Projected rankings plummet means Masters champ Wilson may have to qualify for Crucible
Kyren Wilson - who was the world number two throughout the whole of last season - may face a battle to keep his top 16 status during the upcoming 2026/27 professional snooker term.
With the new top-flight snooker season nearly ready to break off with a qualifying double-header for the China and Wuhan Opens, this season’s provisional ranking lists have recently been released by the sport’s governing body.
These projected lists show where players are positioned for Masters qualification, the race for automatic seeding at the Crucible, and pro tour survival at the end of the season.
Professional snooker’s world rankings are based on a rolling two-year money list. This means prize money amounts players win from ranking tournaments across a two-year spell all get added up as a cumulative total.
Wilson claimed the sport’s blue riband prize in 2024 when he defeated Jak Jones in the final at the Crucible to win his maiden world championship crown. The following season, ‘The Warrior’ handled his new status and the scrutiny on him extremely well, winning four ranking events - by far the most fruitful and consistent spell of his career.
As a result of all this success within a sustained period, Wilson went up to number two in the rankings and in the frame to usurp Judd Trump and become the world number one for the first time.
However, despite being in red-hot form, Wilson succumbed to the ‘Crucible Curse’ on his Sheffield return to defend the title, bowing out to qualifier Lei Peifan on the opening day of the 2025 competition.
Last season (2025/26) was a rollercoaster for Englishman Wilson, who returned poor results from ranking events, but secured two of snooker’s most prestigious invitational accolades at the Shanghai Masters in the Far East, and the Masters at the Alexandra Palace in London; the latter achievement doubling his career Triple Crown trophy tally.
Having to also contend with off-the-table issues, Wilson’s ranked outcomes were chalk and cheese compared to the previous campaign. The 10-time ranking event winner did not reach a single semi-final, and as a consequence failed to qualify for the final two Players Series events of the season, the Players Championship - for which he was the title holder - and the Tour Championship.
At the recent 2026 World Snooker Championship, Wilson recovered from four frames down to deny teenage debutant Stan Moody in round one before being eliminated by Mark Allen in the last 16.
As it was two years on from his crowning Sheffield glory, the 34-year-old had £500,000 - the amount he collected for being world champion - removed from his rolling total, resulting in him slipping down six places in the updated world rankings to number eight, where he will start the new 2026/27 season.
And over the coming months, Wilson has several other huge chunks of prize money to defend from his rankings tally: £177,000 from the 2024 Xi’an Grand Prix, £100,000 from the 2024 Northern Ireland Open, £100,000 from the German Masters, £150,000 from the Players Championship.
On the projected ‘Race to the Crucible’ rankings list - where players provisionally are just before the 2027 World Snooker Championship, Wilson is placed 22nd, meaning he would need to qualify for the Crucible unless he has an upturn in results this season. The amount between him and 16th-placed Jack Lisowski, though, is less than £75,000, so the situation is certainly retrievable.
But snooker history could repeat itself; three years on from winning the 2023 World Snooker Championship title, Luca Brecel - who begins this new term in 44th - failed to qualify for this year’s Crucible after falling outside of the world’s top 32.
That is a warning for Wilson, who is unlikely to appear on the professional circuit for the new season until the end of July when he defends the Shanghai Masters title.