With the qualifiers for the German Masters set to get underway on Tuesday, the draw will be determined by the revised seedings list following the UK Championship. Click below to see who the movers and shakers are this time around…
The Top 16
IN
Having come close to breaking into the top 16 at the end of both of the previous two seasons, former Shanghai Masters winner Ricky Walden has finally cracked it now after a decade of being a professional. A semi-final appearance at the PTC5 event was his best performance during the second segment of the season but a consistent run which saw him reach the last 16 of a further three PTC events as well as victory in his UK Championship qualifier was enough to see him enter the top 16 at number 15.
A former ranking event winner, Ricky knows how to play in front of the cameras and now seeded through to the last 16 of the next two tournaments with with potentially an easier opening match at the venue to come, it will be interesting to see whether he will be able to establish himself in the top 16 and crucially, whether he can remain there following the next revision which will determine the seedings for the World Championship.
OUT
For Marco Fu it was always going to be a tall order for him to remain inside the top 16 with his final points from the 2008 UK Championship coming off. So it proved as although he just missed out, he will indeed have to qualify for the German Masters and Welsh Open tournaments and with a further 7,000 points to come off this season, faces a tough task if he is to regain a top 16 place in time for the World Championship.
On the plus side, Marco’s form this season has generally been much improved on that of 2009/10 as his consistent results during the PTC have demonstrated, so there is every chance that he could do some damage later this season.
17-32
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A winner of a PTC event already this season, Leicester number two Tom Ford has now broken into the top 32 for the first time in his career having also had a strong 2009/10 season and more recently managing to qualify for the final stages of the UK Championship.
Like Ricky, it will be interesting to see whether he will be able to establish himself in his new position and even if he can push on further and make an assault on the top 16. I would say that he certainly has the talent but he will have to improve in front of the TV cameras if he is to get the required ranking points on the board.
Another PTC winner this season is Marcus Campbell who joins Tom in the top 32 for the first time in his near 20 year professional career. A fine achievement for the veteran Scot, he has certainly deserved this as he has performed consistently well not only during the PTC, but also during events last season as he twice defeated Judd Trump and then Matthew Stevens to reach the Crucible. Can he take it further?
OUT
The position of Steve was discussed by me recently in this previous piece but it has now been officially confirmed that the oldest player on the tour has now dropped out of the top 32 for the first time during his professional career.
What are Steve’s prospects of returning to that bracket by the end of this season? On paper at least I would say that the chances are slim, with 4,775 points still to come off which is more than most around his ranking and his form patchy to say the least. That said, given what Mark Joyce was able to do in Telford this week, that 9-2 defeat suddenly doesn’t look to be all that bad.
Mike Dunn meanwhile was able to just sneak into the top 32 at the last revision but it was to prove short-lived as defeat in his opening UK Championship match together with a run of unremarkable results in the PTC has seen him drop down to 35th.
33-48
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- Peter Lines
- Tony Drago
- Mark Joyce
First into the top 48 is Peter Lines who without pulling up any trees this season has continued to win matches and combined with his UK quarter-final last season has accumulated enough points to move up to number 43, just two places off his career high of 41 reached in 1998/9.
Also continuing his rise is Tony Drago who like Peter is continuing to win matches and move up the ranking list. How high Tony can ultimately reach at this stage of his career remains to be seen but I would not be all that surprised to see him making a push for the top 32 at the end of this season, with the right draws anyway.
Finally the man of the moment Mark Joyce is now up to a career high of 47, moving up from a lowly 65th following these season’s first rankings revision. The most significant reason for this was of course his quarter-final run in the UK Championship, but a last 16 run in the PTC5 event together with five further wins proved to be just as crucial as he edged out Matt Selt to a top 48 place.
With a paltry 1,875 points to defend between now and May there is no reason why the man from Walsall cannot finish the season even higher…
OUT
- Dave Harold
- Adrian Gunnell
- Stuart Pettman
Having just about clung on to his top 48 status following the first seedings revision, Dave Harold has not been able to do so again as his failure to win his opening UK Championship qualifier, losing 9-4 to James Wattana sees his ranking drop to 50th. With a further 4,450 points still to come off this season, the chances of him moving back into the 48 any time soon are I would suggest slim.
It was a similar story for Adrian Gunnell who having reached the last 32 of the UK Championship a couple of seasons ago, could not repeat the feat this time around, losing heavily to Jimmy White in his opening qualifier. Having won few matches during the PTC he has also dropped down the list as a result but unlike Harold, has few points to defend following a horrible end to the 2008/9 season and could easily move back up the list now if he can find some form.
Blog favourite Stuart Pettman meanwhile is a victim of not entering many of the PTC events, falling out of the top 48 and with a huge amount of ranking points from 2008/9 still to defend, not yet sure of remaining inside the all-important top 64 come May. It is going to be very interesting now to see whether he can raise his game in the major events that remain this season.
49-64
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- Jamie Jones
- Patrick Wallace
- Jack Lisowski
- Mark Joyce
Lying 68th following a solid if not spectacular start to the season, Welshman Jamie Jones has soared up the list to 53rd at this rankings revision following a superb run in the PTC events which saw him reach one final and a further two last 16 stages. Also winning a couple of his UK qualifiers with minimal points to come off between now and May, Jamie looks well placed to establish himself on the professional circuit now after a number of years trying.
Patrick Wallace meanwhile is a player who having been on and off the tour during recent years, has survived by virtue of the one-year list but not quite been able to make any further progress. Having qualified for the UK Championship however, he has been able to break into that top 64 bracket and ensure that he will be seeded through to the second round of the next couple of ranking events. With a relatively high amount of points to defend however, he will probably need to make a few more venues if he is to remain there at the end of the season.
Finally young Jack Lisowski is up into the top 64 already on his debut season as he has continued to accumulate a steady amount of points from the PTC events as well as win his UK Championship opener.
OUT
- Matt Couch
- Jimmy Michie
- David Morris
- Michael Judge
For Matt, Jimmy and David it has been a case of a lack of wins during the Players Tour Championship which has seen them fall out of the top 64. With four big events to come which should suit these players however, all remain well in contention to move back into that bracket before the end of the season and avoid the perils of the new Q School set-up…