World Rankings 1996/97
Comments to the list can be found at the bottom of the page.
| Rk | Name | ± | LR | PLS | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Stephen Hendry | 1 | 25.340 | 36.911 | |
| 2. | John Higgins | +9 | 11 | 22.560 | 32.341 |
| 3. | Peter Ebdon | +7 | 10 | 20.392 | 28.115 |
| 4. | John Parrott | 4 | 17.319 | 24.339 | |
| 5. | Nigel Bond | +7 | 12 | 16.152 | 22.699 |
| 6. | Alan McManus | 6 | 14.712 | 21.492 | |
| 7. | Ken Doherty | +2 | 9 | 15.057 | 21.161 |
| 8. | Ronnie O'Sullivan | -5 | 3 | 11.829 | 21.007 |
| 9. | Darren Morgan | -1 | 8 | 13.007 | 19.142 |
| 10. | Steve Davis | -8 | 2 | 11.154 | 18.252 |
| 11. | Dave Harold | +2 | 13 | 11.927 | 18.247 |
| 12. | James Wattana | -7 | 5 | 11.289 | 17.641 |
| 13. | Jimmy White | -6 | 7 | 10.957 | 16.620 |
| 14. | Alain Robidoux | +6 | 20 | 10.794 | 16.058 |
| 15. | Tony Drago | -1 | 14 | 10.909 | 16.031 |
| 16. | Mark J Williams | +23 | 39 | 12.130 | 15.988 |
| 17. | Joe Swail | +2 | 19 | 11.256 | 15.966 |
| 18. | Andy Hicks | -1 | 17 | 10.583 | 15.371 |
| 19. | Gary Wilkinson | +4 | 23 | 10.577 | 15.251 |
| 20. | Rod Lawler | +20 | 40 | 10.847 | 14.565 |
| 21. | Neal Foulds | +7 | 28 | 10.860 | 14.430 |
| 22. | Anthony Hamilton | +9 | 31 | 10.480 | 14.415 |
| 23. | Terry Griffiths | -8 | 15 | 9.246 | 14.226 |
| 24. | Steve James | +2 | 26 | 10.699 | 13.699 |
| 25. | Willie Thorne | 25 | 8.911 | 13.534 | |
| 26. | Dennis Taylor | +6 | 32 | 9.231 | 13.229 |
| 27. | Dene O'Kane | -9 | 18 | 9.749 | 13.176 |
| 28. | Dave Finbow | +19 | 47 | 9.855 | 12.946 |
| 29. | Jason Ferguson | 29 | 8.722 | 12.839 | |
| 30. | Chris Small | +32 | 62 | 9.130 | 12.788 |
| 31. | Stephen Lee | +6 | 37 | 9.390 | 12.751 |
| 32. | Mick Price | -11 | 21 | 7.581 | 12.101 |
| 33. | Martin Clark | -11 | 22 | 8.009 | 11.840 |
| 34. | David Roe | -18 | 16 | 7.276 | 11.804 |
| 35. | Billy Snaddon | -2 | 33 | 7.477 | 11.487 |
| 36. | Fergal O'Brien | +2 | 38 | 8.572 | 11.415 |
| 37. | Anthony Davies | +8 | 45 | 7.962 | 11.288 |
| 38. | Dean Reynolds | -8 | 30 | 7.140 | 11.019 |
| 39. | Mark King | +13 | 52 | 7.440 | 10.943 |
| 40. | Drew Henry | -5 | 35 | 7.815 | 10.913 |
| 41. | Terry Murphy | +20 | 61 | 8.177 | 10.855 |
| 42. | Tony Knowles | -18 | 24 | 7.425 | 10.853 |
| 43. | Mark Bennett | -1 | 42 | 7.715 | 10.786 |
| 44. | Mark Johnston-Allen | +5 | 49 | 6.990 | 10.541 |
| 45. | Tony Chappel | +8 | 53 | 7.107 | 10.358 |
| 46. | Mike Hallett | -12 | 34 | 6.322 | 10.035 |
| 47. | Joe Johnson | +9 | 56 | 6.812 | 9.785 |
| 48. | Wayne Jones | +9 | 57 | 7.145 | 9.725 |
| 49. | Brian Morgan | -22 | 27 | 6.142 | 9.719 |
| 50. | Mark Flowerdew | +4 | 54 | 6.335 | 9.510 |
| 51. | Karl Payne | +29 | 80 | 6.825 | 9.438 |
| 52. | Nick Terry | -6 | 46 | 7.042 | 9.320 |
| 53. | Paul Davies | +13 | 66 | 5.480 | 9.165 |
| 54. | Jamie Burnett | +19 | 73 | 6.820 | 9.115 |
| 55. | Mark Davis | +4 | 59 | 6.002 | 8.950 |
| 56. | Jason Prince | -1 | 55 | 6.765 | 8.864 |
| 57. | Karl Broughton | +21 | 78 | 6.695 | 8.643 |
| 58. | Graeme Dott | +132 | 190 | 6.734 | 8.584 |
| 59. | Doug Mountjoy | -23 | 36 | 5.160 | 8.445 |
| 60. | Jimmy Michie | +29 | 89 | 6.160 | 8.410 |
| 61. | Stephen Murphy | -11 | 50 | 5.302 | 8.238 |
| 62. | Euan Henderson | +28 | 90 | 5.005 | 8.173 |
| 63. | Tony Jones | -20 | 43 | 5.480 | 8.168 |
| 64. | Jonathan Birch | -1 | 63 | 5.730 | 8.044 |
| 65. | Paul McPhillips | -1 | 64 | 5.052 | 7.863 |
| 66. | Chris Scanlon | +20 | 86 | 5.910 | 7.840 |
