World snooker rankings update and analysis following the 2024 English Open

Australia’s Neil Robertson ended a near two-and-a-half year wait for a ranking event title on Sunday night when he resisted a brilliant recovery from maiden finalist Wu Yize to defeat his young Chinese opponent 9-7 and lift the Steve Davis Trophy for the second time in his illustrious career.

The £100,000 top prize that Robertson collects pushes him up 11 places in the world rankings from 26th to 15th, meaning a return to the sport’s elite top 16 bracket having fallen out of it earlier this year.

As a consequence of Robertson’s climb, though, Crucible finalist Jak Jones goes down one spot to 16th while John Higgins - who began the event in 16th - drops to 17th.

It is the first time in over 29 years that four-time world champion John Higgins finds himself out of the fabled 16; an unprecedented streak that may never be matched again.

Elsewhere in the top 16, there is only one positional change with Luca Brecel (up to 6th) and Mark Williams (down to 7th) swapping places.

Judd Trump still has a huge advantage at the top of the world rankings, but second-placed Kyren Wilson is now only £300 ahead of third-placed Mark Allen.

Ranking changes in the top 32

There are several subtle changes in the 17-32 bracket, the biggest of these being for Wu who goes up nine places into 31st - the first time in the 20-year-old’s career that he has broken into the world’s top 32.

Lyu Haotian goes down one place from 32nd to 33rd, which could mean he may have to start in an earlier round at the Northern Ireland Open. New for this season, the top 32 seeds in Home Nations Series events begin their tournament campaigns in round three (last 64).

Ranking changes outside the top 32

Elsewhere on the updated world rankings list, one of the most significant changes is for Ishpreet Singh Chadha.

India’s number one professional enjoyed a brilliant run to the semi-finals in Essex and picked up £21,000 - triple his previous biggest payday on the sport’s top tier. Singh Chadha - who is in only his second season as a professional - goes up nine places to 68th.

Ross Muir reached the last 16 in Brentwood and is rewarded with a rise of eight places to 73rd in the latest standings.

This updated list after the 2024 English Open will be used to determine seeding for the upcoming Northern Ireland Open and International Championship ranking events.

Due to the dynamic, rolling nature of snooker’s prize-money-based rankings list, there could be several more changes next week after the 2024 British Open in Cheltenham.

Visit snooker.org for the latest unofficial world rankings with positional changes following the 2024 English Open.