German Masters: Full Preview

Wednesday sees the start of one of the most popular events on the snooker calendar. The German Masters at the Tempodrome is an event that may not have the big money that certain others do, but the venue is already one of the best on tour and one on every fans bucket list.

For the players there are 32 of them in action after two rounds of qualifiers before Christmas. These saw a lot of the top 16 eliminated with, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson and Joe Perry all failing to qualify. Meanwhile, Liang Wenbo pulled out of qualifying and fellow top Chinese player Ding Junhui did not enter in the first place.

Martin Gould is the defending champion after winning his first ranking title at this event when he beat Luca Brecel in the final 12 months ago. Brecel will not get another crack at the title this year though having also failed to qualify.

The other main point of interest coming into this week is the World Grand Prix. This event marks the cut off point for that, with the top 32 players on this seasons money list moving on to Preston next week for that event. So there is potential that we won't know the full draw until the day the event starts.

Of the 32 involved this week, 12 are outside of that top 32 bracket as it stands, but could all mathematically qualify. Yan Bingtao currently holds 32nd position and is sat on £39,100. If he were to lose in the first round it would open the door for Tom Ford, who is only £75 behind, to come in and steal the place. Ben Woollaston is £975 behind, yet would have to reach at least the quarter-finals with only an additional £750 coming from a Last 32 victory. For the same reason, Yan Bingtao would have to win two matches to move above Matthew Stevens who is 31 on the list but did not qualify this week.

For the rest of the players outside of that 32 here is what they must do to qualify:

Stuart Carrington - At least the semi-finals.
Martin Gould - At least the semi-finals.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh - At least the semi-finals.
Robin Hull - At least the semi-finals if Yan Bingtao and Tom Ford lose in round one, and Woollaston fails to reach the quarter-finals. Otherwise Hull needs to reach the final.
John Astley - Must reach at least the final.
Akani Songsermsawad - Must reach at least the final.
Peter Ebdon - Must reach at least the final.
Zhao Xintong - Must reach at least the final.
Jimmy White - Must win the tournament.
Zhang Yong - Must win the tournament.

Now that we know what the players must do, let's have a look at what their chances are of completing the task in front of them:

Quarter 1 

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Martin Gould Vs Jamie Jones

Ricky Walden Vs John Astley 

Mark Allen Vs Ryan Day 

Robin Hull Vs Jimmy White 

Martin Gould is the defending champion this week in Berlin, but his form this season has not quite matched that of a year ago. Gould in fact is a long way off of the top 32 on the one year money list and as mentioned above he needs a big run to get into the Grand Prix, where he was a semi-finalist in 2015. Gould has not played in every event this year and has had a number of early exits on the whole and he could just as easily have another when he takes on a tough player like Jamie Jones. Jones has had some good showings this year, reaching the UK Championship quarter-finals and having a good run at the Paul Hunter Classic too. Jones is one player I am looking at who could be the next to make his breakthrough if everything could come together for him. Ricky Walden is someone who has probably disappointed in the last 18 months overall. Walden has now slipped outside of the world's top 16 and will be looking for a good run this week to hopefully boost his chances of automatic qualification for the Crucible. If Walden could find his consistency this week then there is no reason why he could not easily make the semi-finals at least. Meanwhile, there is a big first round match in the tour survival battle for Robin Hull and Jimmy White. Hull has slipped slightly on the provisional end of season list after losing his China Open qualifier, but still has his destiny in his own hands. White meanwhile has had a resurgence this year and could finish in the "top eight players not already qualified for the 2017/2018 season" on the one year money list which would earn him another two years on tour. While the match itself is only worth an extra £750, it could open the door for the winner to go on and have a run that keeps them on tour for the next year or two.

My first quarter choice then is Mark Allen. Allen has played pretty well this season without going forward and having that title winning week. At the Masters he played very well to beat John Higgins and avenge his Last 16 loss at the UK Championships. In three tournaments he has been thwarted by Ronnie O'Sullivan on three occasions this season, lost to Higgins in two, but in back to back events he did beat World Champion Mark Selby. This quarter is a pretty open one and for me he is by far the best player in it if he plays like he can. A tough first round clash with Ryan Day may be the hardest draw he has between himself and the semi-finals if he can come through it. Allen is definitely worth thinking about as a tournament winner this week given his draw in this quarter, and this could be one of the weeks where he puts it all together and walks away with the trophy. 

Quarter Choice: Mark Allen

Quarter 2 

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Tom Ford Vs Peter Ebdon 

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mark King

Ali Carter Vs Stephen Maguire

Akani Songsermsawad Vs Zhao Xintong 

The first match that jumps out from quarter two is that of Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire. The pair are pretty evenly matched, and although Maguire is steadily slipping down the rankings, there is no reason why either player could not win this match and then go all the way. Coming back to Maguire, he was on fire in Shanghai in September but has not gotten close to those heights since. Arguably, Carter has not had as many deep runs as he would have liked since winning the World Open which makes this an even more open clash. In a similar sense the match up between two much less experienced opponents, Zhao Xintong and Akani Songermsawad is a very tight one. Both have had very good results this season, with Zhao beating John Higgins to qualify for the venue here. As one of my players to watch for this season Zhao has not let me down, and although Akani has had his fair share of good results I would given the Chinese player a slight edge. One player who I think could well be a dark horse this week if he is on form is Tom Ford. Ford has had a good season, making the final in Germany for the Paul Hunter Classic at the start of the season. Following that he then had a couple of Last 16 defeats to John Higgins in the European Masters and English Open and is perhaps nearing a point where he could start fulfilling his potential.

Given the draw this week I am finding it hard to see past Ronnie O'Sullivan as my second quarter choice. Much like Allen in quarter one he is by far the best player in this quarter and if he fancies it in Berlin I would fancy him to make it back to back tournament wins. Prior to winning the Masters, O'Sullivan had already reached three finals this season, at the UK Championships, the European Masters and Champion of Champions. It has taken players generally playing at the very top of their game to beat him and the fact that he has played more events this season must have helped him find rhythm and match form to continue performing at his best. O'Sullivan has not played in many German Masters events but that has not stopped him winning in Berlin as he did in 2012. Having become mentally stronger as well, it takes a really good performance or a really bad week for him to be beaten in the early stages now. 

Quarter Choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan 

Quarter 3

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Stuart Bingham Vs Zhang Yong

Marco Fu Vs David Gilbert 

Michael Holt Vs Stuart Carrington 

Dominic Dale Vs Yan Bingtao

Stuart Bingham has recently become a Dad again and with that being just ahead of the Masters, you could not blame him for the 6-1 defeat that followed. Prior to that he had early exits in the Scottish Open and UK Championships and all told his record in Berlin as a whole is not the best. He should win easily in round one, but whether he can go much further beyond that remains to be seen. Marco Fu has been flying in the last couple of events, a winner at the Scottish Open it then took a rampant Ronnie O'Sullivan to defeat him in the Masters, and despite a slip up last week in the China Open qualifiers, he has to be one of the favourites for the title this week. However, he faces a tough first round match with David Gilbert who always seems to have close matches with Fu and has beaten him on a couple of occasions more recently. Then we come to the man on the bubble for World Grand Prix qualification, which of course is Yan Bingtao. Yan has a tough first round match with the experienced Dominic Dale who has still had some decent results this season. While the Chinese player has had an immense first half to his debut season, a first round exit at the Scottish Open was not the required outcome for his Grand Prix. Last week he took a thumping against Mark Davis in China Open qualifying, and while that does not effect his hopes of being in Preston next week, it may just hurt his confidence a touch, but only time will tell.

