Snooker world number ones
Encyclopedia
There have been three ranking systems
in place since 1975, which have seen nine players hold the number one position: Ray Reardon
, Cliff Thorburn
, Steve Davis
, Stephen Hendry
, John Higgins, Mark Williams
, Ronnie O'Sullivan
, Neil Robertson
and Mark Selby
.
An Order of Merit was introduced for the 1975/1976 season, which saw Ray Reardon ranked in the top position. This system was only in place for a season before being replaced by the world rankings, which saw successive periods of dominance for the first 22 seasons by Ray Reardon (1976/1977–1982/1983), Steve Davis (1983/1984–1989/1990) and Stephen Hendry (1990/1991–1997/1998), interrupted only by the 1981/1982 season when Cliff Thorburn held the position. The following period (1998/1999–2009/2010) was shared by O'Sullivan (five seasons), John Higgins (three seasons) and Williams (three seasons), while Hendry regained the position for the 2006/2007 season. This run ensured that only four men, Hendry, John Higgins, O'Sullivan and Williams, held the position during a twenty year span (1990–2010).
This period of four-way dominance ended with the restructuring of the rankings system on a rolling basis, which enabled Neil Robertson to take the top spot midway through the 2010/2011 season.
Sometimes other factors besides performance in ranking events impact upon the rankings. Alex Higgins
would have been ranked number 1 in 1982/1983
, but had ranking points deducted as a result of disciplinary action, and similarly, Robertson assumed the number one spot earlier than would have been possible if John Higgins hadn't received a six month ban in 2010. Higgins would also have finished the 2010/2011 season
ranked number 1 if not for the ban, since the points he was guaranteed from participating in the tournaments he missed would have been enough for him to take the top spot, and similarly O'Sullivan's decision not to enter the Malta Cup during the 2005/2006 season
cost him the top rank for the following season, since the entry points on offer would have been enough for him to retain the position.
players ranked number one in the world are listed below for each period since rankings officially began in 1976/77.
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
in place since 1975, which have seen nine players hold the number one position: Ray Reardon
Ray Reardon
Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...
, Cliff Thorburn
Cliff Thorburn
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...
, Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
, Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
, John Higgins, Mark Williams
Mark Williams (snooker player)
Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine...
, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
, Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
and Mark Selby
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby is an English professional snooker and pool player. Runner up in the World Snooker Championship 2007, he was the 2006 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion. Selby has won the Masters on two occasions, the Welsh Open and the Shanghai Masters...
.
An Order of Merit was introduced for the 1975/1976 season, which saw Ray Reardon ranked in the top position. This system was only in place for a season before being replaced by the world rankings, which saw successive periods of dominance for the first 22 seasons by Ray Reardon (1976/1977–1982/1983), Steve Davis (1983/1984–1989/1990) and Stephen Hendry (1990/1991–1997/1998), interrupted only by the 1981/1982 season when Cliff Thorburn held the position. The following period (1998/1999–2009/2010) was shared by O'Sullivan (five seasons), John Higgins (three seasons) and Williams (three seasons), while Hendry regained the position for the 2006/2007 season. This run ensured that only four men, Hendry, John Higgins, O'Sullivan and Williams, held the position during a twenty year span (1990–2010).
This period of four-way dominance ended with the restructuring of the rankings system on a rolling basis, which enabled Neil Robertson to take the top spot midway through the 2010/2011 season.
Sometimes other factors besides performance in ranking events impact upon the rankings. Alex Higgins
Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
would have been ranked number 1 in 1982/1983
Snooker world rankings 1982/1983
Snooker world rankings 1982/1983: The professional world rankings for the top 32 snooker players in the 1982/1983 season are listed below.-References:...
, but had ranking points deducted as a result of disciplinary action, and similarly, Robertson assumed the number one spot earlier than would have been possible if John Higgins hadn't received a six month ban in 2010. Higgins would also have finished the 2010/2011 season
Snooker world ranking points 2010/2011
Snooker world ranking points 2010/2011: The official world ranking points for the 97 professional snooker players in the 2010/2011 season are listed below. The total points from the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons were used to determine the rankings at the start of 2010/2011 season...
ranked number 1 if not for the ban, since the points he was guaranteed from participating in the tournaments he missed would have been enough for him to take the top spot, and similarly O'Sullivan's decision not to enter the Malta Cup during the 2005/2006 season
Snooker world ranking points 2005/2006
Snooker world ranking points 2005/2006: The official world ranking points for the 94 professional snooker players in the 2005/2006 season are listed below. The total points from the seasons 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 were used to determine the rankings for the season 2006/2007.- Ranking points :...
cost him the top rank for the following season, since the entry points on offer would have been enough for him to retain the position.
Number one players
The snookerSnooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
players ranked number one in the world are listed below for each period since rankings officially began in 1976/77.
| From | To | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| TBC |
Records
- Stephen Hendry holds the record for most seasons at number 1, with nine seasons (1990/1991Snooker world rankings 1990/1991Snooker world rankings 1990/1991: The professional world rankings for the top 32 snooker players in the 1990/1991 are listed below.-References:...
–1997/1998Snooker world rankings 1997/1998Snooker world rankings 1997/1998: The professional world rankings for the top 64 snooker players in the 1997/1998 season are listed below.-References:...
and again in 2006/2007Snooker world rankings 2006/2007Snooker world rankings 2006/2007: The professional world rankings for the top 64 snooker players in the 2006/2007 season are listed below.-Notes:...
). His first spell of eight consecutive seasons at number 1 is also a record.
- It took both Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry just five seasons from turning professional to reach the number 1 rank.