Battle for World No.1: Asal, Coll and ElShorbagy

The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions gets underway on Wednesday in New York City, and we have a possible three-way battle for the men’s World No.1 spot.

Thanks to making the final of the Houston Open last week, Mostafa Asal became World No.1 for the first time in his career on Monday, becoming the third youngest men’s World No.1 ever, after the legendary Jansher and Jahangir Khan.

However, his time at the top could be over after just two weeks. Both England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and New Zealand’s Paul Coll have the chance to make it back to the summit of the World Rankings, but need to win the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.

Here is how each man can be World No.1 on Monday, January 30…

For Asal to remain World No.1 after the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions:
– Asal makes the final OR
– Asal reaches the semi-finals and Coll fails to win OR
– Asal reaches the quarter finals, and neither Coll nor ElShorbagy win

For ElShorbagy to become World No.1 after the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions:
– ElShorbagy takes the title and Asal does not get past the quarter finals 

For Coll to become World No.1 after the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions:
– Coll wins and Asal does not reach the final

Asal and ElShorbagy are in the same side of the draw for the year’s first Platinum tournament, and depending how things go, the Englishman could actually help Coll retake the top spot in the World Rankings.

If ElShorbagy was to get revenge for his Houston Open defeat and beat Asal in the last four, Coll would then have the chance to become World No.1 by beating the Englishman in the final on Thursday, January 26.

Just like last week in Houston, the ‘Raging Bull’ does not need to win the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, he only needs to make the final to remain as the World No.1 for a third week.

Asal could face Marwan ElShorbagy in the quarter finals, and following the controversial ending to their semi-final in Houston, that could be one to watch out for. Mohamed will be hoping that if it does come down to those two in the last eight, that Marwan takes the win, to allow the Englishman the chance to move back to the summit of the World Rankings for a sixth time.

The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions gets underway on Wednesday, January 18. All the action from Grand Central Terminal, which starts a day later, will be shown live on SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will also be shown on the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.

You can stay up to date with anything related to the event by following on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. You can also follow the event’s channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and purchase tickets here.