WDBS Rankings | Hull Open 2024 Update

The official WDBS rankings have been updated for the final time this season following the staging of the Wilson Interiors Hull Open at the Tradewell Snooker Club last weekend and there are significant changes with places at next month’s Champion of Champions now decided.

• View the updated rankings at the WDBS website
• View the updated rankings via WPBSA SnookerScores
• View further information about the ranking system

The WDBS ranking system includes individual ranking lists for each of the main classification groups, with players earning points from based upon their finishing position at designated ranking tournaments.

The rankings operate on a rolling two-year basis, with points earned during 2021/22 to be removed during the course of this season. At this revision points earned at the 2022 Hull Open were removed and those earned at the 2024 Hull Open were added.

Gibson Takes Top Spot

Home favourite Carl Gibson enjoyed a weekend to remember as he made it three titles in a row to become number one in Group 4 for the first time in his WDBS career.

The 51-year-old from Hull also scored a top break of 99 – a WDBS record for an ambulant player – en route to a success which will also see him qualify for next month’s Champion of Champions for the first time.

He will meet previous number one William Thomson over the best of 11 frames at the Landywood Snooker Club, after the Scot fell at the semi-final stage to Nigel Brasier this weekend in Hull.

Taylor to the Top

There is also a new face at the head of the Group 8 rankings after England’s Gary Taylor edged out Kristof De Bruyn of Belgium to become Hull Open champion for the first time.

The win – Taylor’s third on tour – sees him return to top spot for the second time this season after Lewis Knowles exited at the round robin stage at the Tradewell Snooker Club.

There was some relief for Knowles, however, after defeat for Luke Drennan to De Bruyn in the semi-finals meant that Knowles will finish the season in second place and face Taylor at the Champion of Champions next month.

Key Movers

Elsewhere in the standings, there is a new number two in Groups 1-2 after Dave Beaumont made it back-to-back titles in the wheelchair category to qualify for the Champion of Champions.

However, with a pre-existing commitment already in the diary for Beaumont, there is relief for Gary Swift who now looks set to compete over the long-distance match for the first time.

It is ‘as you were’ in the remaining groups with the top two players prior to the event retaining their positions at the end of the campaign.

This means that in Group 3 there will be a rematch of the 2023 Champion of Champions final between Joe Hardstaff and Kal Mattu, while Dave Bolton and Dalton Lawrence will both make their debuts in the competition in Group 5.

In Group 6A both Alan Reynolds and Mohammed Faisal Butt were already guaranteed their places ahead of their final meeting in Hull, while Matthew Haslam confirmed his qualification alongside Leroy Williams with a comeback victory from 0-2 down against Ryan Pinnington in the Group 6B final.

Ireland’s Dylan Rees will appear at the Champion of Champions for the first time after his final run in Hull and will face long-time Group 7 number one Mike Gillespie in the title match.

The WDBS Champion of Champions will take place at the Landywood Snooker Club on 22 June 2024, which each final to be played over the best of 11 frames.