Ashour & Willstrop Head Super Series Standings
7 Aug 2008
A first round win in the inaugural Petrosport International Championship in Cairo was enough to take Egypt's Ramy Ashour to the top of the latest PSA Super Series standings - a position he shares with England's James Willstrop.
Sadly, the 20-year-old from Cairo was forced to withdraw from the $140,000 PSA Super Series Platinum event - the fifth Super Series tournament of the year - before the next round, suffering with a knee injury.
Willstrop, winner of the Davenport Virginia Pro Championship in March, maintains his top position in the list despite choosing not to play the new Petrosport Championship.
But Wael El Hindi, who beat Karim Darwish in a dream all-Egyptian final to win his maiden Super Series trophy, leaps seven positions to fifth place in the list - while Darwish, who was also celebrating his first Super Series final appearance, takes fourth place behind beaten semi-finalist and fellow countryman Amr Shabana.
Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar, also a semi-finalist in Cairo, moves up to just outside the top eight - at nine.
Another Egyptian making a well-deserved appearance in the list for the first time is Tarek Momen. A qualifier in his hometown event, the 20-year-old upset world No2 Gregory Gaultier, then 14th seed Borja Golan before bowing out to Iskandar in the quarter-finals. Momen makes his standings debut at 15.
The top eight players in the list after the final Super Series event of the year will qualify for next year's ATCO Super Series Finals - the flagship PSA event which produces the annual Super Series Finals champion.
PSA Super Series Standings (after the first five events of 2008):
(Prev) Points
1= (2) Ramy Ashour (EGY) 3568.75
1= (1) James Willstrop (ENG) 3568.75
3 (4) Amr Shabana (EGY) 3381.25
4 (7) Karim Darwish (EGY) 3018.75
5 (12) Wael El Hindi (EGY) 2981.25
6 (3) Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2737.50
7 (5) David Palmer (AUS) 2337.50
8 (6) Thierry Lincou (FRA) 1718.75
9 (11) Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 1693.75
10 (9) Olli Tuominen (FIN) 1225.00
11 (15) Peter Barker (ENG) 1162.50
12= (8) John White (SCO) 1031.25
12= (13) Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 1031.25
12= (-) Adrian Grant (ENG) 1031.25
15 (-) Tarek Momen (EGY) 937.50
16 (10) Lee Beachill (ENG) 906.25