My third quarter choice for this week meanwhile is Michael Holt. This is my more outside of the box choice of the week, but in this section Holt certainly has a decent chance. He has been threatening to breakthrough and win a big event for a while now. He came close to the semi-finals in both the International and China Championships in October and November, whilst also reaching the final of the Riga Masters at the start of the season. He has beaten a number of top players in the last year or so and seems to have gotten over his issues with playing on TV and seems more settled on the whole. Under the tutelage of Terry Griffiths he has grown a lot as a player and I think he will break into the top 16 very soon. A good run this week would be a big boost to achieving that goal, and who knows he may put it all together and win that long awaited first ranking title. 

Quarter Choice: Michael Holt

Quarter 4 

Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold) 

Neil Robertson Vs Ben Woollaston 

Barry Hawkins Vs Michael White 

Mark Williams Vs Anthony Hamilton

Mark Selby Vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

The fourth and final quarter in this weeks German Masters draw is probably the toughest to call, and certainly the one that went closest to it's seeding in qualifying. Barry Hawkins and Michael White is the first match that I want to come to because it has the makings of being a cracker. Hawkins has been playing very well in the last couple of months, but suffered a setback when he squandered a 5-2 lead in the Masters semi-finals against Joe Perry. That may hurt him for a while, and you only have to look at some of his form from a couple of years ago, following the infamous Nigel Bond comeback. Early signs of that may have surfaced as he lost 5-2 to Aditya Mehta in China Open qualifying. Michael White meanwhile has had a couple of runs to quarter-finals this season, in Shanghai and Belfast, but is yet to kick on and will want to put that right this week. Mark Williams has also put on a few good performances lately and is still playing better than he likes to let on in the press and on social media. He was hugely unlucky at the Masters, and made the quarter-finals of the UK Championships and Northern Irish Open prior to Christmas and the 2011 German Masters champion can certainly not be underestimated. World number one Mark Selby is another former winner of the German Masters and in the form he has been in over the last year he has a great chance of picking up another title in Berlin. He was beaten by a brilliant Barry Hawkins in the Masters and it will take someone playing at the top of their game to put Selby to bed. Unless he has a real off day it is hard to pick out who in particular could beat him.

In arguably the hardest quarter of the draw, my choice is Neil Robertson. Robertson has not been in the best of form over the last month or so but the signs for me at the Masters were that he would soon be back to his best. A couple of early exits in the Autumn saw him turn up at the Scottish Open before Christmas having not won since the Last 32 of the International Championship which was three or four tournaments beforehand. The Australian had a similar run at the back end of last season, losing in the first round of the World Grand Prix, China Open and World Championship before starting this season with a win at the Riga Masters. As I say though he looked a little closer to returning to his best in London and has had a quite a long time off to get himself right for a busy period in the season coming up. For me he is certainly due a big run and this time in the season would certainly be a good one to find your form as a top player. He may win this week, but even if he does not I think he will win a big title between now and the World Championships. 

Quarter Choice: Neil Robertson

Winner Selection: Neil Robertson 

The event this week will be televised in it's entirety by Eurosport, however how many UK and even European viewers that will be able to watch this week has been thrown into question. Due to ongoing battles between Discovery, who own Eurosport amongst their other channels, with Sky TV, Eurosport and the other Discovery channels may be dropped from the Sky package. Bad news for Sky viewers, but this will not effect you if you view Eurosport by other means such as Virgin Media or BT TV. 

It is also worth noting at this point that a special deal for Eurosport Player has been on their site for some time, to get Eurosport Player for just £19.99 for the year, saving £40 on the usual price. This deal is only available until the 31st January and if you are interested the page to visit is here: 

http://uk.eurosportplayer.com/subscription/pass.shtml 

That is all from my preview of the German Masters, and however you are viewing it hopefully it will be an enjoyable week of snooker for everyone. If you have not yet seen it, my Stats preview, featuring the Stat Attack and the Tournament Top Ten, is available to view now through here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/german-masters-stat-attack-and.html?m=1 

German Masters: Stat Attack and Tournament Top Ten

February 1 sees the start of the German Masters and a month of non-stop snooker. With the Grand Prix following events in Berlin straight away, and then the Welsh Open coming straight after that it is going to be a busy time for compiling statistics. In fact it will be almost impossible to bring out a full stats preview with updated German Masters stats for the World Grand Prix, and the same applying for the Welsh Open, so I will be working hard to ensure things are as updated as they can be prior to a reasonable publication time.

Coming back to this week and we have the seventh edition of the German Masters from the Tempodrome in Berlin. In the previous six stagings we have had six different winners, and five of those have entered and qualified for this week. In my overall Stat Attack I will have the key indicators for player performance with each of those statistics being updated to the end of the Masters. This means that the China Open qualifiers are yet to be added, while the Championship League action from January has not been included at all.

On top of that, in the second half of the post we will have a shortened tournament top ten blog, but before all of that there are the Tournament specific statistics from the previous stagings as well as a few relevant head to heads.

TOURNAMENT SPECIFIC NUMBERS: 

- Mark Selby has won the most matches out of anyone in the German Masters. Selby won the title two years ago and made the first ever final back in 2011. Just behind him is 2012 runner-up and someone with a particularly good record in this event in Stephen Maguire.

- Maguire has also won 100% of his deciders in the German Masters with five wins from five matches that have gone the distance. Ryan Day meanwhile has played in the most deciders out of anyone in the field this week, having played seven, and only winning three of them.

- Out of the eight players to make the quarter-finals of the German Masters in 2016 only three of them have qualified for the Last 32 at the venue this year. Those three are Ryan Day, Stephen Maguire and defending champion Martin Gould.

- Of the eight quarter-finals from the 2016 and 2015 editions of the German Masters seven of them have gone to deciding frames, with the odd one out seeing Graeme Dott beat Stephen Maguire 5-1 last season.

- The highest break in last season's championship was a mere 125 made by Judd Trump, the year before that Trump had the highest break again making a 147 but the left hander failed to qualify this year. The high break was won by the same player in both 2014 and 2013 also as Michael Holt took the prize.

- Ricky Walden has qualified this year for the final stages at the venue for the first time in 2013. 

HEAD TO HEADS: 

- Jamie Jones plays Martin Gould in round one having lost seven of his last eight games against Gould, though he did win their last meeting in the first round of the European Masters this season.

- Mark Allen has won his last five ranking meetings with Ryan Day coming into their first round clash, and Day will need to expel the demons of their last match where he lost from 4-0 up against Allen in the UK Championships in November.

- Tom Ford and Peter Ebdon have never played in a ranking knock out match, with their only two meetings being in the Championship League in 2012 and the group stages of the 2006 Grand Prix.

- Ronnie O'Sullivan has not played Mark King since the 2010 World Open, when O'Sullivan made the reluctant 147 break. Although, to show the longevity of the pair they played in the German Open which was in 1995 with King winning there 5-3.

- When Stephen Maguire meets Ali Carter in round one he will be hoping not to fall foul of another Carter comeback after Maguire lost from 5-2 ahead 6-5.

- In five previous meetings David Gilbert and Marco Fu have gone to a decider in three of those, including their last meeting when Gilbert came from 3-0 down to beat Fu 5-4 in the Last 32 of this season's Shanghai Masters.

- Barry Hawkins meanwhile will go into his first round match with Michael White having won four of his last five meetings against White.

- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh beat Mark Selby in their last meeting which was at the 2016 World Open, where the Thai went on to reach the semi-finals. 

PLAYER PERFORMANCE: KEY INDICATORS:  

Average Frame aggregate: 
This week's Top 10:

Mark Selby = 20.32
Barry Hawkins = 19.49
Ronnie O'Sullivan = 18.09
Stephen Maguire = 16.76
Neil Robertson = 16.69
Marco Fu = 15.62
David Gilbert = 13.97
Stuart Bingham = 11.31
Ricky Walden = 11.08
Ryan Day = 10.85

When it comes to average frame aggregates (average points scored per frame - average points conceded per frame) it is interesting to see some of the names in the top 10. Stephen Maguire is as high as four on the list out of the 32 players in the field this week. This does come as a slight surprise considering his slip down the rankings. Mark Selby is at the top of the list after his magnificent season so far. Meanwhile, Hawkins run to the semi's of the Masters helped him up to second on the list. Neil Robertson is only a small way behind Maguire and is certainly due a good run in a tournament that would get him back up to the high numbers of his early season. Marco Fu's recent return to form has seen him continue to post strong numbers on this list particularly given his heavy scoring. David Gilbert's best form also came in the early season which is why he still posts good numbers on this list, while early exits in the last two or three tournaments for Stuart Bingham have seen his stats take a tumble. As for Ryan Day and Ricky Walden it is a surprise to see them in the top ten for frame aggregates given their inconsistencies in the 2016/2017 campaign.

This week's Bottom 10:

Zhang Yong: -11.37
John Astley: - 6.97
Peter Ebdon: -1.17
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh: -0.02
Akani Songsermsawad: 0.28
Robin Hull: 1.11
Jimmy White: 1.42
Zhao Xintong: 4.3
Dominic Dale: 5.27
Jamie Jones: 6.09

At the other end of the frame aggregates table we have Zhang Yong who is at or close to the bottom in each stats list that I will bring you in this blog. Some heavy defeats are the cause of him being nearly 5 points worse off than anyone else in the field. Then comes John Astley who's numbers seem worse than I would expect from a player who has had some good results this season on the whole. Astley is just over 5 points back of next worst Peter Ebdon. Ebdon has been inconsistent all season, but still had a couple of nice results to qualify for Berlin. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh has really not been able to repeat the form he showed in the early season often enough as the campaign has gone on, losing to a few lower ranked players and losing too many first round matches. His fellow Thai player Akani Songsermsawad is just the right side of 0 here after an impressive showing this season and two more good results qualifying him for this week. First round opponents Robin Hull and Jimmy White have very little between them in the frame aggregate stats, which could signal a tight match there. Beyond that point the overall table gets quite tight, so it is tough to criticise young Zhao Xintong, or the Welsh duo of Jones and Dale for falling in the bottom ten. Each of the three have had very good results in tournaments this season and could get a couple of wins this week.

Average Frames per 50+ 

This week's Top 10:

Ronnie O'Sullivan = 2.15
Neil Robertson = 2.24
Marco Fu = 2.24
Mark Selby = 2.42
Barry Hawkins = 2.62
Mark Allen = 2.74
Tom Ford = 2.75
Stephen Maguire = 2.75
Stuart Bingham = 2.8
David Gilbert = 2.85

The first of the two scoring stats I have is the average frames per 50+ break statistic. It is no surprise to see the ultimate heavy scoring machine and recent Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan at the top of the list, basically averaging a 50+ in every other frame he plays. Neil Robertson is not fair behind as has been the case for the last two months or so, after Robertson led the way in the early season. The ton machine of the last two or three tournaments in Marco Fu continues to shoot up the table and is now level with Robertson in this list. Form player Mark Selby has been scoring well as this stat displays, while Barry Hawkins is just a little further back and looking at his results I believe he is very close to a tournament win if he can recover mentally from his Masters disappointment. The table gets quite close from here with Mark Allen, Tom Ford, Stephen Maguire, Stuart Bingham and David Gilbert's numbers all pretty close together. Ford's good form this season, including reaching the Paul Hunter Classic final, has shot him up on this list and it is no shock to see. Maguire has always been a frequent scorer like Bingham, Gilbert and Allen. Neither of them have necessarily had that one superb week to propel them higher up this list and the overall rankings.

This week's Bottom 10:

Peter Ebdon = 6.24
Zhang Yong = 5.6
John Astley = 5.52
Mark King = 4.8
Akani Songsermsawad = 4.56
Jimmy White = 4.28
Dominic Dale = 4.09
Thepchiaya Un-Nooh = 3.53
Jamie Jones = 3.52
Ali Carter = 3.41

Right at the bottom of the list for scoring frequency is Peter Ebdon. Most of his inconsistencies have come in this area, as his toughness and ability to grind out matches is still as good as most. Zhang Yong and John Astley find themselves close to the bottom again, while Mark King's scoring frequency is surprisingly low considering that he is a tournament winner this season. Otherwise it is many of the same names propping up the table that were in the frame aggregates which perhaps shows a close link between the two. Just to show how tight the table is Ali Carter who only just slipped into the bottom ten is only 0.56 away from David Gilbert in tenth place. This is a stat that has also been a little worse at times this season for Carter, but it is not worth reading too much into guys like him, Jones and Un-Nooh who have also just slipped into the bottom ten.

Average break when above 50: 

This week's Top 10:

Marco Fu = 83.31
Ronnie O'Sullivan = 81.08
David Gilbert = 81
Stuart Bingham = 80.91
Michael White = 80.86
Mark Allen = 80.21
Stephen Maguire = 80.05
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh = 80
Mark Selby = 79.3
Stuart Carrington = 78.72

Having looked at scoring frequency it is now time to go through the numbers on scoring weight. Marco Fu naturally is topping this list having gone crazy with big breaks in the last couple of tournaments, and his numbers have been good on this stat all season. Now though he is over two points clear at the top for average break when above 50. Ronnie O'Sullivan is the man in second place in a list where you would expect him to be in the top three all season long. It is pretty close this week though between Ronnie and guys like David Gilbert, Stuart Bingham and Michael White. White has showed some very heavy scoring at times this season and has the potential to blow players away on his day, as he has done a couple of times in the home nations series. Mark Allen, Stephen Maguire and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are all at 80 and above as well and each of them have had maximum breaks this season which certainly helps them on this list. Making up the best ten are Mark Selby and Stuart Carrington, which for me demonstrates how good Carrington can be on his day, being no stranger to power scoring. Carrington is one player who I actually believe could break through in the next year.

This week's Bottom 10:

Zhang Yong = 63.1
Jamie Jones = 68.26
Dominic Dale = 69.48
Peter Ebdon = 70.1
Jimmy White = 70.17
Martin Gould = 70.52
Barry Hawkins = 72.29
Ben Woollaston = 73.43
Mark Williams = 73.98
Tom Ford = 74.59

Once again at the bottom end are the likes of Zhang Yong and Peter Ebdon, as well as Jamie Jones and Dominic Dale. As I said earlier much of Ebdon's issues coming in the scoring these days, though 70 is still not bad as an average and if you were looking at the overall tour of 128 there are many players below that number. Again showing how tight it is this week Tom Ford, who only just fell into the bottom ten, is only just over 4 points from the top ten. Defending champion Martin Gould averaging just over 70 is a surprise and shows perhaps why he has not had as many good results as he did last season. For him I would expect to see him pushing the 80 average because on his day he can string plenty of centuries together. Barry Hawkins is also still a little low considering he has had some good performances this year in the Masters and Northern Irish Open. He like Gould should have been pushing the top end of the list.

