YEAR 
After winning World Championships a year earlier, the Swedish international Stellan Bengtsson continued his successful run in 1972, once again being the World Ranking leader after European Championships title run. The Japanese star Nobuhiko Hasegawa finished the year at the #2 spot, adding another Asian Championships title to his resume.
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TOP 30 PLAYERS IN THE WORLD RANKING
| # | Player/Competition | EC | AC | E12 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1 | Stellan Bengtsson |  | x |  | x | x | | x | | x | x | | x |
| 2 |  Nobuhiko Hasegawa | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |  | x | x |
| 3 |  Istvan Jonyer | | x | 4th | x | | x | x | x | | x | | x |
| 4 |  Xi Enting | x | | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 5 |  Antun Stipančic | | x | | | x | | x | | | x | | x |
| 6 | Istvan Korpa | | x | 7th | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 7 | Liang Geliang | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 8 | Wang Wenrong | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 9 | Jiri Turai | 1/4 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| 10 | Stanislav Gomozkov | 1/4 | x | 5th | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 11 | Denis Neale | 1/4 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 12 | Jacques Secretin | 1/4 | x | 10th | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 13 | Kjell Johansson | R16 | x | x | x | | | x | | x | | | x |
| 14 | Jaroslav Kunz | R16 | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x |
| 15 | Janos Börzsei | R16 | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 16 | Norbert van de Walle | R16 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 17 | Eberhard Schöler | R16 | x | 11th | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 18 | Ingemar Wikström | R16 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 19 |  Witold Woznica | R16 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 20 | Wilfried Lieck | R16 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 21 | Mitsuru Kōno | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 22 | Tetsuo Inoue | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 23 | Milan Orlowski | R32 | x | 8th | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | |
| 24 | Dragutin Šurbek | R32 | x | | x | | | x | x | | x | x | x |
| 25 | Štefan Kollarovits | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x |
| 26 | Trevor Taylor | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | | x | x | x | x | x |
| 27 |  Pål Guttormsen | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 28 | Stanislaw Fraczyk | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 29 | Carl-Johan Bernhardt | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| 30 | Alan Hydes | R32 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
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