Following the conclusion of the UK Championship, tomorrow sees the start of a PTC double-header as first PTC12 is played to the last 16 stage over two days, before PTC11 is then played in full between Saturday-Monday. While there are as ever important ranking points up for grabs, for those players further down the list, it will be their last chance to add to their total on the PTC Order of Merit and potentially, survive on tour for 2012/13. Click below for an explanation of how it all works and who needs a result or two…
Tour Survival – An Explanation
As was the case last season, the top 64 players on the two-year ranking list at the end of the 2011/12 season will retain their tour places for the 2012/13 season.
In addition, the top eight players on the PTC Order of Merit, not already ranked inside the top 64 on the ranking list, will also secure main tour places for next season.
Unlike last season however, this will also include any amateur players who finish in that top eight.
An Illustration
To clarify further, the best way to illustrate this is to look at the final ranking list from last season which you can see here.
The players highlighted in yellow were those who finished inside the top eight of the Order of Merit, not including those down to 64th on the ranking list. Igor Figueiredo for example was able to retain his tour card by virtue of his performances in the PTC events which were better than those such as Kyren Wilson and Patrick Wallace who finished above him in the rankings.
The Current Position
Fast-forward to the current season and the important lists can be accessed as follows:-
As you can see, the current top eight players on the Order of Merit, not already inside the top 64 on the two-year ranking list are as follows:
- Yu Delu – 4,400
- Li Yan – 3,800
- Passakorn Suwannawat – 3,700
- Adam Duffy – 3,600
- David Gilbert – 3,200
- Dechawat Poomjaeng – 3,000
- Liam Highfield – 2,800
- Craig Steadman (a) – 2,600
Meanwhile, those chasing who are likely to be in the mix are as follows:
- Aditya Mehta – 2,500
- David Morris – 2,400
- James Wattana – 2,400
- Simon Bedford – 2,400
- Andrew Norman – 2,400
- Kyren Wilson (a) – 2,300
- Mark Joyce – 2,200
- Luca Brecel – 2,200
- Tony Drago – 2,200
- Scott MacKenzie – 2,000
- Sam Baird – 2,000
- David Grace – 1,800
- Robbie Williams (a) – 1,800
- Andrew Pagett – 1,800
- Gary Wilson – 1,800
Craig Steadman – on the bubble
PTC Prize Money Breakdown
- Last 128 – £0
- Last 64 – £200
- Last 32 – £600
- Last 16 – £1,000
- QF – £1,500
- SF – £2,500
- F – £5,000
- W – £10,000
Analysis
As is evident, with five players within a win of eighth placed Craig Steadman and several others within a couple of wins during the course of the next final two PTC events, despite the relative lack of ranking points, there is in fact much to play for lower down the list.
There is however another consideration to bear in mind and that is the fact that it is likely that there are players currently ranked inside of the top 64 on the two-year list who may fall out of that bracket between now and the end of the season. For example the likes of Adrian Gunnell, James Wattana and Tony Drago are among those currently safe who have significantly more points to defend (see the third column on my latest projected seedings page), between now and May compared to those around them.
Adrian Gunnell – not secure
This is important because if for example Gunnell were to fall outside of the top 64 at the end of the season, with just £800 on the Order of Merit, he would not have enough pounds on the latter in order to finish inside the top eight. Depending on who were to take that place, this could open the door to whoever is ninth to take the tour place.
If however Andy Hicks were to finish outside of the top 64, as it stands with £2,800 on the Order of Merit, he would instead take one of the eight PTC places at the expense of Craig Steadman.
Summary
As is apparent, it is hard to be too precise at this stage of the season due to the differing amounts of points that all of the players have to be deducted from their 2009/10 totals on the two-year ranking list between now and May 2012. Only following the Welsh Open, when my projected list will not include any points from that season, will we have a better idea of the state of play.
Li Yan – should be safe
That said, it is fair to say that there are players who barring something freakish happening will definitely finish inside of the important top eight on the PTC Order of Merit. For example Yu Delu, Li Yan, Passakorn Suwannawat and Adam Duffy have I suspect already done enough, while David Gilbert and Dechawat Poomjaeng also look to be well placed to survive, probably just wanting another win to make sure.
Beyond that however there is much to play for and for that reason, more to the next two PTC events than perhaps meets the eye…