Murphy Tops One-Year List
Shaun Murphy has leapt to the top of the one-year ranking list thanks to his victory at the Evergrande China Championship and may already have done enough to qualify for all three events in the Coral Series.
Murphy beat Mark Williams 10-9 in a dramatic final in Guangzhou on Sunday to win his first ranking title since the 2017 Gibraltar Open. The £150,000 top prize sees him leapfrog Judd Trump and go to the top of the one-year list with a total of £225,000.
This list will be used to determine who makes it to the three Coral Series events in early 2020:
Coral World Grand Prix, Cheltenham, February 3-9. Top 32 on the one-year list after the BetVictor German Masters will qualify.
Coral Players Championship, Southport Waterfront, February 24 to March 1. Top 16 on the one-year list after the BetVictor Shoot Out.
Coral Tour Championship, Llandudno, March 17-22. Top eight on the one-year list after the BetVictor Gibraltar Open.
Last season, Kyren Wilson was the eighth and last seed at the Coral Tour Championship with £190,500, so Murphy would probably be safe booking his hotel in Llandudno.
Vafaei – rising
Williams banked £75,000 as runner-up and he jumps from 44th place to third. Iran’s top player Hossein Vafaei reached the semi-finals of a ranking event for the third time and his £32,000 pay-day sees him up 81 places to tenth. Mark Selby was the other losing semi-finalist and he remains fourth.
On the official two-year list, Murphy climbs six places to eighth while Williams remains third, behind Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Vafaei leaps from 41st to 31st. The top 32 players on the list are seeded in the draw for the 19.com English Open in Crawley (October 14-20) – with the draw and format for that event to be announced shortly.
Trump reached the last 16 in Guangzhou and now leads O’Sullivan by £169,000 at the top of the list. O’Sullivan will compete in a ranking event for the first time this season in Crawley.
There are seven players currently inside the top 16 of the one-year list who are outside the top 16 on the official two-year list.
Murphy’s victory also earned him a place at the ManBetX Champion of Champions in November – for the list of qualified players click here
And in the Race to the Masters, Murphy has jumped to ninth place so now looks secure for a place at Alexandra Palace in January, with the top 16 at the end of the Betway UK Championship guaranteed a spot. With just four counting events to go, that will be a tightly-run race with just £63,500 separating Ding Junhui in 14th place from Graeme Dott in 20th.
Tickets for many of these events are on sale now – for details click here.