Judd Trump to remain as world number one in professional snooker's end-of-season rankings

The 36-year-old Englishman was eliminated from the 2026 World Snooker Championship earlier this week when he was ousted 13-12 by Hossein Vafaei in the last 16.

That defeat put Trump’s world number one status in jeopardy with Neil Robertson able to usurp him with a title victory in Sheffield.

But Robertson exited the sport’s biggest event at the quarter-finals stage on Wednesday night to John Higgins, meaning Trump will continue to sit in the top seat of the global standings into next season.

Heading into this year’s World Championship, three players could finish the tournament as the world number one: Trump, Robertson and Zhao Xintong.

Reigning world champion Zhao - who eventually went out in the last eight to Shaun Murphy - would have taken top if he won the title again and Trump went out first round. But the incumbent numero uno ended that scenario with an opening round win over Gary Wilson.

Robertson’s route to reclaiming the world number one position for the first time in over 11 years depended on Trump getting knocked out of the competition before the quarter-finals, and himself lifting the trophy in South Yorkshire. When Iranian number one cueist Vafaei defeated Trump in round two that permutation remained possible, but Robertson didn’t keep up his side of the bargain.

Trump’s latest world number one salvo stretches into third season

Career Triple Crown winner Trump’s current spell as the world number one began in August 2024 when he took over from Mark Allen who had a brief spell out front.

This is the second time that Trump has been the end-of-season number one in back-to-back years: 2019/20 & 2020/21 and now 2024/25 & 2025/26.

A total of 12 players in professional snooker history have been the world number one at some point; eight of those - including Trump - have been top at the end of the season in consecutive terms.

The player who enjoyed the longest unbroken spell as snooker’s world number one is seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry. The Scot was in pole for a record 418 weeks between 1990 to 1998; for eight consecutive years he was the end-of-season rankings captain (another record he retains).

Trump - more finals than anyone else this season

Trump - who first became world number one for a short spell in late 2012 - hasn’t really hit the heights this season, although in a testament to how good he is, still reached five tournament finals, more than anyone else.

The 2019 World Champion won his 31st career ranking title at the German Masters at the beginning of February, and was runner-up in the Northern Ireland Open, Champion of Champions, UK Championship and Tour Championship.

His world number one spot could have been under serious threat from world number two Kyren Wilson this campaign, but Wilson - despite big invitational event triumphs at the Shanghai Masters and Masters - had an unsatisfying set of results from ranked competitions.

However, it could simply be a matter of time until Trump is replaced at the top of the global pecking order. Later this year, he will have £500,000 removed from his cumulative two-year rolling total for having won the 2024 Saudi Arabia Masters.

With that competition now scrapped after just two editions, Trump can’t reclaim all those ‘points’ in one go, although he could obtain a big chunk if he wins the newly announced China Open that will be played in roughly the same place as Saudi was, next season.

Zhao, Robertson, and possibly the winner of the ongoing World Championship would be the likely candidates to overtake Trump at the rankings summit.