Who was the first snooker player to be ranked "world number one"?

Raymond Reardon (8 October 1932 – 19 July 2024) was a Welsh professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 and dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and more than a dozen other tournaments. Reardon was World Champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978, and runner-up in 1982. He won the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters, and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.

Reardon was the first player to be ranked "world number one" when world rankings were introduced during the 1976–77 season, a position that he held for the next five years. He regained the top-ranking position in 1982, after which his form declined and he dropped out of the elite top-16 ranked players after the 1986–87 season.

Reardon died of cancer on 19 July 2024, at the age of 91. Three-time world champion Mark Williams led tributes to his fellow Welshman describing Reardon as "one of the best sportspeople ever from Wales and the best snooker player".