With the World Grand Prix underway and the World Championship arriving shortly, let’s have a look at the world snooker rankings as they stand at the time of writing.
- Judd Trump – Having already won both the UK Championship and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters this season, Judd Trump is undeniably the best player in the world right now. The 35-year-old from Bristol is on top form and certainly the bookmakers' favourite for almost every international event this year, with the possibility of him attaining his second win at the World Championship looking very strong.
- Kyren Wilson – Having won 3 tournaments already this season, “The Warrior” will be defending his title at the World Championship later in the year, after having won it for the first time last year. With over 500 century breaks, Wilson is always a delight to watch and promises to give some strong competition in the remaining games this season.
- Mark Selby – The Jester From Leicester has won 3 championships this season already and could potentially win the World Championship for the 5th time this year. Selby is the only player in the world to have won both the Pool and Snooker World Championships.
- Ronnie O’Sullivan – Ronnie the Rocket is unfortunately not having a great season so far, having to not attend multiple events already due to poor health. We can but hope that he makes a recovery in time for the World Championship as a win there would land him with 8, putting him on par with the greatest of all time. Known for his speed when playing and his unparalleled ability at maximum breaks, we really hope to see more of him this season once he’s recovered.
- Mark J Williams – Arguably the greatest Welsh player in the sport, and one of the best players of all time, “The Welsh Potting Machine” is another looking strong this year. Having already won the Champion of Champions event this season and with a potential fourth win at the Crucible on the horizon, Williams is another to watch closely.
- Luca Brecel – The only player on this list that is from neither the United Kingdom or China, “The Belgian Bullet” hasn’t yet had a win this year but is a former world champion and made it to the final of the Riyadh Season Championship already this season, having been beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
- Mark Allen – Having been ranked world number 1 for a large part of last season, “The Pistol” is set to have a great season. Placing high in every event so far this season and having previously won 2 triple crown titles we hope to see some wins this season from the Northern Irish player.
- John Higgins – Higgins is another legendary name on this list. Having the 3rd highest number of ranking wins of all time (32), winning the World Championship 4 times and holding over 1,000 century breaks Higgins is a force to be reckoned with. He’s already won the World Open this year and we look forward to seeing future successes.
- Ding Junhui – The first Chinese player on this list, Ding has played the sport since age 9, winning his first major event in 2005 and then going on to win 14 more. Having been the first Asian player to reach the number one ranking back in 2014 and already having won the International Championship this year Ding is set for another great year.
- Zhang Anda – Nicknamed “The Mighty Mouse” for his short stature Zhang only has 1 major event under his belt but regularly plays very well in every event, having over 150 century breaks, at 33 there is still plenty of time for him to earn many more wins.
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