On Sunday, an excellent Mark Williams gained the penultimate occasion of the 2023/24 snooker season that can depend in direction of the rankings.
The Welshman dominated the second session of his blockbuster showdown with outdated rival Ronnie O’Sullivan in Manchester.
The latter had established a 5-3 cushion after the primary session, scoring three century breaks in a fast afternoon burst of play.
However the respite helped Williams, who was in a position to regroup earlier than duly contributing a pair of his personal tons throughout a one-sided night session.
The 49 year-old, the reigning British Open champion, gained the remaining seven frames towards his esteemed opponent to seal a twenty sixth profession rating success.
Let’s see the way it impacts the world snooker rankings forward of the marketing campaign’s finale on the Crucible Theatre.
High 16
Like so typically this season, there had been an opportunity that O’Sullivan might need relinquished his stranglehold on the summit of the official snooker rankings record.
However Judd Trump’s exit within the quarter-finals ensured that the Rocket would preserve the standing he has held since April in 2022.
With the £500,000 he accrued on the 2022 World Championship quickly to be deducted from his rolling two-year tally, O’Sullivan is provisionally set to finish the 2023/24 season because the world quantity 5, nevertheless.
Mark Allen is at present in line to conclude this time period because the world primary, however all the things on that entrance will rely on how outcomes pan out on the profitable World Championship in Sheffield.
The Pistol stays in third within the present official standings – behind Trump in second and in entrance of reigning world champion Luca Brecel in fourth.
Mark Selby stays in fifth forward of Mark Williams, who collected a good-looking cheque value £150,000 for touchdown the Tour Championship crown.
Ding Junhui, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter, and Gary Wilson full the highest ten – with Wilson rising to a career-high rating following his run to the semi-finals on the Manchester Central.
Just a little additional down lies Zhang Anda, Kyren Wilson, and John Higgins, who has dropped three locations to thirteenth and is provisionally outdoors the world’s prime 16 within the end-of-season standings.
Tom Ford, Barry Hawkins, and Robert Milkins full the highest 16.
With the factors from his 2022 Tour Championship triumph now deducted from his complete, Neil Robertson formally drops out of the highest 16 for the primary time since 2017.
| Official 2-12 months World Rankings | Apr 8, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | £1,109,000 |
| 2 | Judd Trump | £1,061,000 |
| 3 | Mark Allen | £965,000 |
| 4 | Luca Brecel | £690,500 |
| 5 | Mark Selby | £678,500 |
| 6 | Mark Williams | £557,500 |
| 7 | Ding Junhui | £486,500 |
| 8 | Shaun Murphy | £468,000 |
| 9 | Ali Carter | £443,000 |
| 10 | Gary Wilson | £421,500 |
| 11 | Zhang Anda | £416,000 |
| 12 | Kyren Wilson | £381,500 |
| 13 | John Higgins | £353,500 |
| 14 | Tom Ford | £325,500 |
| 15 | Barry Hawkins | £312,500 |
| 16 | Robert Milkins | £283,500 |
| — | — | — |
| 17 | Jack Lisowski | £277,000 |
| 18 | Ryan Day | £255,500 |
| 19 | Hossein Vafaei | £244,500 |
| 20 | Chris Wakelin | £235,500 |
World Snooker Championship seeding
With no one ranked outdoors the highest 16 that includes within the Tour Championship this yr, the automated qualifiers for the World Championship had been already identified.
However the particular seeding positions for the Crucible Theatre had but to be decided.
These are actually set in stone, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump representing the respective second and third seeds behind reigning world champion Luca Brecel.
That places O’Sullivan and Trump on the identical aspect of the draw, that means this season’s most prolific winners may face one another within the semi-finals.
Mark Williams, Ding Junhui, and Gary Wilson are among the many others who slot into the underside half of the World Snooker Championship draw.
Brecel, in the meantime, will look to develop into the primary participant in Crucible historical past to efficiently defend his first world title.
The Belgian has the likes of Mark Allen, Mark Selby, John Higgins, and Shaun Murphy for firm within the prime half.
2024 World Snooker Championship draw
Spherical of 32 (bo19)
High Half
Luca Brecel (1) vs qualifier
Robert Milkins (16) vs qualifier
Ali Carter (9) vs qualifier
Shaun Murphy (8) vs qualifier
Mark Selby (5) vs qualifier
Kyren Wilson (12) vs qualifier
John Higgins (13) vs qualifier
Mark Allen (4) vs qualifier
Backside Half
Judd Trump (3) vs qualifier
Tom Ford (14) vs qualifier
Zhang Anda (11) vs qualifier
Mark Williams (6) vs qualifier
Ding Junhui (7) vs qualifier
Gary Wilson (10) vs qualifier
Barry Hawkins (15) vs qualifier
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) vs qualifier
The primary-round draw will likely be made on Thursday, April 18th following the conclusion of the qualifiers.
To view the qualifying draw, click on right here.
What’s the subsequent snooker occasion?
The principle levels of the World Snooker Championship begin on Saturday, April twentieth with varied choices to observe reside protection together with on the BBC and Eurosport.
This, after all, would be the last rating occasion of the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
Earlier than that, a fiercely contested qualifying competitors will decide the ultimate 16 locations on the Crucible Theatre.
That will get beneath manner on Monday, April eighth and runs till Wednesday, April seventeenth on the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The World Snooker Championship qualifiers would be the final alternative for lots of gamers to earn factors within the rankings race for tour survival.
To maintain updated with that drama, head over to the WPBSA web site which all the time gives its annual tour survival weblog.
watch the World Championship qualifiers:
Europe
discovery+
China
Huya.com
All different territories
matchroom.reside
Featured photograph credit score: WST