Selby Reclaims Number One Ranking

Ahead of the 2015 Kreativ Dental Clinic German Masters there were four players in with a chance of claiming top spot in the updated world rankings, but it was eventual champion Mark Selby who was able to claim the €80,000 top prize and emerge as world number one once again.

He takes over from Ding Junhui, whose last 32 exit in Berlin to Welshman Ryan Day was to prove costly as the dethroned champion drops two places to third place, behind Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Although O’Sullivan narrowly misses out on top spot, the reigning Coral UK Championship winner does climb to his highest ranking since 2010 at number two and with no money to be removed from his ranking prior to April’s World Championship, remains likely to overhaul Selby at some stage heading to the Crucible.

The last man who had realistic hopes of moving back to world number one after the tournament was Neil Robertson, but with his dramatic final frame loss to Stephen Maguire in Berlin, the Australian drops down to number four, his lowest position since 2012.

In reclaiming top spot, Selby becomes the seventh number one of the season already, having already held top spot twice previously, as had Robertson and Ding Junhui, in his case for a total of just three weeks so far.

For a reminder of how snooker’s ranking system operates, click here to read my previous blog, or here to read how we can use the figures to look ahead to how the rankings are likely to change over the coming months.