The 43-year-old from Ely in Cambridgeshire reached the final at Dewars after a narrow 9-9, 7-7, 2-1 semi-final victory over Robert Weale, the Commonwealth Games singles gold medallist from Wales – then went down, also after a tie-break, to fellow countryman Robert Paxton.

Weale is at 12th place in the new list – while Paxton, the first qualifier ever to reach the Scottish International Open final, leaps to a career-high No7.  It was from a position of 18 in the current rankings that the 33-year-old from Exeter was forced to qualify for the established WBT event in Scotland.

Harlow, a former world No1, is a single point clear of the current world No1 – Scotland’s Paul Foster who is also the reigning world indoor champion.  Foster lost out to Weale in the Perth quarter-finals.

Scotland’s Darren Burnett holds onto third place in the new list, while former compatriot Stewart Anderson leaps from 12 to five, just behind England’s fourth-placed Mervyn King.

Ian Bond, an Exonia club-mate of Robert Paxton, also found his form in Perth where he fully capitalised upon his wild card to reach the quarter-finals.  Out of the current world top 16 for the first time for more than a decade, Bond now rises to 15th place in the provisional list and will look to consolidate his success at the Potters Holidays World Indoor Championships in January.