Close Frames Win Percentage: 

This week's Top 10:

John Astley = 73.08
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh = 70.59
Marco Fu = 68.57
Mark Selby = 68.52
Dominic Dale = 67.74
Ricky Walden = 65.63
Stephen Maguire = 65.52
Peter Ebdon = 63.16
Michael Holt = 60.87
Neil Robertson = 58.82

Now we are done with scoring stats it is time to look at the close frame win percentages. Turning the tables on the scoring stats we have seen prior to this, guys like Astley, Ebdon, Dale and Un-Nooh who we have seen at times in the bottom ten are all in the top ten here. 73% is a very impressive percentage, coming close to winning 3 out of 4 tight frames. Anything above 60 is a good mark though and that is the standard for the top ten. Marco Fu appears once more at the top end of a list and given his scoring dominance, getting to the top of the close frames shows that his all round game is in good shape. Ricky Walden is no stranger to having to scrap some frames out, and particularly with his scoring stats down, he has needed to be good in this area. Smart and experienced players like Selby, Neil Robertson, Ebdon and Dale you would expect to see in the top ten in a 32 man field and so that has proved. Even more aggressive players like Maguire are showing experience and class in the tight frames which is why a first ranking title in four years could be a possibility very soon. Working with Terry Griffiths will always help you in the tactical side of the game and that might show in the numbers of Michael Holt here as he creeps over the 60% mark.

This week's Bottom 10:

Ben Woollaston = 35.71
Michael White = 41.67
Zhang Yong = 44.44
Mark Allen = 47.06
Jimmy White = 47.83
Barry Hawkins = 48.15
Ali Carter = 48.98
Martin Gould = 50
Stuart Carrington = 50
Akani Songsermsawad = 50

At the bottom end of the list are poor numbers for Ben Woolaston. While anything 60 or over is decent in my view, so too is anything less than 40 a pretty poor effort. Perhaps an aggressive style is the reason for quite a poor showing for Michael White. Again Mark Allen could be in that same boat with regards to aggressive play hindering him a little in close frames. Meanwhile, Barry Hawkins slipped here a touch during the Masters losing a few tighter frames, even in the matches he won but it eventually cost him against Joe Perry in the semi finals. For the likes of Gould, Songsermsawad and Carrington who are on 50%, that is in no way a bad percentage and is probably unfortunate that they have slipped into the bottom then, but that does perhaps show the standard they are up against this week.

Quarter-Finals or Better since start of 2014/2015 season: 

This week's Top 7:

Mark Selby = 12

Stuart Bingham = 12
Mark Williams = 10
Neil Robertson = 10
Ronnie O'Sullivan = 9
Marco Fu = 9
Stephen Maguire = 9

Out of the players in the field this week, Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham have been the best in the last couple of seasons for reaching the latter stages as you would expect from world numbers 1 and 2. The next two on the list are Neil Robertson and Mark Williams, which is not bad considering that Williams has said he is no longer at his best and capable of reaching the latter stages, but this clearly proves otherwise. It is also interesting to see that Stephen Maguire has had as many quarter-finals as guys like Marco Fu and Ronnie O'Sullivan and more than people like Mark Allen and Barry Hawkins. However, Maguire has slipped down the rankings and is provisionally set to fall to world number 27 after this tournament unless he has a good week. 

TOURNAMENT TOP TEN: 

In this week's Top Ten I have put the three home nations events from this season so far into the generator, because of their similar format. Along with this I have put the European Masters and Paul Hunter Classic in from this season, as they have a similar approach to this event and are both in continental Europe. Finally, I have looked at the previous stagings of the German Masters picking the five from 2012 to 2016. This is all alongside the Player Performance Indicator stats that you have seen above which also have a small impact into the make up of the list.

10 - Ali Carter - Just coming on to the table this week in tenth place is 2013 German Masters winner Ali Carter. But for that 2013 he has not gotten past the Last 32 in the other editions from 2012-2016, which is the reason a former winner such as Carter could be so low on the list. In the five events I put in from this season that I saw as most relevant, Carter's best showing once again was the Last 32. As for the statistics, Carter failed to reach the top five on any of the lists that I mention above. Without earning points from that and more recent tournaments, Carter has ended up being slightly lucky to make the top ten at all.

9 - Stuart Bingham - Stuart Bingham has just crept above Ali Carter this week in ninth position. He has reached the Last 16 of the German Masters in three of the last five years but never gotten any further. Some of his more recent form has not been the best though, though he did manage a semi-final in the home nations series, though you have to go back to the English Open in October for that. As for Bingham's numbers, he comes top of the quarter-finals or better stat and fourth for the average break when above 50. Without a better overall showing in recent events and in German Masters history it was always going to be difficult to join the challengers at the very top.

8 - Mark King - Mark King of course makes it on to the list, as one of the home nations champions, with his triumph coming in Belfast at the Northern Irish Open. However, this recent ranking victory was not the lone hand in getting him up to eight on the list as he also has a decent record in the German Masters for someone outside of the top 16. In the last four years he has reached the Last 16 on three occasions and has a good record in Germany generally. Though this event did not count, it is worth mentioning that he did reach the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany in 2015. Statistically, King fails to reach the top five in any of the categories used to build this list. 

7 - Stephen Maguire - When building this list I saw that Stephen Maguire has quite a useful record in previous stagings of the German Masters and it surprises me a little that he is as low as seven on the list. A year ago he reached the quarter-finals in Berlin, and was a semi-finalist in 2015. His best effort was way back in 2012 when he was on the wrong side of a close final with Ronnie O'Sullivan. In the events from this season that have built up this list, Maguire has disappointed somewhat, failing to get past the Last 32 in any of them. Statistically he picks himself up though, coming fourth for average aggregate in the field this week and joint fifth for quarter-finals or better, since the start of the 2014/2015 season. All in all there is enough evidence to show that Maguire could have a run in Berlin this week. 

6 - Martin Gould - Just falling short of the top half in this weeks top ten is the defending champion Martin Gould. Much like Carter, there is very little else to have pushed him along else he could be in the top three. However, he is higher on the list than Carter as a more recent winner. In Gould's defence also is a small Last 16 showing from the year before, but this season has not seen the returns for the Pinner Potter. In the five events from this season that were included in the building of this list, he did not play in two of them. As for the other three, he lost in the first round of two and only managed a Last 32 place in the other. Finally, there was nothing else to add for Gould on the stats front as he was nowhere near the top five on any of the lists. 

5 - Neil Robertson - Sneaking into the top half this week is Neil Robertson. The thunder from down under may have failed to qualify for the Tempodrom a year ago but did reach the semi-finals in 2013. In 2015 he made the quarter-finals and narrowly missed out on another semi-final place. As for this season, he was a semi-finalist at the European Masters, and it may have been slightly clinical of me not to count the other European event, the Riga Masters in Latvia, where Robertson walked away with the trophy and a decent winners cheque. The stats also help to pick the Australian up. In the average frames per 50+ list he is joint second, and finished joint third on the quarter-finals or better list. As well as that he crept into the top five on the average aggregate list and in the end just fell short of a higher finish in this weeks top ten. 

