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.[3] 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.[3] Initially, the rankings were based on performances in the preceding three world championships.[3] The 1983–84 snooker world rankings were the first to take tournaments other than the world championship into account and several additional tournaments were designated as ranking tournaments over the following years.[4][3] The list for the 1986–87 snooker season was the first to only take account of results over two seasons and the rankings for 1991–92 were also based on results from the preceding two seasons.[5][6] There were eighteen ranking events taken into consideration for the 1991–92 ranking list: ten in the 1989–90 snooker season and eight in the 1990–91 snooker season.[7] The ranking list was published soon after the conclusion of the 1991 World Snooker Championship.[7]
Alan McManus at 41st and Ken Doherty at 51st were the highest placed of those who had been on the professional circuit for only one season.[8]Alex Higgins had 25 ranking points deducted from his 1989–90 total and was banned for the 1990–91 by the WPBSA following a disciplinary inquiry and fell from 97th to 120th.[8][a] There were 165 players on the original list issued by the WBPSA, but four players who did not pay their membership fees were subsequently excluded: Jimmy van Rensberg (originally 119th), Patsy Fagan (originally 146th), Mike Hines (originally 159th) and Frank Jonik (originally 160th).[8][12]
Points tariff and basis of ranking
Points tariff contributing to the Snooker world rankings 1990–91[13][14]
If players had an equal number of ranking points, precedence was given to the player with the better performances in the later season.
If players were still equal, merit points were considered. If they were still tied, precedence was given to the player with the better performances in the later season.
If players were still equal, A points were considered. If they were still tied, precedence was given to the player with the better performances in the later season.
If players were still equal, frames won were considered. If they were still tied, precedence was given the player with the better performances in the later season.
Rankings
Key:
"(New)" denotes a player that was a new professional for 1990–91; "*" denotes that the player was not a professional during the season.
"X" denotes that the player was banned from competing in the 1990–91 season.[16]
Note: the breakdown of points per season for players ranked below 64 is not provided in sources. Blank cells indicate that the information is not provided in sources for the ranking list.
^These penalties were imposed by the WPBSA following a hearing conducted for the Association by Gavin Lightman, a barrister, which considered several incidents including Higgins punching a press officer, threatening to arrange for fellow player Dennis Taylor to be shot, and insulting both Taylor and WPBSA chairman John Spencer.[10][11]
^Players who qualified received a ranking point. Players exempted until this round received two merit points.[15]
Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN978-0-9548549-0-4.
Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker (Revised ed.). Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN978-0-600-55604-6.
Smith, Terry, ed. (1990). Benson and Hedges Snooker Year (Seventh ed.). Aylesbury: Pelham Books. ISBN978-0-7207-1955-0.
Smith, Terry, ed. (1991). Benson and Hedges Snooker Year (Eighth ed.). London: Pelham Books. ISBN978-0-7207-1983-3.
