[2][3] No points were awarded to a player who did not win any matches in a given tournament: for example, a top 16 player seeded into the last 32 of the world championship would not win any merit points if they lost their first match.
[4] The tournaments that counted towards the 1984/1985 rankings were those which were open to all professional players, over three seasons.
[4] These were the Jameson International Open 1982 and 1983, the Professional Players Tournament 1982 and 1983, the 1984 Lada Classic, and the 1982, 1983 and 1984 Embassy World Championships.
[4] John Virgo, who did not win any ranking points in the 1983/1984 season, was the only player to lose their place in the top 16 from the previous year.
[8] Three pairs of players exchanged positions as a result: Tony Meo moved from eleventh to tenth place, ahead of Dennis Taylor; Dean Reynolds took 22nd place from Cliff Wilson who moved to 23rd; and Patsy Fagan overtook George Scott to be ranked 37th rather than 38th.