Smith and McGuire on top of the World
The new system reflects the results of every match in a competition, not just the final position, and should be a more accurate way to gauge the best players in the world.
David Smith MBE retains his place as World Number 1 in BC1 after going the year unbeaten. 2016 Paralympic Champion Smith claimed individual titles at the Regional Open Sant Cugat, World Open Seville, World Open Kansas and also at the European Championships. He will go into the 2018 World Championships in Liverpool as top seed ahead of Thailand's Pattaya Tadtong, the 2012 Paralympic Gold Medallist.
Stephen McGuire climbs to the top of the rankings on the back of another impressive year. With an individual World Championship title earned in China in 2016 the Scot has added Gold medals in the Regional Open Sant Cugat, World Open Kansas and European Championships in 2017. He is one of only two Europeans in the top ten, which is dominated by athletes from the Asian region.
European Champion Jamie McCowan is the top ranked GB BC3 athlete in fourth place while Patrick Wilson is in 10th. The BC3 Pair are also 4th.
The ranking positions of all GB athletes are as follows:
BC1/BC2 Team 10th
BC3 Pair 4th
BC4 Pair 5th
BC1 David Smith MBE 1st
BC2 Claire Taggart 23rd
BC2 Will Hipwell 61st
BC3 Jamie McCowan 4th
BC3 Patrick Wilson 10th
BC3 Scott McCowan 21st
BC3 Jess Hunter 58th
BC4 Stephen McGuire 1st
BC4 Evie Edwards 28th
BC4 Louis Saunders 74th
