A few people have been asking me this week about how the battles for top spot and the top 16 are currently unfolding in Sheffield so here is a brief post to give you an idea of the situation looks to be changing as the week goes on. You can also see my pre-tournament analysis here…
Click here to view the latest provisional rankings – updated nightly
Battle for Number One
- Mark Williams – QF – Needs the final to be sure, Selby now needs the final to stand a chance of toppling him
- Mark Selby – QF – Needs the final to stand a chance, would be enough unless Williams makes the semis. Unlikely to finish lower than fourth
- Ding Junhui – QF – Currently sits third but needs to win the tournament to stand a chance of finishing as number 1.
- John Higgins – QF – Now cannot finish at number one following Mark Williams’ win against Jamie Cope.
- Neil Robertson – R32 – First round defeat to Judd Trump means he will finish no higher than fifth but is currently vulnerable to Ali Carter, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire. Unlikely to finish lower than 8th.
- Ali Carter – R16 – Up to sixth but now out of the tournament, Ali can only be caught by Shaun Murphy…
- Shaun Murphy – R16 – Will remain 7th following defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
- Stephen Maguire – R32 – Following defeat to Barry Hawkins, Stephen will finish 8th barring title wins for Ronnie O’Sullivan or Graeme Dott which would see either move above him.
- Judd Trump – QF – Judd Trump with his victory against Neil Robertson now finds himself up in 11th position. A top eight place is definitely out of reach but he can move up as high as ninth should he progress further than Ronnie O’Sullivan or Graeme Dott.
- Graeme Dott – QF – Currently in ninth place, can overtake Stephen Maguire by winning the tournament
- Ronnie O’Sullivan – QF – Currently tenth, could also overtake Stephen Maguire by winning the tournament.
Battle for the Top 16
- Peter Ebdon – R32 – Can do no better than 12th, should be safe inside the top 16.
- Matthew Stevens – R32 – Currently 13th and cannot progress higher following defeat to Mark Allen. Looks good to confirm a return to the top 16 but will be sweating on how Mark Allen, Stephen Hendry and Stuart Bingham perform.
- Mark Allen – QF – Up to 12th provisionally, Mark is now assured of remaining inside the top 16.
- Jamie Cope – R16 – Up to 15th following his round one victory against Andrew Pagett, Jamie looks good to remain in the top 16 barring multiple victories for two from Stuart Bingham, Stephen Hendry and Martin Gould.
- Stephen Hendry – R16 – Will remain inside the top 16 following Stuart Bingham’s dramatic defeat to Ding Junhui in the second round.
- Stuart Bingham – R16 – Finishes 17th following his final frame loss to Ding Junhui.
- Stephen Lee – R32 – Following defeat to John Higgins Stephen will finish no higher than 18th.
- Mark Davis – R48 – Will finish no higher than 19th, not a factor here.
- Ricky Walden – R32 – Now guaranteed to finish no higher than 20th following defeat to Rory McLeod.
- Martin Gould – R16 – Following defeat to Judd Trump will remain outside of the top 16 for the time being.
- Marco Fu – R32 – Now guaranteed to finish no higher than 23rd place following defeat to Martin Gould…
- Marcus Campbell – R32 – Defeat to Shaun Murphy means that he will finish no higher than 23rd place.
- Barry Hawkins – R16 – Cannot now make the top 16.