Following World Snooker’s decision to change the ranking events point tariff for next season, for a bit of fun I have worked out how the top 16 on the one-year list for last season would have fared had the new points system been in place last year. Entirely pointless but click below to read out how my revised list looks…
The Top 16 on the 2008/9 one-year list. Click here to view the full list:
| RANK | NAME | 2008/2009 POINTS |
| 1 | John Higgins MBE | 31000 |
| 2 | Allister Carter | 24100 |
| 3 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | 23875 |
| 4 | Shaun Murphy | 23475 |
| 5 | Neil Robertson | 22825 |
| 6 | Stephen Maguire | 22075 |
| 7 | Ryan Day | 21250 |
| 8 | Marco Fu | 19275 |
| 9 | Mark Selby | 17925 |
| 10 | Mark Allen | 17800 |
| 11 | Stephen Hendry MBE | 16225 |
| 12 | Ricky Walden | 15825 |
| 13 | Steve Davis OBE | 14975 |
| 14 | Joe Perry | 14625 |
| 15 | Mark King | 14625 |
| 16 | Peter Ebdon | 14425 |
How they would change had the now increased points systems for four of the then eight events been in operation:
| RANK | NAME | 2008/2009 POINTS | Points difference |
| 1 | John Higgins MBE | 34360 | +3360 |
| 2 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | 27040 | +3165 |
| 3 | Allister Carter |
25940 | +1840 |
| 4 | Shaun Murphy | 25360 | +1885 |
| 5 | Neil Robertson | 24640 | +1815 |
| 6 | Ryan Day | 24200 | +2950 |
| 7 | Stephen Maguire |
24060 | +1985 |
| 8 | Marco Fu | 21240 | +1965 |
| 9 | Mark Selby | 20320 | +2395 |
| 10 | Ricky Walden |
18840 | +3015 |
| 11 | Mark Allen | 18605 | +805 |
| 12 | Stephen Hendry MBE |
17860 | +1635 |
| 13 | Peter Ebdon | 17180 | +2755 |
| 14 | Steve Davis OBE |
16720 | +1745 |
| 15 | Mark King | 16440 | +1815 |
| 16 | Joe Perry | 16200 | +1575 |
As you can see, the main beneficiaries would be those who did well in the events over in China, notably Ricky Walden, Peter Ebdon, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ryan Day, while the big loser would be Mark Allen who enjoyed his best runs in the ‘other’ events.
Would this have been a fairer assessment of how last season unfolded or do you think that the actual list is more justifiable?