Wu Yize has risen to number four in the world snooker rankings after emerging victoriously in one of the most dramatic World Championship finals in history.
The Chinese competitor edged Shaun Murphy by a single frame in just the fourth Crucible final to last the full 35 frames.
One of the all-time great editions of the World Snooker Championship produced a string of memorable matches that simultaneously had a significant bearing on the official rankings list.
Judd Trump stays as world number one
Three players were in the hunt to end the 2025/26 snooker season at number one on the official rankings list.
Judd Trump reaching the second round immediately ended the slim hopes of Zhao Xintong becoming the sport’s newest top dog.
But when the Bristol potter surprisingly lost 13-12 to Hossein Vafaei in the last 16, it opened the door ajar for Neil Robertson to pip him in the standings.
The Australian needed to claim his second world title to do so but lost 13-10 to John Higgins in the quarter-finals.
Trump, then, has ended a snooker season as the world number one for the fourth time in his career with Robertson finishing in second place.
Zhao, with barely any ranking points coming off his tally until the 2027 World Championship comes around, is in third but looks poised to become the world number one at some point during the upcoming campaign.
The £500,000 champion’s cheque for winning a maiden world title sees Wu rise up to a career-high of number four in the world ahead of Higgins.
Murphy moves up to sixth, with Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, and Barry Hawkins rounding off the top ten.
A bit further down, Xiao Guodong is in 11th ahead of Mark Allen, who narrowly missed out on a place in the World Championship final this year.
Chris Wakelin, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ding Junhui, and Si Jiahui complete the top 16, with Jack Lisowski and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh just below the elite bracket.
Other movers
Former world champion Stuart Bingham had been knocking on the door of a spot in the top 16 again, but losing on Judgement Day of the qualifiers has resulted in him dropping down four places to number 21.
It’s much worse for David Gilbert and Jak Jones who enjoyed impressive runs at the 2024 World Championship but failed to defend their points, plummeting to 31 and 32 in the standings respectively.
By contrast, Hossein Vafaei’s journey as a qualifier to the quarter-finals has helped the Iranian move back up to number 28.
A debut appearance at the Crucible for Stan Moody, meanwhile, has helped the teenager break into the top 40 for the first time in his career.
| Official 2-Year World Rankings | May 5, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £1,655,550 |
| 2 | Neil Robertson | £1,210,550 |
| 3 | Zhao Xintong | £1,176,550 |
| 4 | Wu Yize | £1,120,900 |
| 5 | John Higgins | £958,350 |
| 6 | Shaun Murphy | £956,800 |
| 7 | Mark Williams | £903,400 |
| 8 | Kyren Wilson | £897,100 |
| 9 | Mark Selby | £849,350 |
| 10 | Barry Hawkins | £685,350 |
| 11 | Xiao Guodong | £658,900 |
| 12 | Mark Allen | £587,750 |
| 13 | Chris Wakelin | £584,200 |
| 14 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £551,250 |
| 15 | Ding Junhui | £464,850 |
| 16 | Si Jiahui | £439,400 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Jack Lisowski | £395,000 |
| 18 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | £366,000 |
| 19 | Elliot Slessor | £351,550 |
| 20 | Zhang Anda | £350,950 |
| 21 | Stuart Bingham | £342,700 |
| 22 | Ali Carter | £330,050 |
| 23 | Zhou Yuelong | £310,250 |
| 24 | Gary Wilson | £306,700 |
| 25 | Pang Junxu | £281,900 |
| 26 | Lei Peifan | £281,800 |
| 27 | Joe O’Connor | £252,700 |
| 28 | Hossein Vafaei | £247,600 |
| 29 | Stephen Maguire | £238,950 |
| 30 | Yuan Sijun | £231,300 |
| 31 | David Gilbert | £218,700 |
| 32 | Jak Jones | £218,300 |
| 33 | Jimmy Robertson | £200,700 |
| 34 | Xu Si | £193,500 |
| 35 | Jackson Page | £193,250 |
| 36 | Tom Ford | £187,050 |
| 37 | Ryan Day | £183,650 |
| 38 | Anthony McGill | £174,850 |
| 39 | Ben Woollaston | £174,000 |
| 40 | Stan Moody | £172,700 |
| 41 | Aaron Hill | £170,950 |
| 42 | Zak Surety | £169,050 |
| 43 | Matthew Selt | £167,000 |
| 44 | Luca Brecel | £163,400 |
| 45 | Daniel Wells | £152,300 |
| 46 | Noppon Saengkham | £151,350 |
| 47 | He Guoqiang | £147,650 |
| 48 | Chang Bingyu | £143,100 |
| 49 | Matthew Stevens | £141,450 |
| 50 | Long Zehuang | £138,450 |
| 51 | Michael Holt | £137,350 |
| 52 | Martin O’Donnell | £134,400 |
| 53 | Oliver Lines | £133,200 |
| 54 | Ricky Walden | £122,750 |
| 55 | Scott Donaldson | £121,100 |
| 56 | Robbie Williams | £120,950 |
| 57 | Fan Zhengyi | £120,550 |
| 58 | Liu Hongyu | £113,700 |
| 59 | Ishpreet Singh Chadha | £110,950 |
| 60 | David Lilley | £110,950 |
| 61 | Lyu Haotian | £109,350 |
| 62 | Ben Mertens | £101,450 |
| 63 | Jamie Jones | £98,400 |
| 64 | Jordan Brown | £94,600 |
Who got relegated?
