Trump's World No.1 Spot Under Serious Threat — Three Players Ready to Pounce
The Rankings Situation in a Nutshell
Judd Trump kicks off the 2026/27 snooker season sitting exactly where he has been for almost two years — at the very top of the world rankings. But don't let that £400,000+ cushion fool you. By the time August is out, Trump could well find himself looking up at the standings rather than down, with Zhao Xintong, Neil Robertson, and Wu Yize all perfectly positioned to leapfrog the Bristol potter and claim snooker's most coveted ranking.
This is the fourth time Trump has entered a new season as world number one — a remarkable achievement, and one that puts him in rare company under the rolling two-year format introduced back in 2010. Only Mark Selby has spent longer at the summit in the modern rankings era. But longevity at the top doesn't guarantee staying there, and the next few months could represent the most significant threat Trump has faced to his status in quite some time.
Why Trump's Lead Is Far More Fragile Than It Looks
On paper, Trump's position looks comfortable enough. The official rankings at the start of the new campaign read as follows:
| Position | Player | Ranking Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump | £1,655,550 |
| 2 | Neil Robertson | £1,210,550 |
| 3 | Zhao Xintong | £1,176,550 |
| 4 | Wu Yize | £1,120,900 |
| 5 | John Higgins | £968,350 |
A lead of over £400,000 sounds healthy. The problem is that Trump earned a staggering £1,193,200 across the 2024/25 season — and a substantial portion of that is about to fall off the two-year rolling window. Specifically, £576,000 disappears from his tally by the end of August alone. The bulk of that relates to earnings that simply cannot be defended. The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters — where Trump pocketed a whopping £500,000 for winning the inaugural edition — has already been axed from the calendar after just two of its promised ten events. Those prize funds are gone, and there is no tournament to defend them in. On top of that, a further £76,000 comes off for his run to the 2024 Xi'an Grand Prix final.
In short, Trump is about to haemorrhage nearly £580,000 in ranking points before the season has barely got going — through absolutely no fault of his own. It is a brutal quirk of the system, and one that opens the door wide for his rivals.
The Challengers and Why Their Positions Are Much Stronger
While Trump bleeds points, the three men chasing him have far kinder schedules in terms of what they must defend over the same period.
Zhao Xintong is arguably in the strongest position of all. Having served a ban that kept him off the main tour throughout the 2024/25 campaign, Zhao has virtually nothing to defend until the World Championship rolls around at the back end of the season. Every pound he earns this term is essentially bonus territory on the rankings. Factor in that he arrives as the third-ranked player in the world with over £1.1 million already on the books, and you can see why he is the most likely candidate to reach number one first.
Neil Robertson has less than £60,000 coming off before September, making his position considerably more stable than Trump's despite sitting some £445,000 behind going into the season. The Australian veteran has been in this position before and knows how to stay in the hunt. He and Wu Yize — the newly-crowned 2026 World Champion — will both have points to defend from the 2024 English Open final in September, but even then, Wu has a mere £26,000 dropping off before that point. The Chinese teenager arrives with serious momentum and a world title to his name; do not underestimate his chances of landing at number one during this campaign.
The provisional rankings at the end of August, once the Championship League, Xi'an Grand Prix, and Saudi Masters deductions are all factored in, paint a dramatically different picture:
| Position | Player | Projected Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhao Xintong | £1,176,550 |
| 2 | Neil Robertson | £1,152,200 |
| 3 | Wu Yize | £1,094,900 |
| 4 | Judd Trump | ~£1,079,550 |
Trump drops to fourth. That is the starkest possible illustration of just how dramatically the landscape is about to shift — and it happens before a single ball is struck in anger this season.
The Betting Angle
For those looking to get involved in the snooker rankings markets, Zhao Xintong to be world number one at any point during the 2026/27 season looks like a compelling proposition. The projections are already in his favour, he has nothing to defend in the early months, and he is a class act who has shown he belongs at the very top of the game since his return. Robertson's experience makes him dangerous too, while Wu's World Championship victory suggests he has the bottle to kick on and challenge for top spot.
Keep a close eye on the rankings after each ranking event this season — it is going to be a fluid, fascinating battle at the very top of the sport. Trump will not give up the number one ranking without a fight, but the arithmetic is not on his side right now.
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