Neil Robertson is up to seventh in the latest world rankings following his triumph in the Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Scotland last Sunday.

The gifted 24-year-old left-hander became the first Australian player to win a ranking tournament by beating Jamie Cope 9-5 in the final in Aberdeen.

Cope, nicknamed the Shotgun, had never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event but highlighted his potential on a major stage.

The 21-year-old from Stoke has jumped a dozen places to 14th and has set his sights on a place in the top eight for next season.

Alan McManus had slipped to 52nd place after a poor 2005/06 season but has leapt back to 36th by reaching the semi-finals. Mark King also lost in the last four and is up eight places to 16th.

Ken Doherty still tops the list despite losing in the last 16, though second-placed John Higgins closed the gap to 1,100 points by reaching the quarter-finals.

Tony Drago and Alex Borg did not make any progress after failing to qualify for the Grand Prix. Drago is ranked 63rd and Borg 95th.

Borg out of Malta Cup

Alex Borg will not play in the 2007 Malta Cup at the Hilton between January 28 and February 4 after a 5-4 defeat to Alfie Burden in the first qualifying round in Wales yesterday.

Borg was 3-1 down at the break but staged a stirring fightback in the second session, winning three frames in a row to go 4-3 up.

However, Burden, a former Arsenal FC apprentice, never threw in the towel and secured a berth in the next round by winning the next two frames to oust the Malta champion.

Tony Drago will play his second qualifying round match against Lee Spick at the Hilton. The winner faces former world champion John Parrott next.