12th: David Gilbert (October) - Reaching a first major final for David was fantastic in Daqing and hopefully he has now taken the first step on the way to finally fulfilling his potential, and it was particularly good to see him come back like he did there after narrowly missing out in the semi-finals in Bulgaria just a couple of weeks before. Unfortunately for Gilbert, his performances through the rest of the year are not enough to get him any higher up on the list.
11th: Anthony McGill (April) - Anthony's run through qualifying and to the quarter-finals of the World Championships, winning plenty of tight contests was particularly impressive given some of the deciding frame losses he had suffered during the season. He pushed top players all the way but ultimately lost some key too deciders to Selby in the German Masters and Murphy in the China Open amongst a host of others. Despite all of that he has not been a tournament winner in 2015 and has struggled in the first half of the new season.
10th: Mark Williams (March) - Consistency has been the name of Mark Williams 2015 pretty much throughout as he has risen back inside the top 16 of the world rankings. The run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open started this all off and was followed by a run to the final of the Gdynia Open, semi-finals in India, Bulgaria and another final at the Players Championship finals, with a whole host of quarter-finals on top of that. He was probably the most consistent player not to win something but because of that and early exits in the World and UK Championships he has to finish lower down on the list.
9th: Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao (June) - These two guys did brilliantly to win the World Cup in June against all of the odds and that was fantastic to see, but then to come over to the UK and win their Last 16 matches of the Champion of Champions was remarkable. As an individual Zhou was obviously the most impressive of the two as he has been playing in all pro events and has already broken into the top 64 with half a season to go on his original two year tour card. There's going to be plenty more occasions for these two to top the list in the coming years as individuals.
8th: Ali Carter (August) - It was a very special time in August when Ali Carter emotionally won the Paul Hunter Classic. After what he has been through it was great to see him achieve another tournament victory and it was also nice to see him make the quarter-finals of the Masters when his seeding was frozen at 13 for the 2014/2015 season. I still feel that there is a long way to go for Carter before he is back at his very best and I would like to see him achieve this.
7th: Kyren Wilson (September) - Kyren Wilson's win in Shanghai was a magnificent performance in September and he has since followed that up with a semi-final appearance in the Champion of Champions. The next step for Wilson is to break the top 16 and challenge for a big ranking event in the UK or Europe but there is plenty of time for him to achieve this.
6th: Mark Allen (November) - As well as winning the Bulgarian Open in November and the Champion of Champions final, Allen lost out in the semi-finals of the Masters to the rampant Shaun Murphy, and was very unlucky to lose in the Last 16 of the World Championships as Hawkins won four in a row to take that match. A lot of improvement was shown from Allen and I think he is now in a position where he could really challenge for all of the majors in 2016 so well done to him.
5th: Mark Selby (February) - Selby was superb in 2016 and unlucky not to finish higher up on the list. A certain Eurosport commentator considered his season as world champion to be poor with German Masters and China Open titles, what more do you want Mike? The German Masters win was particularly good considering that he has been playing a different cue sport in China just two days before where he made the final, and in the Masters he lost in the first round but to a man who went on to win the whole thing. In the International and UK Championships he lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winners too so it has by no means been a bad year in 2015 for Selby.
4th: Stuart Bingham (May) - Some people will think putting the World Champion in at fourth place is very harsh. What he achieved in Sheffield was superb but he will admit it has been a little bit of a struggle since then, and when you consider the three players that are above him in the list you will see that it was a very tough decision for me. Bingham has been a credit to snooker in 2015 once again and deserves everything good that comes his way from being world champion as he is a genuinely nice man and someone we as snooker fans can be extremely grateful to have representing out sport.
3rd: John Higgins (July) - Three ranking titles for John Higgins would normally see him at the top of this list but I think that his wins in Wales and Australia come in tournaments with either short formats at the start or less top players involved and the prize money tariff reflects this. If he had gone further than the Last 16 of the Masters and World Championships or got over the line in his UK classic with Neil Robertson then he would certainly be number one in my mind and it was nice to see him return.
2nd: Shaun Murphy (January) - Shaun again is quite unlucky not to have won overall as well. Especially when you consider he's my favourite player and we get on well. What a year it was though for Shaun. A Masters win, completion of the Triple Crown, narrowly missing out on a second world title as well as very consistent performances in all of the European Tour events which a lot of players neglect of course. Two finals in Germany at the German Masters and Paul Hunter Classic backed up that this is the best year of Shaun's career to date and I think there is plenty more to come from the Magician. His charity work is another reason that he should be high up on the list. He is a credit to the sport and is leading the way on many fronts. His interaction with fans via social media is second to none and he is always a gentleman. The bottom line is that like Stuart Bingham, we as snooker fans are very lucky to have him.
1st: Neil Robertson (December) - That means that the winner without a doubt is Neil Robertson. For me, Neil is now the leading player in the world. To choose to make a major diet change when you are a sportsman at the very top of your game is a very gutsy decision to make. He is also leading the way when it comes to peaking for the majors. UK Champion, Champion of Champions, Masters finalist and a deciding frame loss in the World quarter-finals. Not a bad haul for 2015 is it!! Add to that a win on the European Tour and a 147 maximum in the UK final then you have a very well rounded player who is the leading man in snooker.
So there you have it. 2015 done. What awaits in 2016 and who will be the leading player? Well we'll all just have to wait and see.
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