The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the governing body for professional snooker, first published official world rankings for players on the main tour for the 1976–77 season.
[1][2][3] Players' performances in the previous three World Snooker Championships (1978, 1979 and 1980) contributed to their points total.
[4][5] The 1980 World Champion, Cliff Thorburn, was ranked second, and Eddie Charlton was placed third, as he had been for each year since the 1976/1977 list.
[5] The eight highest-ranked players were placed directly into the last-16 round of the 1981 World Snooker Championship, with defending champion Thorburn as the top seed.
[5] The article in Snooker Scene magazine discussing the ranking list for 1980/1981 also contained concerns about the advantage to established players, whilst arguing that no better alternative system had been proposed.