Mark Selby joins fierce five-way battle for world No. 1 spot after China Open glory opens door for stunning return to snooker summit

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Snooker is set to witness its most intense battle for the sport's world No. 1 spot in years at next week's Wuhan Open, after Mark Selby boosted his hopes of ending a four-year wait to return to the summit with a rousing 10-6 victory over Noppon Saengkham in Sunday's China Open final.

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The Wuhan Open is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max between August 23-29.

Judd Trump has held the most coveted ranking in the game since August 2024, but the whopping £500,000 he earned for his epic 10-9 final victory over Mark Williams at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Masters will drop off his points total at the end of the month.

Trump, who lost 6-3 to Saengkham in the last 32 at the China Open, will need to win the title in Wuhan to extend his stay at the summit ,with Zhao Xintong, Neil Robertson, world champion Wu Yize and Selby all having designs on dethroning the Bristol potter.

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Zhao is provisionally the new world No. 1 ahead of the Wuhan Open, but there are plenty of permutations that could see any of the chasing pack take over at the top with only 99,000 points between first and fifth place.

With victory in Wuhan worth a £175,000 first prize, the ranking event won over the past two years by Xiao Guodong looks set to be a fascinating jostle between the top five.

Zhao and Wu are both bidding to become world No. 1 for the first time in their respective careers, while Robertson last held the position in January 2015, and Selby back in April 2022.

Zhao has 1,178,500 points ahead of his tournament opener in the last 64 against Gao Yang or a wildcard on Monday, August 24 at 07:00 BST.

Robertson, who faces Ben Mertens or a wildcard on the same day, is only 2,350 points behind in second spot.

Wu, who confronts Artemijs Zizins on Monday in the last 64, is a further 68,650 points behind Zhao, with Selby moving up to fourth spot, 93,150 points adrift of Zhao and Trump provisionally dropping to fifth on 1,079,550 points.

Trump takes on Austria's Florian Nuessle on Sunday, August 23 at 12:30, with Selby up against Fan Zhengyi on Monday morning.

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Meanwhile, Xiao begins his title defence against Wang Xinbo on Sunday morning at 07:00, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Like Trump, Selby will need to claim the title in Wuhan to have a chance of the world No. 1 spot, with Wu needing a run to the final and Robertson aiming to at least go further in the event than Zhao.

Armed with a new cue for the first time in 20 years, Selby produced some vintage form in producing five century breaks and enjoying heavy-scoring wins over Kyren Wilson (6-1), Robertson (6-1) and Stuart Bingham (6-2).

A record fourth title triumph at the China Open was worth £250,000 to the Leicester man. Not that the money means much to him.

"I have found some good rhythm and played at a nice tempo when I have had chances," said the 26-time ranking event winner, who was world No. 1 for four years between 2015 and 2019 after first achieving the feat in 2011.

"I will try to keep this momentum going and take it into the next event in Wuhan. While you are riding the crest of a wave, you want to keep going.

"I have never played snooker for the money. I'll just keep playing as long as I enjoy it."

Race for world No. 1 (provisional rankings)

1. Zhao Xintong (Chn) 1,178,550 points
2. Neil Robertson (Aus) 1,176,200
3. Wu Yize (Chn) 1,109,900
4. Mark Selby (Eng) 1,085,350
5. Judd Trump (Eng) 1,079,550

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