Rankings Races
Here’s an update on the various races to tournaments this season following the Paul Hunter Classic….
- Mark Selby’s victory in Germany, his eighth career ranking title, means he tightens his stronghold on the world number one position. Selby has now topped the official list for 19 consecutive months.
- The players in the top 16 remain the same. Barry Hawkins didn’t enter the Paul Hunter Classic and drops one place to 16th, while 17th placed Martin Gould lost in the first round in Germany. There are six 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.
- Tom Ford was runner-up in Germany and his first appearance in a ranking event final means he jumps two places to 38th in the world.
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who lost to Ford in the semi-finals, remains 33rd while Dominic Dale was beaten by Selby in the last four and he climbs two spots to 36th.
Jimmy White – how far back up the rankings can he climb?
- Jimmy White reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time in 12 years and his reward is a leap of 12 places to 91st.
- The seeding cut off for the European Masters and International Championship came at the end of the Paul Hunter Classic. The draws and formats for the qualifying rounds of those two events (Preston, September 25 to October 1) will be available shortly.
- This season, the crucial one-year ranking list 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 next six months is vital.
- Selby was previously down in 44th place but has now jumped to 8th, while Ford has climbed from 43rd to 11th.
Semi-finals and a 147 – it was a great week in Germany for Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Un-Nooh remains 9th to while Dale leaps from 53rd to 28th.
- White has climbed from 85th to 67th and that’s a particularly significant move for the Whirlwind because the top eight players at the end of the season on the one year list, who are outside the official top 64, will earn a fresh two year tour card. So White must either get into the top 64 on the two year list or take one of those eight spots on the one year list to keep his pro status.
- As its stands there are 12 players inside the top 32 of the one-year list who are outside the top 32 of the two-year list. And seven players inside the top 16 of the one-year list who are outside the top 16 of the two-year list. Big names like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui and Marco Fu have plenty of catching up to do to make sure of places at the World Grand Prix and Players Championship.
- As World Champion, Selby was already guaranteed a place at the Champion of Champions in Coventry. His victory at the Paul Hunter Classic boosts the hopes of players towards the end of the qualifying criteria list of being assured of a place at the Ricoh Arena. To see that list click here