4 - Barry Hawkins - The man that denied Robertson getting any higher was Barry Hawkins. The German Masters record of Hawkins could be better, in the last five years in Berlin he has left after the Last 32 stages, though he did make the Last 16 a year ago and a much more impressive semi-final in 2013. It is on the home nations where Hawkins has showed most of his form this season, making the semi-finals of the English Open and losing out in a tight final of the Northern Irish Open. Statistically, Hawkins is fairly good across the board. On the average aggregate list he finishes second from this weeks field which is a very good showing, as is a fifth place finish on the average frames per 50+ list. 

3 - Marco Fu -  Marco Fu has been one of the form men of the last month and his recent efforts have done enough for him to grab a podium spot on this weeks list. His German Masters record is poor aside from 2013 when he reached the final. In the other four years from 2012-2016 he did not pass the Last 32 and failed to qualify on two occasions. The obvious reason that he is up in third on the list is because of his win at the Scottish Open in December, and that win when put together with his Masters and UK semi-finals led to some big gains in the stats lists. He is top of the shop for average break when above 50, and second for frames per 50+ break showing that his scoring has been as good as it could be. It is not just here where he has excelled, coming in fifth place for this weeks field in the ever changing close frames win percentage list. Finally, a joint fifth place in the quarter-finals or better list is not bad for someone who did not pass the Last 32 in a ranking event this season until the UK Championships. 

2 - Ronnie O'Sullivan - Once again in the top two of a tournament top ten is Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan is another one of the Berlin champions, winning his title here way back in 2012. However, he did not qualify in 2014 and 2016, not entering in 2013 though in 2015 he lost out in a narrow quarter-final with Shaun Murphy. His recent Masters triumph does not count to the list directly, though it did have an influence on the stats list. However, the run O'Sullivan made to the European Masters final gives him a further boost. As I have already mentioned, the numbers are good for the five time World Champion. He is top of the class for average frames per 50+ break, and comes in second just behind Fu for average break when above 50. Add to that a third place standing on the average frame aggregate list and joint fifth for quarter-finals or better (given the amount of events he did not enter before this season) and O'Sullivan is in strong form coming to the Tempodrom.  

1 - Mark Selby - Once again, this weeks table topper is the World Champion and world number one Mark Selby. The factors that have contributed to that this week are a couple of titles in Germany. The first was at this event in 2015, while the other was in this seasons Paul Hunter Classic. In 2012 and 2013 Selby was a quarter-finalist in Berlin but could not push on any further, which is a similar story to the European Masters in October when he fell in the semi-finals, which was still another good showing. In the home nations series, Selby has actually skipped two of the events so there is nothing to add from those but statistically he, like O'Sullivan and Fu, has been a powerhouse coming into the week. He leads the average aggregate standings as well as joint leading the quarter-finals or better list with Stuart Bingham. In addition to that are fourth place standings on the close frames win percentage list, which is no surprise at all, and the frames per 50+ break list. Despite falling in the quarter-finals of the Masters, Selby is clearly in very strong form and could be the champion again this week. 

That's all from this week's Statistical preview ahead of the German Masters, but do not forget that my full preview of the tournament will be up tomorrow so look out for that, and enjoy the proceedings to come starting on Wednesday. 

Fantasy Snooker Update: German Masters

Time for another big Fantasy Snooker Update. First off all of the points from the double points Masters event have been added and there have been a few changes in the table, despite most players picking tournament winner Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Next up in the calendar is the German Masters with the deadline for picks being before the first set of Last 32 games on Wednesday. Following that will be the World Grand Prix that starts the day after the German Masters, therefore there will not be an updated table before that tournament so send me picks as and when the draw is finalised throughout the week. I will attempt to bring out the update for German Masters points prior to the Welsh Open, as this follows straight on from the Grand Prix and again the Grand Prix cannot be updated prior to Cardiff.

Phew!! Now that we have got those details out of the way, here is how the points look and an update of which players you have picked, keeping in mind that you can only pick any player three times throughout the season:

1^st: Anthony: Selby x2, Ding x2, Robertson, Hawkins x2, O’Sullivan x2, Trump, Higgins x2, Maguire, Allen, Bingham x2, Wenbo, M. Williams, Fu, Walden 747

2^nd: Gary: Ding, Bingham, Murphy, Trump x2, Allen x2, Robertson, Higgins x2, Selby x3, Fu, O’Sullivan x2, Wenbo, McGill, Hawkins, Perry 685

3^rd: Daniela Reich: Ding, Selby, Robertson x2, Trump, O’Sullivan x3, Allen x2, Gould, Walden x2, Bingham x2, Murphy, Wenbo, Higgins, M. Williams, Fu 610

4^th: Isitan Bakar: Bingham x2, Maguire x3, Allen x3, Trump x2, Higgins x2, Robertson, Selby x2, Perry, O’Sullivan x2, Carter, Murphy 593

5^th: Igor: Murphy x2, Carter, Selby x2, Trump x2, Higgins x2, Ding x3, Robertson, Bingham x2, McGill, Maguire, Hawkins, O’Sullivan x2 592

6^th: M. Lowson: Murphy x2, Carter, Robertson, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Ding, McGill, O’Sullivan x3, Allen, Bingham, Trump x2, Wenbo, Perry, K. Wilson 570

7^th: Kellie: Selby x2, Wilson, Trump x2, O’Sullivan x2, Robertson, Bingham x2, McGill, Walden, Murphy, Higgins x2, Wenbo, Gould, Allen x2, Maguire 566

8^th: FAM147: Bingham x2, Perry, Robertson x2, Allen x2, Higgins, Wilson, Walden x2, Gilbert, Trump, Carter, Maguire, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, Hawkins 564

9^th: Andrew Walker: Allen x2, Trump x3, Robertson x3, Selby x2, Bingham x2, Ding x2, O’Sullivan x2, Fu, Higgins x2 491

10^th: John McBride: Selby x2, Trump x2, Robertson x3, Maguire x2, Murphy, Higgins, Bingham, O’Sullivan, Allen x2, Hawkins, McGill x2 438

11^th: P. Mudd: Ding, Trump x2, Holt, McGill, Higgins, Gould, Robertson, O’Sullivan x2, Murphy, 

Bingham x2, Allen, Perry, K. Wilson, Wenbo, M. Williams, Selby, Fu 434

12^th: Mark Taylor: Robertson x2, Bingham, Holt, Carter, O’Sullivan, Selby x3, Maguire x2, Trump x2, Murphy, Ding x2, Allen, Higgins x2, Hawkins 432

13^th: Gorkem: O’Sullivan x3, Selby, Hawkins x2, Murphy x2, Ding, M. White, Robertson, Allen x2, Trump, Selt, Wenbo, K. Wilson, Higgins 412

14^th: SnookerFollower: Bingham, Ding x2, Carter, Holt, Allen x2, Higgins x2, McGill, Maguire, Trump, O’Sullivan, Wenbo x2, Hawkins, Murphy, K. Wilson, Selby 411

15^th: LTD: Wilson, Selby x2, Hawkins x3, Walden, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Murphy x2, Bingham x2, Perry, O’Sullivan x2, Wenbo, M. White 399 

16^th: Couge: Carter, Holt, Murphy, Selby x2 Robertson x2, Higgins x2, Trump x2, Ding x2, O’Sullivan x2, Maguire, Hamilton, Bingham x2 Brecel 388

17^th: TungstenDarts: Perry, Bingham x2, Carter, Trump x2, Allen, Wilson, Higgins x2, Wenbo x2, Gould, Maguire, O’Sullivan, Holt, Hull, Selby 384

18^th: Ezgi Ulutas: Wilson, Robertson x2, McGill, Higgins x2, Fu x2, Wenbo x2, Allen x2, Trump, O’Sullivan x2, Selby 372

19^th: Kjetil: Wenbo, Bingham x2, Murphy, Bingtao x2, Allen, Ding, Hang, Trump, O’Sullivan, Maflin, Hawkins x2, M. Williams, Selby, Robertson 352

20^th: Andrew Brooker: Wilson, Maguire x2, Murphy x2, Carter, Allen x2, Ding, McGill, Bingham x2, Trump, O’Sullivan x2, Perry, Robertson, Walden, Hawkins, Selby 350

21^st: TYIO: Gould, Bingham x2, Carter x2, Walden, Higgins, Trump x3, Maguire, Ding x2, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Robertson, Selby 305

22^nd: Munraj Pal: Ding x2, Trump x2, Murphy x2, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Wilson, McGill x2, Walden, Fu, Selby x2, O’Sullivan x2, K. Wilson 299

So that's the update on the table, don't forget to send me your picks for the German Masters, and then the World Grand Prix as and when the draw is available. 

