List of players who have been World Number One

There have been three ranking systems in place in professional snooker since 1977, which have seen eleven players hold the number-one rank: Ray Reardon, Cliff Thorburn, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Tony Meo, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins.

Number one players
Under the old ranking format (1977-2010), Stephen Hendry holds the record for the most time spent at World Number One with eight seasons spent at the helm of the rankings (1990/91, 1992/93-1997/98, 2006/07), whilst Mark Selby holds the record for the most weeks spent at World Number One under the two new ranking systems (2010-2014, 2014-present), with 171. Steve Davis holds the record for the most consecutive seasons spent at World Number One under the old yearly ranking system with seven (1983/84-1989/90), and Selby holds the record for the most weeks spent at world number one under the two newer systems, with 168 full weeks spent consecutively at the summit of the rankings (February 2011-May 2014).

Below are the World Number One's under the old yearly ranking system, from 1977 to 2010. For the 2010/11 season, a newly updated ranking system was put in place, updated every two months. In 2014/15 it became updated after every ranking tournament.