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Snooker End of Season Rankings (2021/22)

It seems that for the past few years there hasn’t been much change to the world rankings and to an extent, this could still be considered true. Although, there have been some considerable changes worth noting especially when compared to the end of last season. When you break the rankings down into specific segments, this becomes more apparent.

Top 4

Ronnie O’Sullivan entered the World Championship as World No. 1 and cemented his spot at the end of the season with a victory at Sheffield. This was useful because this effectively replaced the points he lost from his WSC two years ago, taking his total to £1.036m. Judd Trump trails O’Sullivan in No. 2 as the only other person to have over £1m in ranking points. However, Trump will need to be cautious as he stands to lose almost £600k in points as we enter the new season.

Mark Selby and Neil Robertson sit at No. 3 and 4, with both players accumulating over £900k in ranking points over the past two years. Selby will have until the end of next season to make up some ground in order to cover his WSC win last year. Out of his £914k tally, £820k was derived from two seasons ago.

Top 8

This is where the first significant disparity lies. Robertson, at No. 4, has £904k points while John Higgins, at No. 5 has £537k. Keep going down to the rest of the Top 8 and the rest lie in the £400k range. The noteworthy contenders within the Top 8 are Higgins and Mark Williams, still showing that they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. But also, Zhao Xintong who after a spectacular season ended his campaign at No. 6, after beginning at No. 26.

Top 16+

The further down the rankings you go, the more competitive things become because of how close the players are to each other in prize money terms. No. 8-16 are all within £100k of each other (more or less) hovering between the £200-300k range, where one ranking event triumph could mean a jump in the rankings by several places. Shaun Murphy needs to be wary as £260k of his total £316k will evaporate over the coming season.

The same can be said for those towards the Top 32 where players ranking totals lie around £150k. This is what makes the one-year ranking list so important, because it allows players who are eligible for the Coral Cup series to further progress their ranking positions should they qualify.

When you look at the ranking list, all of these players are several thousand points within each other which is what makes this section of the rankings so competitive. Given how easy it may seem to be for those at the very top to remain there for several seasons, it can be easy to forget how quickly the rankings can change for those ranked lower.

Players like Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson will need to make a resurgence as they currently reside in No. 32 and 33 and risk going further down unless they can find some form. Jordan Brown who sits at No. 22 will stand to lose his £70k Welsh Open points this upcoming season which could push him down to the 40s should he not boost his tally.

Like this Short? Click here to read: Snooker Season 2021/22 Overview – Shorts Thoughts

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Judd Trump’s Approach To Snooker

This year’s World Championship runner-up, Judd Trump left his mark as one of the standout performers as he made his way through several tough matches en route to the final. But it was his overall character and persona that left many smiling following his venture at the Worlds – something we’re not entirely used to seeing from him.

After Trump’s couple of campaigns of dominance where he was winning five or six ranking events a season, it only made sense that it would follow with a perceived drought. That level of consistent victories can only be sustained for so long. Which is why some seemed to think of Trump as ‘dropping off’ as he wasn’t able to maintain the quantity of titles that he had grown used to.

Although, this is a bit of a harsh observation given that Trump had secured two titles this season in the inaugural Turkish Masters and Champion of Champions prior to his voyage to the World Championship final. It’s probably fairer to say that Trump’s form hasn’t been quite at the level it previously was. His century tally this season has halved compared to the prior two years, but clearly his below-par game still has considerable stopping power as he progresses through tournaments.

However, I don’t think it will be too long before we see Trump on the rise once again. His mentality towards snooker looks to be significantly different to what it once was. During his formidable years, Trump would focus on the task at hand which was winning as many tournaments as possible. But now this attitude has shifted towards his level of enjoyment for the game and not clinging on to the results.

Trump mentioned in his post-match interview against Mark Williams that he’s been able to get a lot more enjoyment and positivity out of his performances/matches during this recent spell. While it may seem odd, Trump has lowered his own expectations and therefore pressure which has allowed him to be a bit more free flowing with his approach to snooker. This lets him have a lot more fun with the game and the fans, who I think appreciate having a prominent player who isn’t completely bogged down by the match.

During the WSC, Trump explained that he wanted to leave a legacy where fans would remember him as a player who always had a smile on his face and entertained the viewers. With this new mindset, he’s already made a number of highlights throughout the WSC with his theatrics and crowd involvement. However, I think he can kill two birds with one stone here.

Look at the case of Ronnie O’Sullivan. All season, he’s touted how playing snooker is fun for him again and winning anything is just a bonus. And when some thought his time was up after a period of unsuccessful ranking finals, he’s had one of the best seasons he’s had in years, finishing at the very top of the rankings.

Trump’s approach follows a similar parallel to O’Sullivan’s in that they both aim to get enjoyment out of the matches they play. By being able to relax more, Trump can rebuild his confidence back to the level it once was (just like he did throughout each match of the Worlds) and by not pressuring himself as much, may in fact convert his efforts into some silverware.

If Trump continues in this manner, there’s no doubt in my mind that he will be the face of snooker, regardless of if he wins fewer titles than any other player alongside him. Trump will establish a character that would hopefully attract more viewers to the game and I, for one, am all for it. I can’t wait to watch Trump’s career path going forward.