The Masters: BIG TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

It's January. Christmas is over. We all feel a bit gloomy because the weather is rubbish and we're all skint. Which is why snookers second biggest event is the perfect New Year pick me up. Masters week is in my top three or four weeks on the whole calendar. It's brilliant to see the 16 best players in the game of snooker battle away for the prize.

The one table set-up means we can watch every single game, starting on Sunday afternoon at the Alexandra Palace which is one of the best venues in sport in my opinion. The world number one Darts player Michael Van Gerwen was triumphant at this venue two weeks ago in the World Darts Championship. If snooker's world number one Mark Selby is crowned the Masters champion at the Palace over the next week he will hold all of snookers three triple crown events as the reigning UK and World Champion when he arrives here.

Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan will certainly have something to say about that as he searches for his first title this season, having been beaten by Selby in the UK final. John Higgins meanwhile has already won two 16 men invitationals this season at the China Championship and Champion of Champions while there are a host of other big contenders for the title.

This is how the draw shapes up for the next 8 days:

Quarter 1 

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Liang Wenbo (Sunday 15th January at 1pm) - When it comes to the Masters Ronnie O'Sullivan is the man. Six times a champion he has had as much success here as anyone else. This season so far he has played a lot of tournaments, and despite coming close at the UK Championships, Champion of Champions and European Masters, he is yet to pick up a trophy. A year ago he blew everyone away and cruised to the title and did similar in 2014 so you would certainly not be surprised if he did that here. Liang Wenbo provides first round opposition to the Rocket and he comes back here now as a ranking event winner. A year ago he qualified after reaching the UK final, and now having won the English Open he is nicely into the top 16. He appears to relish the big occasion and will thrive on playing O'Sullivan, though taking him on in front of his own crowd will not be an easy task. Last year playing John Higgins he played very well but faded away towards the end as Higgins found another gear and the same could very much happen in this match. I expect O'Sullivan to be on it here and if he is he could play Neil Robertson in round two. A tough ask on paper but after winning seven straight frames to take the Welsh Open final against Robertson, and then beating him 6-0 in the European Masters semi-final last year as well he has 13 frames in a row against Robertson and somewhat of a psychological edge. 

Prediction: O'Sullivan to start his defence with a 6-3 win. 

Neil Robertson Vs Ali Carter (Tuesday 17th January at 7pm) - This contest is an intriguing one after interesting seasons for these two players. Starting with Ali Carter he played brilliantly to win the World Open in July but that is a long time ago now with the amount of events played since then and his form in the lead up here is poor. In the UK Championships he will have been gutted to lose to David Gilbert considering some of the positions he put himself in, during that Last 32 clash. There have been a lot of Last 32 exits for Carter since Shanghai and now that he is back in the top 16 he would expect better. He also has quite a poor recent record against Neil Robertson having taken some real thrashings in their last few meetings which will give Robertson a lot of confidence coming in here. There has been equally as little for Robertson to cheer since an early season success in Riga. It seemed to me that Robertson lost his way in October. A 6-0 semi-final loss in Romania to Ronnie was followed by squandering a 3-0 lead against Xiao Guodong in the Last 32 in Manchester. Then he lost his cool in the International Championships against Joe Perry. That all came before first round exits in the China Championship and then again in his title defences of the Champion of Champions and UK Championships. For me this match will be closer than some of their previous meetings but given Robertson's edge on the head to head he will have the good memories to call upon and has very happy memories at the Alexandra Palace, with three finals in five years here, which still makes him one of the favourites for the title.

Prediction: Another Robertson victory, 6-4 this time. 

Quarter Choice: Ronnie O'Sullivan

Quarter 2

Judd Trump Vs Marco Fu (Tuesday 17th January at 1pm) - This is a very tough match to call on paper. Had this match been in November you would have chalked it up as a Trump win for sure. At this point he was flying having won the European Masters, made the final at the English Open and the semi's of the International Championship. By contrast Fu did not get past the Last 32 of a ranking event until the UK Championships where he made the semi-finals. Following that he played fantastic snooker, scoring very heavily to win the Scottish Open and he will be full of confidence coming back here to the Masters. Trump has played the better snooker so far this season and is more consistent than Fu who can blow very hot and cold (as we have seen this season). He will also want to right the wrongs of the Scottish Open when he blew a big lead in the semi-finals against John Higgins. There is a lot of pressure on Trump though who is always expected to do well in these triple crown events, but has not yet been to a Masters final and he did lose to Fu in the first round in 2014. If Trump gets through he has a tough route to winning this title but he is more than capable of blowing everyone away. Meanwhile for Fu, he will want to go one better than the 2016 World Championships where he got very close to Mark Selby in the semi-finals and then the UK Championships where he should have made the final. After watching him in Scotland you have to believe that Fu has a triple crown win in him if everything comes together. 

Prediction: Trump to edge a tight tussle 6-5

John Higgins Vs Mark Allen (Monday 16th January at 1pm) - Monday afternoon sees yet another big tournament meeting between Mark Allen and John Higgins. Higgins became the king of the invitationals in 2016 winning the China Championship and the Champion of Champions in consecutive weeks and grabbing £300,000 for his efforts. He thumped Allen in China and pounced at the first sign of weakness to beat Allen again in the UK Championships where he made the quarter-finals. Making the Scottish Open final and losing will have really hurt Higgins in front of his home crowd and losing the way he did (8 straight frames from 1-4 to 9-4) will fire him up, as he looks to banish those memories this week. Mark Allen does not seem like he is far away from winning a big one, but it also seems like this is something we have all been saying for a little while. In the two invitationals Higgins won, Allen was a semi-finalist and made the semi-finals at the Ally Pally two years ago after beating Higgins in round one. If Allen takes his opportunities and scores well in this match he has every chance, but if it gets tactical this is where Higgins has an edge on 99% of players. If Higgins and Trump were both to win in round one it would be their sixth meeting of the season. Trump won the first three over a shorter format, but Higgins took the last two over the best-of-11 at the Champion of Champions and then the Scottish Open when Higgins came from 5-1 behind. In fact Trump has only ever beaten Higgins once in a match of best-of-9 frames or longer. 

