Mark Selby heads into the new season as world number one, with young sensation Judd Trump heading the list of challengers ahead of what looks to be the most highly competitive season to date.
The Jester from Leicester took over from Mark Williams following his Shanghai Masters victory at the start of last season and remains the only player to occupy top spot without having previously won the World Championship.
Selby enjoyed fine runs in overseas events last season but will need to reproduce that form on home soil if he is to fend off the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams and John Higgins.
Ronnie O'Sullivan's fourth world title at the Crucible last month means he averts any danger of dropping out of the world's top 16 for the time being as he occupies ninth place.
Ali Carter's superb run to the World Championship final sees him start the season on the outskirts of the all important 16th position, with just 700 ranking points separating himself from Ricky Walden in 15th and less than 400 behind Staurt Bingham.
Elsewhere, Welsh youngster Jamie Jones looks to build on a superb debut Crucible campaign and will be a formidable opponent as he kicks off in 29th, needing to win just one qualifying match for each ranking event to ensure his place in the main stages.
Stephen Maguire and Stephen Lee were two of the most consistent players on the main tour last season and reaped the rewards by surging up the rankings; Maguire starting in fourth, with Lee in eighth.
China's number one Ding Junhui falls to 11th following an up and down 2011/12 season, with the likes of Martin Gould, Graeme Dott and Matthew Stevens holding onto their places in the top 16.
Legends Steve Davis and Jimmy White remain on the main tour in 51st and 46th respectively, while Stephen Hendry's decision to retire from competitive snooker meaning his inevitable removal from the list.
The top 16 players at the end of the cut-off point qualify automatically for that particular major ranking event, while the others must compete in the qualifying stages in order to book their place in the main event.
2012/13 pre-season world rankings (only players with ranking points are listed)
# Name Points
1. Mark Selby 74925
2. Judd Trump 68975
3. Mark Williams 63560
4. Stephen Maguire 61400
5. John Higgins 61320
6. Shaun Murphy 59685
7. Neil Robertson 59540
8. Stephen Lee 56550
9. Ronnie O'Sullivan 53060
10. Matthew Stevens 52760
11. Ding Junhui 52340
12. Mark Allen 50065
13. Graeme Dott 49445
14. Martin Gould 47290
15. Ricky Walden 46945
16. Stuart Bingham 46600
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17. Ali Carter 46220
18. Andrew Higginson 43170
19. Mark Davis 41490
20. Peter Ebdon 40645
21. Stephen Hendry 40035
22. Barry Hawkins 39940
23. Dominic Dale 39855
24. Joe Perry 38670
25. Marcus Campbell 38395
26. Tom Ford 37080
27. Jamie Cope 37080
28. Marco Fu 36825
29. Jamie Jones 34945
30. Ryan Day 34930
31. Mark King 33550
32. Anthony Hamilton 32970
33. Michael Holt 32480
34. Fergal O'Brien 32275
35. Ken Doherty 32145
36. Robert Milkins 31245
37. Liang Wenbo 29990
38. Rory McLeod 29965
39. Jamie Burnett 29110
40. Jack Lisowski 28870
41. Xiao Guodong 28455
42. Gerard Greene 28210
43. Ben Woollaston 27775
44. Matthew Selt 27770
45. Nigel Bond 26875
46. Jimmy White 26455
47. Joe Jogia 26405
48. Dave Harold 25955
49. Mike Dunn 25450
50. Anthony McGill 25420
51. Steve Davis 25225
52. Alan McManus 24695
53. Peter Lines 24510
54. Michael White 24495
55. Jimmy Robertson 24275
56. Liu Chuang 24110
57. David Gilbert 23420
58. Yu Delu 23015
59. Mark Joyce 22810
60. Alfie Burden 22760
61. Andy Hicks 21815
62. Adam Duffy 20865
63. James Wattana 20610
64. Barry Pinches 20495
65. Tony Drago 20475
66. Liam Highfield 20470
67. Li Yan 20215
68. Joe Swail 19660
69 Adrian Gunnell 19600
70. Cao Yupeng 19430
71. David Morris 18835
72. Kurt Maflin 18450
73. Rod Lawler 18435
74. Passakorn Suwannawat 18110
75. Andrew Norman 18000
76. Sam Baird 17580
77. David Grace 17565
78. Tian Pengfei 17280
79. Luca Brecel 17110
80. Aditya Mehta 16730
81. Paul Davison 15245
82. Dechewat Poomjaeng 15150
83. Simon Bedford 12970
84. Robin Hull 10925
85. Lucky Vatnani 10830
86. Kacper Filipiak 10130
87. Patrick Wallace
88. Justin Astley 5265
89. Jamie O'Neill 4365
The rankings work as a two-year rolling list. The points for each tournament two years ago will be removed when the corresponding tournament during the current season has finished.
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