1988–89 snooker world rankings

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the governing body for professional snooker, first introduced a ranking system for professional players in 1976, with the aim of seeding players for the World Snooker Championship.^[2] The reigning champion would be automatically seeded first, the losing finalist from the previous year seeded second, and the other seedings based on the ranking list.^[2] Initially, the rankings were based on performances in the preceding three world championships.^[2] The list for the 1986–87 snooker season was the first to only take account of results over two seasons, and the rankings for 1988–89 were also based on results from the preceding two seasons.^[3][4]

Being ranked in the top 16 exempted players from the qualifying rounds for the World Snooker Championship and also meant inclusion in certain invitational events.^[5] The top 32 ranked players were exempt from the early qualifying rounds of the other ranking tournaments.^[6]

The top three players in the 1987–88 rankings retained their positions for 1988–89.^[1] Steve Davis was ranked first, with 59 points, ahead of Jimmy White with 44 and Neal Foulds with 34.^[6] In fourth place, with 33 points, was Stephen Hendry, who rose from 23rd position on the previous year's list.^[6] The other players to join the top 16 were Peter Francisco, John Virgo, and Cliff Wilson.^[7]

The players dropping out of the top 16 were Alex Higgins, Rex Williams, Dean Reynolds and Doug Mountjoy.^[7] It was first time since the rankings were instituted in 1976–77 that Higgins was not among the top 16.^[7] In April 1987, he had been excluded from competing in the first two ranking tournaments of the 1987–88 season as part of a six-month ban imposed by the WPBSA, following a hearing conducted for the Association by Gavin Lightman, a barrister.^[7][8][9] Higgins, who had previously been disciplined by the Association on several occasions, had earlier been found guilty in court of headbutting the tournament director at the 1986 UK Championship, and the hearing considered this and other matters including altercations with referees and a complaint by representatives of Cliff Thorburn that Higgins had alleged in newspaper articles that Thorburn used drugs.^[8]

In May 1988, Thorburn had two ranking points deducted for "bringing the game into disrepute" due to failing a drugs test at the 1988 British Open. Thorburn had been found to have small traces of cocaine in his urine sample. Thorburn was also barred from the first two ranking events of the 1988–89 season as part of his punishment.^[10][11] Without the deduction of the two points, Thorburn would have been ranked a place higher, at fifth.^[6]

Of the players who had only been competing professionally for one season, Martin Clark was the highest-ranked, at 41st, with Gary Wilkinson at 44th the next-highest.^[12] Alain Robidoux received two walkovers at the 1988 World Snooker Championship before losing in the third round and gained a ranking of 102nd without winning a match.^[13][14][12]