Robert Milkins and Mark Davis were two high-profile names who dropped out of the top 64 and suffered relegation from the main tour.
Both Milkins and Davis had been professionals on the World Snooker Tour since the 1990s, and they have each been ranked as high as number 12 in the world.
Former world champion Graeme Dott will also officially be off the tour next season, but the Scot has been suspended for more than a year anyway following the serious allegations concerning an ongoing criminal case against him.
For the likes of Milkins and Davis, it’ll be Q School in May if they have any desire to seal an immediate return to the pro ranks.
Beyond that, the feeder Q Tour has proven a gateway back for several players in the past – including Zhao Xintong, Michael Holt, and Jamie Clarke in recent times.
Top women players Bai Yulu and Mink Nutcharut’s tour cards have also ended, although they may be awarded renewals through their high ranking positions on the World Women’s Snooker Tour.
Ken Doherty additionally ended the campaign way outside the top 64 cut-off point, and it is not yet confirmed whether or not he will be offered a new invitational tour card.
A total of 33 players finished below the top 64 but have a year remaining on their two-year cards, including Liam Pullen, Liam Highfield, and Marco Fu.
Antoni Kowalski, boosted by his memorable qualification for the World Championship, also finished outside the cut-off point.
But the Pole – along with Julien Leclercq, Artemijs Zizins, and Shoot Out champion Alfie Burden – will be offered fresh two-year cards through their high positions on the one-year rankings list.
Relegated snooker players (2025/26 season)
Mark Davis
Sanderson Lam
Allan Taylor
Robert Milkins
Wang Yuchen
Duane Jones
Gong Chenzhi
Sunny Akani
Amir Sarkhosh
Liam Davies
Bulcsu Revesz
Graeme Dott
Robbie McGuigan
Mitchell Mann
Farakh Ajaib
Cheung Ka Wai
Huang Jiahao
Haris Tahir
Haydon Pinhey
Chris Totten
Bai Yulu
Ken Doherty
Hatem Yassen
Jonas Luz
Mohammed Shehab
Mink Nutcharut
Kreishh Gurbaxani
Lim Kok Leong
Cao Yupeng
When is the next snooker event?
Most of the relegated players above and a bucket load of aspiring amateurs will next head to Q School in a bid to seal their spots on the World Snooker Tour.
There will be four Q School tournaments in 2026 – two in Leicester and a couple in Bangkok – with the action taking place between May 13 to May 31.
Featured photo credit: WST
If there was a prize for the nicest guy in snooker, Shaun Murphy would be the winner by a mile .What a lovely man.
How much do you watch of the Crucible in South Korea? I presume not every session?
It’s different every year. This year I watched most morning/afternoon sessions + all of the semis and the final. With WST quickly archiving the matches, it has been a bit easier. I can catch up easily on something I missed if I have to. I’ll enjoy getting back to a normal sleeping schedule though.
I did wonder how you went about the evening sessions unless you’re an insomniac or a night owl. It’s still some commitment to stay up live for the last three nights. I thought catch-up must come into play. My only concern with using catch-up is trying to avoid seeing the length of a programme as that can give things away a little in terms of the result.
Well done Wu. A wonderful Wu Worlds win. Wu Yize was my pick from the conclusion of the 2nd round matches onwards with Zhao as my second choice based on current and recent form respectively. The times have really changed. Murphy now has four successive defeats as runner up in the world’s when appearing as a finalist. Is four defeats in successive appearances the second most for modern players after Jimmy White’s 6 successive losses in appearances in the final?
I think it would be as John Higgins only lost three in succession.
Various ways to get a tour card, which I assume allows you to either play in WST events (i.e. if you are ranked high enough) or enter qualifying for WST events, are mentioned.
Is there a fixed or max number of valid tour cards that can exist at any particular time?
Or is there some flexibility in that vis-a-vis invitational cards, cards for highly-ranked women, etc.