Born: 20 March 1974 Nationality: English Seeded: 11 World ranking: 11 Career earnings: �453,310 Ranking points: 21,574 Crucible best: 2nd round (1998, 1999, 2001 & 2002)

It is the second time he has climbed up snooker's ranking ladder, having dropped down the pecking order in 2000.

The Romford player was unlucky not to make the quarter-finals of the world championships 12 months ago.

He finally fell short in a topsy-turvy match against Ken Doherty, which the former world champion won 13-12.

Another impressive performance came at the British Open in Newcastle where he reached the semi-final, only to be beaten 6-0 by John Higgins.

However, this year King has failed to earn enough points to maintain his position in the world rankings and he has a provisional ranking of 21.

He did not win a match at a major tournament until March, when he made it through to the quarter-finals at the European Open.

Poor performances finally took their toll on King who announced his retirement from the game after he lost his first-round match to Drew Henry at this year's World Championship.