WPA Announces New Rankings

At a recent WPA Board meeting, a new Ranking System for men was approved and will apply from January 1, 2009. Players will earn points from events selected as Ranking Events. The criteria adopted for an event to qualify as a ranking tournament is as follows:- a) open to all players who are members of WPA affiliated organisations; and b) offer minimum added prize money of USD100,000. The added money limit can be altered at the discretion of the WPA Board.

Players will retain the points they earn from events for twelve months, or until the event is held again. If an event has been played as a ranking tournament in any year and is not played the following year, those points will be deducted on 31st December each year. All players who participate in WPA or WPA sanctioned events that meet ranking status will earn points.

There have been five events selected initially to carry ranking points but it is hoped that there will be at least two new events to be added to the list for 2009.

Incentive schemes are being finalised so that players will benefit from their performances, which is being designed to encourage players to participate in all events that carry the status of ranking. This is a win-win situation for players and organisers alike. The players will get the opportunity to earn bonuses and the organisers should be assured of a top quality field.

As of January 1, 2009, all players who want to take part in these events must be members of organisations that are affiliated to the WPA. No longer will it be acceptable for players to simply enter an event, or even a qualifier event who are not members under the WPA umbrella.

WPA President Ian Anderson said “The past practice of anybody simply entering a tournament is not in our future planning. Everyone has a responsibility, and surely it's not asking too much to expect people who want to benefit from what is being offered, to be a member. In most cases the players do not pay any entry fee, but are being offered good prize money, and to do it without even having to be a member of an organisation is no longer going to be acceptable”.

This means that any player who is on the current list, and is not a member of an organisation by January 31, 2009 will have his name and points removed from the ranking list and will be ineligible to play until such time he or she becomes a member, but will not have those points reinstated. They will begin with a nil points balance.
The ranking lists is attached, but please note that the names still have to be thoroughly scrutinised to make sure that some players are not listed twice. If this was the case then it should only occur at the lower end of the rankings which will not have any great affect on anything.

How points are awarded and other details will soon be available on our website www.wpa-pool.com

WPA Rankings Top 10

1. Ralf Souquet (GER) 1888
2. Daryl Peach (GBR) 1873
3. Mika Immonen (FIN) 1744
4. Niels Feijen (NED) 1694
5. Darren Appleton (GBR) 1470
6. Shane Van Boening (USA) 1422
7. Chia-Ching Wu (TPE) 1409
8. Ronnie Alcano (PHI) 1399
9. Roberto Gomez (PHI) 1171
10. Vilmos Foldes (HUN) 1119