Liang Leaps To 12th And Gains Coventry Spot
Liang Wenbo has jumped to 12th in the world after winning his first ranking title at the Coral English Open.
China’s Liang beat Judd Trump 9-6 in the final in Manchester to take the £70,000 top prize, and climbs eight spots from 20th.
He also earned a place at the Champion of Champions event to take place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry from November 7 to 12 and he will meet Mark Selby in the first round.
Trump remains third in the rankings, behind Stuart Bingham and Selby.
Chris Wakelin reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the second time in his career and he’s up three places to 67th. Anthony Hamilton got to the same stage for the first time in three years and he flies up 28 places to 79th.
Liang is into the top 16 at the expense of Kyren Wilson. There are three ranking events to go until the vital cut off point for The Dafabet Masters, with only the top 16 seeds to earn a place at Alexandra Palace. For the latest on that race click here.
Chris Wakelin – big climber this week
Liang is up 18 places to fourth on the separate one-year list, which determines who will qualify for the World Grand Prix and Players Championship. The top 32 will make it to the World Grand Prix in Preston in February, then the top 16 will earn spots at the Players Championship in Llandudno in March. So every pound earned in ranking events over the coming months is vital.
Trump climbs two spots to fourth. Hamilton soars from 93rd to 44th while Wakelin is up from 95th to 47th.
As its stands there are five players inside the top 32 of the one-year list who are outside the top 32 of the two-year list. And four players inside the top 16 of the one-year list who are outside the top 16 of the two-year list.