As the 2020/21 season came to an end, we’re going to look at the movements in the rankings and how the World Championship has had an impact on the positions of those who ventured far within the tournament. Once again, the rankings highlight just how far ahead the Top 4-5 players are against the rest of the pack under the prize money system. But the race for No. 1 may be closer than you think…
The most interesting aspect of the rankings lie at the very top, primarily between Judd Trump and Mark Selby. This year’s WSC proved to be significant to the rankings because Trump would have lost his points from his 2019 WSC win, whilst Selby has now gained a stronger position for two years thanks to his triumph. This change has closed the significant gap that Trump had over second place to just under £100,000. Which, to these guys, is the difference between winning a ranking event or two. Selby and Trump now have ample motivation going into next season, so it’ll be fascinating to see to comes out on top.
Shaun Murphy and John Higgins have swapped places at 5 and 7. Murphy’s run to the final boosted his rank while Higgins saw the last of his WSC final points from 2019 erase from his status. Higgins would have seen a more drastic drop in his rank had it not been for his dominant performance at the Players Championship.
Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan see drops in their rankings by one place as a result of Selby’s win. There isn’t much that separate these two but there is a substantial amount separating them from Trump and Selby. O’Sullivan is in a vulnerable position with regards to his ranking if he isn’t able to either win a major, or a few ranking titles to maintain his position. Given his current and recent form, do you think either of these is likely? Most of the points carrying O’Sullivan’s position come from two seasons ago so these will start to evaporate as next season progresses.
The disparity between positions 8-16, as always, remain close and within 100,000 ranking points. A ranking event win for any of these players along with a strong remainder of the season will see a dramatic rise in their ranking. But easier said than done, right? The same competitiveness exists in and around the Top 16 position. There’s going to be a lot of movement between players around this rank as each tournament progresses.
The players I’d be keen to see how their performances plays out next season are Jack Lisowski, given how he effectively doubled his points earned this past season. Also, Yan Bingtao as he will see his points from 2018/19 start to fade away. Unfortunately, his magnificent win at the Masters did nothing to benefit his rank so he remains at No. 10. David Gilbert fell out of the Top 16 at the end of the season as he and Gary Wilson’s impressive semi-final performances at WSC 2019 have been deducted from their point’s total. Lastly, Bingham is one of those players who are better than what their rank indicates, so I’d be surprised if he doesn’t win anything next season.
What do you think? Who do you predict will end next season as No. 1? Who will win the most events? And who will win the major events?
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