"No-one knew what the hell was going on" - Barry Hearn discusses snooker's ranking system

Sports promotions supremo Hearn starred for an in-depth, sit down interview with Online Darts for its YouTube channel. Of course, the vast majority of the episode was about the Professional Darts Corporation - Hearn is President of that organisation - but there were several overlapping topics, issues and references involving snooker.

One of the subjects raised was about the current ranking system used in darts. The PDC - exactly like the World Snooker Tour does - employs a prize money-based, two-year rolling cycle for its world rankings.

Basically, prize money earned at ranked tournaments effectively gets turned into points for the rankings. For example, if a player wins £50,000, that amount gets added to their ranking tally. The world rankings in both professional darts and snooker are dynamic, meaning they are updated after every ranking event, with money you earned at the same point two years ago being removed from your total.

Whilst this system is fairly easy to understand, not everyone within the sport is a fan - one brilliant run at a major event doesn’t equate to consistency across a sustained period. For example, winning five Home Nations Series events (£100,000 each) gets you the same points for winning one Saudi Arabia Masters title (£500,000).

Both the world championships in snooker and darts currently carry a £500,000 top prize. Luca Brecel won snooker’s blue riband competition in May 2023 - the money he banked from that one event has kept him within the top echelons of the world rankings ever since, despite having a very difficult time in ranking events following that Crucible success.

Online Darts interviewer Phill Barrs asked Hearn whether the two-year ranking system will ever be looked at and replaced, and if something you did 18 months ago should still be relevant to your rankings.

Whilst Matchroom Sport President Hearn answered for darts, it seems very likely he would have the same opinion for snooker.

“We look at it all the time. We've looked at points systems, we've looked at depreciating the previous year of the two year” said Hearn

“The issue is simplicity is the key to success in business. The general public understand for every pound you win, effectively that's a point.

“A lot of people argue, 'oh, don't make the prize money in the world championship’ - I've had people say to me, players, ‘don't make that too big’. I ask why? 'Well, you have one run in the world championship, should that carry the same points because of the extra money. I say, 'yes, of course, cos it's our most important event’.

“The general public rule it, common sense, they want something simple they can understand. This bloke's won a hundred grand, it's gone on his prize money, he's now gone ranked such and such.

“You're never going to get it perfect, but it's good that we talk about it because you constantly evaluate.

The professional snooker circuit moved over to its current money-based ranking system for the 2014/15 season. Previously - since the creation of world rankings in the 1970s - a points system had been used, although Hearn explained it was difficult to understand and needed to be changed when he helped take over the running of the professional game.

“The idea of simplicity is something that the man in the street can understand.

“When I took over snooker, we had the worst system of points, no one knew what the hell was going on, even the players that were playing didn't know, but it made some boffin or nerd happy because it was sensible, it was a mathematical equation, but sport's not like that.

“I'm not going to make it complicated, for every pound you win, it goes on your prize money.”

There is more prize money than ever in professional snooker. Unlike darts, there are currently two £500,000 first prizes on the circuit - at the Saudi Arabia Masters, and the World Championship. All the Players Series events have this season been increased - with a particularly huge jump up for the World Grand Prix.

All Home Nations Series events and the German Masters - for the first time - now have a six-figure prize for the champion.