart Bingham | £427,700 |
| 18 | Jack Lisowski | £410,000 |
| 19 | Jak Jones | £398,300 |
| 20 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | £366,600 |
| 21 | Elliot Slessor | £351,550 |
| 22 | Zhang Anda | £330,950 |
| 23 | Ali Carter | £310,050 |
| 24 | Zhou Yuelong | £305,250 |
| 25 | David Gilbert | £298,700 |
| 26 | Stephen Maguire | £288,950 |
| 27 | Gary Wilson | £286,700 |
| 28 | Joe O’Connor | £282,700 |
| 29 | Pang Junxu | £281,900 |
| 30 | Lei Peifan | £261,800 |
| 31 | Yuan Sijun | £246,300 |
| 32 | Hossein Vafaei | £217,600 |
When is the next snooker event?
The 2026 World Snooker Championship will be the last ranking event on the calendar for the 2025/26 season.
The main event at the Crucible Theatre will commence on Saturday, April 18 with the champion to be crowned on Monday, May 4.
Before that, however, there is the ever-exciting qualifying tournament that will determine the 16 remaining spots that are available in the first-round proper in Sheffield.
That preliminary competition begins on Monday, April 6 with more information on the draw and schedule available by clicking here.
Featured photo credit: WST