Like this Short? Click here to read: Ronnie O'Sullivan Is The Greatest - World Snooker Championship 2022 – Shorts Thoughts

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Five Players You May Not Know Won The World Snooker Championship

It seems that the World Championship these days is only ever won by a repeat champion. For instance, in the last 10 years the WSC was won by five different individuals. If you think about it, this makes sense given the arduous journey one has to go through to reach the summit so it seems right that an experienced player that has accomplished this feat is more likely to lift the trophy again before others can do so for the first time.

We’re all familiar with the players that frequently lift the title but there are some that can go unnoticed, or perhaps forgotten with time. I’m going to highlight some of those players and the journeys they had to go through to become World Snooker Champions.

Walter Donaldson (1947, 1950)

Between the years 1947-51, each of the WSC finals were contested between Walter Donaldson and Fred Davis. On the two above occasions, Donaldson was able to better Davis with scores of 82-63 and 51-46. This was during the period where World Championship matches spanned significantly longer periods, with the inclusion of ‘dead frames’ in order to play matches until a desired number of frames were reached, despite the winning line already being crossed.

Horace Lindrum (1952)

There were actually two World Championships held in 1952 due to a dispute between governing bodies and the lesser recognised event only contested one match between the two ‘finalists’. Horace Lindrum and Clark McConachy played one match over a series of days which ultimately resulted in a 94-49 finish. Whether it is recognised or not, this edition of the WSC is written in the history books despite the other format being given more official recognition.

John Spencer (1977)

Spencer has won the WSC on three occasions: 1969, 1971 and 1977. The triumph in 1977 is one that is more likely to be remembered seeing as this introduced The Crucible to the world of snooker. Spencer beat the likes of John Virgo, Ray Reardon (who was champion each of the four prior years), John Pulman (who won the WSC when it was in the challenge format during the 1960s, click here to read that) before overcoming Cliff Thorburn in the final with a 25-21 score line.

Terry Griffiths (1979)

Not many people would have predicted Griffiths becoming the eventual winner of the 1979 WSC given he had to progress through two qualifying matches to reach the main stage. Following this qualifying success, Griffiths had to endure a series of close matches against the likes of Perrie Mans, Alex Higgins, Eddie Charlton and Dennis Taylor in the final to become the first qualifier to win the World Championship at The Crucible. The final score was 24-16. This was also Griffiths’ second tournament as a professional.

Cliff Thorburn (1980)

Having reached the final three years prior, Thorburn found success at the turn of the 1980s where he most notably battled against Alex Higgins in a close fought 18-16 final. The final was watched by 14.5 million viewers and saw a contrast of styles between two players - one of which had an erratic display of break-building; and the other whose slower, more procedural approach eventually overcame the onslaught. This is the match that earned Thorburn his nickname ‘The Grinder’.

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Snooker's Class of 1992 - Thirty Year Later

Thirty years later and the famous Class of ’92 reside within the Top 8 of the world rankings and are still causing considerable problems for nearly all the opposition they face. In theory, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins shouldn’t be performing at the top level and still garnering the spotlight in the manner that they do, but is that because they’re still playing well, or the rest just haven’t been able to catch up?

For the 2021/22 season (prior to World Championship), the Class of ’92 have achieved the following:

  • O’Sullivan: 1x win, 1x final, 3x semi-finals, 2x quarter-finals

  • Williams: 1x win, 1x final, 1x semi-final, 2x quarter-finals

  • Higgins: 1x win, 5x finals, 2x quarter-finals

Considering that most expected these three individuals to be phased out as time pushes ahead, they certainly seem to continue finding their way into the business end of many tournaments. If these were freak, one-off occurrences then the argument could be made however, the consistency and level they continue to perform to reach these latter stages are a testament to their ability to adapt to the snooker eras they lived through and compete in.

O’Sullivan, Williams and Higgins have had to compete through the Hendry era of the 1990s, the Class of ’92 era during the 2000s, the Selby/Robertson/Trump era of the 2010s and now arguably the Xintong/Bingtao era of the 2020s. Where the players of past may have struggled to keep up with the next generation, the Class of ’92 seem to have found the formula to not only keep pace, but also remain at the very top throughout the decades.

The key factor to their longevity is their adaptability and continuous improvement. O’Sullivan, Williams and Higgins have been able to evolve their game to suit the playing styles of their competition through enhancing their safety play, shot selection and cueing techniques over the years, all whilst keeping to their respective strengths of break-building, single-ball potting and tactical knowledge.

A lot of the retirement claims pushed forward by some viewers fall in the matter that they are unable to convert many of the finals and latter stages of tournaments that they reach. Furthermore, in their recent ability to close out matches. This was particularly evident during the recent Tour Championship semi-final and final where O’Sullivan and Higgins fell short to Neil Robertson who, at the time, is the best in the world. Also, in a few of their recent ventures where they fell at the deciders against players they probably shouldn’t have lost to.

Having said that, I think that goes to show the level of opposition that it takes to still stop the Class of ’92 winning events. You either need to be one of the best in the world or playing out of your skin to come out the winning side against one of these three. It’s quite funny when you observe a player competing against someone who isn’t Class of ’92, and later when they do play O’Sullivan, Williams or Higgins. There’s a palpable change in tension as there’s a general rise in spectators, pressure and stakes that come along with these characters.

Like this Short? Click here to read: Snooker's Class of 1992 (1990s) - Throwback

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