Prediction: Higgins to prove too good once more winning 6-4

Quarter Choice: John Higgins

Quarter 3

Stuart Bingham Vs Joe Perry (Monday 16th January at 7pm) - A shadow of doubt has already been cast on this match. Stuart Bingham has said he may withdraw from the event if his wife is likely to give birth during the match. If that were to happen Ricky Walden would come in as "first reverse". For now though Bingham has not withdrawn but even if he does play you have to wonder if his mind will be elsewhere. Form has been up and down this season for Bingham. Early exits in the Scottish Open and UK Championships saw the year end on a disappointing note. Prior to that though he had had three semi-finals (Shanghai Masters, English Open and International Championship) to start the season as well as making the China Championship final. If he is 100% committed to the event then you have to say he is threat, particularly in this quarter where there is no stand out favourite. Joe Perry has not had the best of seasons so far, and started 2017 with a poor showing in the Championship League. Perry has only gotten past the Last 32 in two ranking events this season, and lost in the first round of both November invitationals. For a player of Perry's class that is unexpected and certainly not the form you would expect of a top 16 player. If Bingham commits to the match and is playing well then you have to say that he is certainly the favourite and could be a man on a mission depending on how things go. 

Prediction: Bingham to dash for the winning line 6-3

Ding Junhui Vs Kyren Wilson (Sunday 15th January at 7pm) - This is a very interesting match up. I have already mentioned in the Stat Attack blog about Ding Junhui's recent Masters record of 0/5 in matches at the Alexandra Palace. That is something that can certainly get into a players mind even if they do not think it does. Shaun Murphy's record in the Champion of Champions at the Ricoh Arena is another example of this (Sorry Shaun!). You might think that a turnaround in form for Ding will make the difference, and after making the World final, the International final and winning the Shanghai Masters that could be the case. Although an early exit at the UK Championships and still picking and choosing his events quite a lot means that he has not played competitively since this exit. Kyren Wilson is a on his Masters debutant but as he showed at the Crucible last year I think he could really attack this and take his opportunity rather than becoming a rabbit in the headlights that many can do. It did not take the likes of Paul Hunter and Mark Selby long to succeed in the Masters and while I am not comparing him to them I was impressed by his performances in the World Championships which was his first since his breakthrough. Equally this quarter is the hardest to call for me. We know the uncertainty surrounding Stuart Bingham, Ding's recent record as I have said is poor to say the least and Joe Perry has very little form at all. Therefore, an opportunity could present itself here for Wilson and with a couple of semi-finals, a final and a Crucible quarter-final in 2016 he is continuing his progress and looks well equipped to take his opportunities. 

Prediction: Wilson to inflict more Masters misery on Ding 6-5

Quarter Choice: Kyren Wilson

Quarter 4

Shaun Murphy Vs Barry Hawkins (Wednesday 18th January at 7pm) - In the final quarter we come across the toughest match to call in the first round this year. Both players have played well at times this season and lost matches to players who have played very well against them. Hawkins was of course a Masters finalist last season, cementing that he is very much a top class player on his day. Murphy meanwhile broke his Masters duck in 2015 taking the title and showing that when he is knocking in the long balls and scoring heavily there is nothing anyone can do. Murphy has a very good record at the Palace and always seems to get up for this event and the World Championships more than any other. He will feel unlucky not to have gone on further in certain events this year, losing to a lot of players playing well and if he carries on working hard, his bad luck will surely run out soon. Hawkins has played well also making the final in Northern Ireland and the semi-finals in Manchester, and if he carries on striking the ball the way he is he will not end the season with his biggest win being Group 4 of the Championship League. The head to head is largely in Murphy's favour but a lot of their more recent meetings have gone to a deciding frame and it would be surprising with how evenly matched these two appear to be, if the match did not go close once again. Whoever comes through it will be a big contender to go on and win the whole thing this week, make no mistake about that. 

Prediction: Murphy to steal victory 6-5

Mark Selby Vs Mark Williams (Wednesday 18th January at 1pm) - The way Mark Selby is playing this season it is difficult to see anyone beating him at all. Having not played in Scotland or Belfast he has not lost a match since the Champion of Champions and not lost in a full ranking event since the English Open. His confidence must be sky high and it is not just his supreme safety that is winning him matches because he is scoring very heavily as well making him as tough to beat as guys like Higgins and O'Sullivan at their very best. Of course if Selby were to take the title he would be holding all of the Triple Crown events until he comes to defend his World title in April. Mark Williams is becoming somewhat of an odd player to predict, that is if you ever read his Twitter. He seems to have written himself off this season more times than Ronnie has threatened to retire in his whole career. However, while his form was a mixed back at the very start of the season he improved towards Christmas with quarter-finals at the Northern Irish Open and UK Championship. However, if he truly does not believe that he can compete at this very top level then he probably won't because the belief would not be there. I like to think he still has big performances in him and his record against Selby in recent meetings is a good one and he has a chance of beating the world's best. Selby is so tough to beat though and if he continues his strong form of scoring and safetyin what has been his most successful event throughout his career then it could be Masters title number 4 for the world number one.  

Prediction: Selby to march on 6-2

Quarter Choice: Mark Selby 

Tournament Winner Choice: Mark Selby 

I'll be back throughout the week with updates and to tell you how much I am loving the event. Don't forget you can watch on the BBC or Eurosport this week.

My Tournament Top Ten blog from earlier on is here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-masters-tournament-top-ten.html

While the Stat Attack can be viewed here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/stat-attack-masters.html

STAT ATTACK: The Masters

The Masters has arrived and in my excitement I have not forgotten to provide you with the all important numbers and facts ahead of the tournaments start. There are plenty of tournament relevant statistics but I will try and keep this specific to the last five years since the Masters moved to the Alexandra Palace. As well as that we will have head to heads for all of the eight first round matches, as well as my player performance statistics. All of these statistics will be fully up to date (though the Championship League behind closed doors snooker fest will not be included)

TOURNAMENT TRENDS: 

- Ding Junhui has never won a match at the Alexandra Palace, losing in the first round of the Masters in each of the last five years since winning the title in 2011.

- Kyren Wilson is this year's only Masters debutant and he will be the man attempting to make it a sixth year of Alexandra Palace misery for Ding Junhui.

- Until last year neither of Stuart Bingham or Barry Hawkins had gotten past the first round at the Masters. Hawkins went on to reach the final and Bingham the semi-finals as both lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

- World Champion Mark Selby has only ever lost twice in the first round of the Masters in nine appearances. On five of the seven occasions he has passed the Last 16 he has gone on to make the final and has never lost in a Masters semi-final.

- At least one of Neil Robertson, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby has been in the Masters final in the last five years.

- Neil Robertson has not lost in the first round of the Masters since 2010.

- In 22 appearances at the Masters, Ronnie O'Sullivan has made the final 11 times another extraordinary record.

- John Higgins has also made 22 Masters appearances, but in contrast to Ronnie he has lost in the first round on 11 occasions.

- Mark Selby has an incredible record in Masters deciding frames, having only lost one in 15 deciders. That one was in the first round in 2015 to Shaun Murphy.

- By contrast Mark Williams has only won three out of ten deciders in the Masters, while John Higgins is one out of five for Masters deciding frame wins.


HEAD TO HEAD: 

- Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Liang Wenbo the last time they met at this season's Shanghai Masters, though Liang did get his only victory over Ronnie in the time before that winning 6-4 in the 2013 International Championship

- Neil Robertson has won all of his last five major meetings against Ali Carter and recording some resounding victories amongst them. These include a 13-5 win at the 2015 World Championships, a 6-1 win in the 2015 Masters, a 4-0 win in the 2014 Champion of Champions and a 6-2 win in the the 2014 China Open.