| 67. | Matthew Stevens | +169 | 236 | 6.430 | 7.811 |
| 68. | Jamie Woodman | +28 | 96 | 5.510 | 7.748 |
| 69. | Ian Brumby | 69 | 4.855 | 7.718 | |
| 70. | Steve Newbury | -10 | 60 | 5.267 | 7.473 |
| 71. | Michael Judge | +29 | 100 | 4.870 | 7.330 |
| 72. | Gerard Greene | +38 | 110 | 5.910 | 7.285 |
| 73. | Yasin Merchant | +34 | 107 | 5.680 | 7.270 |
| 74. | Gary Ponting | +39 | 113 | 5.900 | 7.252 |
| 75. | Tony Meo | 75 | 5.245 | 7.215 | |
| 76. | Shokat Ali | +11 | 87 | 5.135 | 7.213 |
| 77. | John Read | +15 | 92 | 4.195 | 7.040 |
| 78. | Paul Hunter | NEW | - | 6.885 | 6.885 |
| 79. | Barry Pinches | +53 | 132 | 5.295 | 6.865 |
| 80. | Nick Walker | +14 | 94 | 4.820 | 6.848 |
| 81. | Stefan Mazrocis | -9 | 72 | 4.360 | 6.820 |
| 82. | Nigel Gilbert | -38 | 44 | 3.877 | 6.811 |
| 83. | Matthew Couch | -7 | 76 | 4.335 | 6.783 |
| 84. | Nick Dyson | +18 | 102 | 4.660 | 6.688 |
| 85. | Marcus Campbell | +31 | 116 | 4.855 | 6.680 |
| 86. | Antony Bolsover | +11 | 97 | 4.600 | 6.660 |
| 87. | Dominic Dale | -8 | 79 | 4.240 | 6.653 |
| 88. | Stephen O'Connor | -18 | 70 | 4.415 | 6.563 |
| 89. | Stuart Pettman | +34 | 123 | 4.890 | 6.515 |
| 90. | Danny Fowler | +29 | 65 | 4.707 | 6.500 |
| 91. | Cliff Thorburn | -50 | 41 | 3.237 | 6.456 |
| 92. | Mark Rowing | -4 | 88 | 4.535 | 6.413 |
| 93. | Darren Clarke | -25 | 68 | 4.095 | 6.345 |
| 94. | Paul Cavney | +18 | 112 | 3.840 | 6.333 |
| 95. | Nick Pearce | +109 | 204 | 5.188 | 6.318 |
| 96. | Matt Wilson | +38 | 134 | 4.333 | 6.316 |
| 97. | Surinder Gill | +1 | 98 | 4.815 | 6.305 |
| 98. | Jason Wallace | +22 | 120 | 3.860 | 6.290 |
| 99. | Alex Higgins | -48 | 51 | 3.877 | 6.202 |
| 100. | Oliver King | +22 | 122 | 4.500 | 6.140 |
| ± | Difference from last year's world ranking |
|---|---|
| LR | Last year's ranking |
| PLS | Points last season |
Comments
Stephen Hendry is still the No. 1 player, as he's been since 1990. John Higgins is the new runner-up. He jumps all the way from 11th to this a new personal best. Peter Ebdon also makes a major leap, from 10th to 3rd, the best he's ever had too. The No. 4 spot is still in the property of John Parrott, but Nigel Bond beats his previous best by entering 5th. Alan McManus keeps on to his 6th position for the fourth consecutive season. Completing the top eight are Ken Doherty and Ronnie O'Sullivan. The Irishman moves up two places to equal his personal best whilst Ronnie drops five places to No.8.
Further down the list three of the best known players in the world are struggling. Steve Davis drops to 10th, James Wattana to 12th and Jimmy White to 13th.
Dave Harold moves to a personal best 11th and at 14 we find the first of the two newcomers in the top 16, Alain Robidoux. He enters the elite at 14th from a previous 20th. Mark J Williams is the second "newbie". The young Welshman moves to 16th from 39th.
Terry Griffiths and David Roe lose their top 16 positions. Griffiths falls down to 23rd and Roe fares even worse; he leaves the top 32 and now lies in 34th.
Graeme Dott is the best second-year pro with a 58th position and Paul Hunter is the best rookie at 78th.
Other major movers are: Rod Lawler (40th to 20th), Neal Foulds (28th to 21st), Anthony Hamilton (31st to 22nd), Dave Finbow (47th to 28th), Chris Small (62nd to 30th), Matthew Stevens (236th to 67th) and Nick Pearce (204th to 95th).
Two former world champions, Cliff Thorburn and Alex Higgins are starting to find life tough in the major league as they drop to 91st and 99th respectively.