1988–89 snooker world rankings

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the governing body for professional snooker, first introduced a ranking system for professional players in 1976, with the aim of seeding players for the World Snooker Championship. The reigning champion would be automatically seeded first, the losing finalist from the previous year seeded second, and the other seedings based on the ranking list. Initially, the rankings were based on performances in the preceding three world championships. The list for the 1986–87 snooker season was the first to only take account of results over two seasons, and the rankings for 1988–89 were also based on results from the preceding two seasons.

Being ranked in the top 16 exempted players from the qualifying rounds for the World Snooker Championship and also meant inclusion in certain invitational events. The top 32 ranked players were exempt from the early qualifying rounds of the other ranking tournaments.

The top three players in the 1987–88 rankings retained their positions for 1988–89. Steve Davis was ranked first, with 59 points, ahead of Jimmy White with 44 and Neal Foulds with 34. In fourth place, with 33 points, was Stephen Hendry, who rose from 23rd position on the previous year's list. The other players to join the top 16 were Peter Francisco, John Virgo, and Cliff Wilson.

The players dropping out of the top 16 were Alex Higgins, Rex Williams, Dean Reynolds and Doug Mountjoy. It was first time since the rankings were instituted in 1976–77 that Higgins was not among the top 16. In April 1987, he had been excluded from competing in the first two ranking tournaments of the 1987–88 season as part of a six-month ban imposed by the WPBSA, following a hearing conducted for the Association by Gavin Lightman, a barrister. Higgins, who had previously been disciplined by the Association on several occasions, had earlier been found guilty in court of headbutting the tournament director at the 1986 UK Championship, and the hearing considered this and other matters including altercations with referees and a complaint by representatives of Cliff Thorburn that Higgins had alleged in newspaper articles that Thorburn used drugs.

In May 1988, Thorburn had two ranking points deducted for "bringing the game into disrepute" due to failing a drugs test at the 1988 British Open. Thorburn had been found to have small traces of cocaine in his urine sample. Thorburn was also barred from the first two ranking events of the 1988–89 season as part of his punishment. Without the deduction of the two points, Thorburn would have been ranked a place higher, at fifth.

Of the players who had only been competing professionally for one season, Martin Clark was the highest-ranked, at 41st, with Gary Wilkinson at 44th the next-highest. Alain Robidoux received two walkovers at the 1988 World Snooker Championship before losing in the third round and gained a ranking of 102nd without winning a match.

Points tariff and basis of ranking

The placings in the 1988–89 rankings were determined by players' performances in the ranking tournaments held across two seasons, from 1986 to 1988. From the 1986–87 season they were the 1986 International Open won by Foulds; the 1986 Grand Prix and the 1987 British Open both won by White; and the 1986 UK Championship, the 1987 Classic and the 1987 World Championship all won by Davis.

In the 1987–88 season, Davis won four of the six ranking titles: the 1987 International Open, the 1987 UK Championship, the 1988 Classic and the 1988 World Championship. Hendry won the other two, the 1987 Grand Prix and the 1988 British Open.

The rankings were based on a system of points described in the table below. The ranking order was determined as follows:

• By number of ranking points.
• If there was a tie on points, the player who earned more points in the most recent season was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player with more merit points was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player who earned more merit points in the most recent season was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player who earned more merit points in the season prior to the most recent was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player with more A points was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player with more frames won was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player with the better performance in the previous World Championship was given the higher ranking.
• If there was still a tie, the player with the better performance in the previous ranking tournament was given the higher ranking, going back through ranking events until the positions could be established.

Placing	[1987](1987-world-snooker-championship) and [1988](1988-world-snooker-championship) world championships	Other ranking tournaments 1986–87 and 1987–88	Champion	Runner-up	Losing semi-finalist	Losing quarter-finalist	Last 16 Loser	Last 32 Loser	Final qualifying round loser	Penultimate qualifying round loser	Antepenultimate qualifying round loser	Preliminary round loser
10	6
8	5
6	4
4	3
2	2
1 ranking point or 2 merit points	1
2 merit points	1 merit point
1 merit point	1 A point
1 A point	Frames won counted
Frames won counted	–