World snooker rankings update and analysis following the 2024 British Open

Mark Selby ended an 18-month drought for a ranking title as he defeated John Higgins 10-5 in the final to lift The Clive Everton Trophy for the first time.

Coming into the tournament, on the provisional end-of-season list Selby was projected outside the world's top 16, so the £100,000 top prize he collected on Sunday evening helps alleviate those concerns with sizeable chunks of prize money to defend later this season.

On the current world rankings list, Selby moves up one place to fourth, swapping places with Ronnie O'Sullivan who goes down to fifth.

One of the biggest talking points from this update is the return to the top 16 of Higgins. Having spent an unbroken spell of over 29 years within the sport's elite bracket, the great Scot slipped outside the 16 following the English Open earlier this month.

However - in typical Higgins fashion - he responded in true class and style; his first ranking event final appearance in nearly two-and-a-half years put him back into the top 16, meaning he spent only a week away from it.

Elsewhere in the top 16, world number one Judd Trump still holds a huge lead at the top of the tree, with reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson in second, and Mark Allen in third.

Zhang Anda (12th to 11th) and Ali Carter (11th to 12th) trade places, while Tom Ford and Neil Robertson both go down one position to 15th and 16th, respectively.

The Top 32

There are a few changes within the 17-32 bracket. One of most important is recent Crucible finalist Jak Jones falling outside of the top 16 by one place to 17th.

With qualifying for the UK Championship and invites for the Masters coming up over the next few months, Jones will be keen to go back into the premier echelons of the sport. Jones is still in the upcoming Wuhan Open, while Ford (who is in 15th) is not.

Elsewhere in the top 32, David Gilbert (now 19th), Chris Wakelin (now 22nd), Pang Junxu (now 26th) and Stephen Maguire (now 30th) all went up two places.

Ryan Day had the biggest drop, going down nine places to 28th. This was because he was the 2022 British Open champion and was defending that £100,000 from his total that he gained 24 months ago. As Day lost in round two this year - collecting £3,000 - it meant he lost £97,000 from his cumulative rolling ranking total.

For a guide on how the world snooker rankings work, please visit here.

The Top 64

Not too many seismic changes in the 33 to 64 bracket; the biggest jump was for Xu Si who went up four spots to 48th.

Elliot Slessor (now 35th), Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (now 38th), Joe Perry (now 46th) and Fan Zhengyi (now 49th) all gained a couple of positions.

Outside the Top 64

Oliver Lines broke new personal ground at the British Open when he reached his maiden ranking event semi-final. Taking home the biggest payday of his professional career, so far, the 29-year-old - who is in the first year of a two-year tour card - zips up 16 places to 83rd in the latest standings.

Top Malaysian cueist Rory Thor eliminated both Mark Williams and Neil Robertson on the main TV table in Cheltenham, and his run to the last 16 sees him go up seven places to 74th.

Young professional rookies Liam Davies (up seven to 98th) and Haris Tahir (up 10 to 110th) also made leaps upwards.

Visit snooker.org for the latest unofficial world rankings with all the positional changes (not all are mentioned in the article above) following the 2024 British Open.