- Judd Trump has won all of his last three matches against Marco Fu, though Fu's last win against Trump was a 6-5 victory at the 2014 Masters so there are good omens for the man from Hong Kong.

- The first round clash between John Higgins and Mark Allen will be their third meeting of the season. Higgins has won the previous two, 6-3 at the UK Championships and 9-3 at the China Championship. Allen did beat Higgins two years ago though in the 2015 Masters.

- Stuart Bingham has only won three out of eleven matches against Joe Perry in major competition. However, he did win their last meeting in the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix in 2016.

- Kyren Wilson won his last meeting against Ding Junhui 5-4 in the 2015 Shanghai Masters in the tournament that Wilson went on to win.

- Three of the last four major meetings between Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy have gone to deciding frames with Murphy winning two of those, though Hawkins has only beaten Murphy once in eight major meetings.

- Finally, Mark Williams has won four of his last five games against Mark Selby. Selby may have won the last one in the 2016 Welsh Open. Those victories include a win in the final of the 2013 Rotterdam Open as well as in the earlier stages of the 2013 Indian Open and the 2015 Players Championship Finals.


PLAYER PERFORMANCE: KEY INDICATORS: 

Average frame aggregate: 

Here we look at the average frame aggregate for each of the 16 players in this week's Masters. This stat takes average points conceded per frame from average points scored per frame. Given Mark Selby's stunning form so far this season it is no surprise to see him top. Ronnie O'Sullivan has been in three finals this season as well and scored brilliantly at the UK Championships as he comes just behind in second. Then comes Judd Trump who reached back to back finals in October winning one of them, while Barry Hawkins has been impressive in the home nations series. Marco Fu has sped up the list after his win at the Scottish Open. Ding Junhui and Stuart Bingham have dropped slightly after early exits in their last couple of tournaments. The list is quite bunched in the middle to lower sections with guys like Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Ali Carter, Mark Allen and Liang Wenbo who's form has all been a little bit patchy which for some of those players is still a bit harsh. Joe Perry is a way adrift at the bottom after some poor performances and early exits for him in the first half of the season.

Average frames per 50+ break: 

Next up is the average frames per 50 break made for each player. Given what I have already said about O'Sullivan's scoring you would expect him to be at the top for scoring frequency and so it has proved. Neil Robertson has been near the top all season long, while Marco Fu has climbed up following his big break bonanza in the Scottish Open. It is then bunched between frequent scorers Selby, Trump, Ding and Murphy while I would've thought that Higgins would have been at less than 2.5 given the fact that he has two tournament wins and one final this season. Mark Allen has slowed down after scrappier performances in the Scottish Open yielded less big breaks, while Bingham has also slipped down after a couple of recent early exits. Joe Perry once again is at the bottom of the list averaging effectively only 2 50+ breaks in a full best-of 7. However he is not as far behind the next best as he was for frame aggregate with Ali Carter just 0.03 ahead of him as his scoring has been infrequent throughout the entire season, including his World Open win.

Average break when 50 or above: 

We've looked at scoring frequency but now it is time to look at scoring weight with the average break when above 50 list. Again O'Sullivan is the chart topper amongst this weeks field. His array of centuries and big breaks in recent tournaments have helped him to the top here. Marco Fu made 11 centuries in winning the Scottish Open which will be the main reason that his average 50+ contribution is 81.88. Judd Trump was scoring very heavily in October at the European Masters, English Open and International Championship. Mark Allen was a weighty scorer in the UK Championships securing his first professional maximum. Then the table bunches a lot between Stuart Bingham, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy and Liang Wenbo before a small drop to Mark Selby. Joe Perry and Ali Carter are higher on this list, when Perry did score in the World Open at the start of the season for example he was scoring incredibly heavily. It is very much unlike Neil Robertson to not be higher up this list given the amount of centuries that he is famous for making. Barry Hawkins is bottom of the pile which is again a little unusual for him, given that he is 9 points off of the pace set by O'Sullivan and still five points behind mid table Selby.

Close Frames win Percentage: 

Now that the scoring has been dealt with it is time to see how the people winning the close frames differs with this. Liang Wenbo is top of the pile here with a percentage of above 70 which is very impressive at this stage of the season when the average mark for the rest of the top 16 seems to be around 55. Marco Fu has jumped on this list as well following an 80% hit rate of close frames in the Scottish Open showing that he was in tune on all fronts. You would always expect Mark Selby to be within the top two or three on this list and it would surprise me if he was not still here when we look at the top 16 before the World Championships in April. Kyren Wilson has shown similar stickability and ability to tough out the close frames to Selby and his fifth place finish here warrants such praise. Then we reach the bunched period of the table with experienced heads Neil Robertson, Joe Perry, Mark Williams and John Higgins all sat around a healthy 58%. There is quite a drop then to some of the more streaky players like Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan, while Barry Hawkins can also be quite an aggressive player which may explain this. To see Ali Carter at less than 50% was a big surprise here given what we saw with his scoring stats and the fact that he always comes across to me as a very defensive player. The attacking Mark Allen is tied on 46.88% with Ding Junhui but there is then an almighty 5.86% drop to where we find Shaun Murphy. Murphy averages only 2/5 for close frames with less than 20 points difference between the scores and is over 30% behind Liang at the top. However, as arguably the most aggressive player in the game of snooker today, this percentage presents what happens when the risks don't come off, while an average break of 80.11 when above 50 is evidence of what happens when they do.


Those are the stats ahead of this week then, but don't forget that my Tournament Top Ten blog is already available:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-masters-tournament-top-ten.html

Watch out for my big tournament preview which will be up tomorrow morning.

The Masters: Tournament Top Ten

It's been a while since I have put up a blog, what with the Masters being the first proper event since the Scottish Open which started about a month ago now. The Masters for me is the second biggest event on the calendar and for it I will be on full form with my coverage starting here with my tournament top ten.

To generate the list this week I looked at the last five Masters events (From 2012-2016 with 2012 being the first held at the Alexandra Palace), this seasons China Championship which was also a 16-man invitational, the Champion of Champions from November, the International Championship and UK Championship from this season so far. That is also along with my statistics looking at the average frame aggregate, average frames per 50+ break, average break when 50 or above and the close frames win percentage.

With all that in mind here is how the top ten looks for this weeks Masters:

10- Barry Hawkins - Starting us of in the top ten is last year's runner-up Barry Hawkins. Prior to last year he had never won a match at the Masters which is the reason he is so low on the list. As well as this he did not qualify for the China Championship or Champion of Champions and went out early in the UK Championships and International Championships. Statistically Hawkins is fourth on the average aggregate list after some good performances in the home nations so far this season and this does make him a threat again this week in London.

9- Mark Allen - Next up is Mark Allen. Allen was a quarter-finalist last year, following a semi-final the season before. Otherwise he has only reached one quarter-final in thee previous three years at the Alexandra Palace. In the back to back invitationals at the China Championship and Champion of Champions, Mark Allen was a semi-finalist in both and played well there. After a series of centuries in the UK Championship, Allen has reached fourth on the list of average break when above 50 list which has put him a fair way clear of Hawkins.

8- Stuart Bingham - Just creeping ahead of Allen into eighth spot is Stuart Bingham. Bingham was like Hawkins having not passed round one until last year when he made the semi-finals. His form has been very good at times this year, as he reached the final of the China Championship and the semi-finals of the International Championship prior to that. A quarter-final at the Champion of Champions was also a decent effort after the short turnaround from the China Championship. Statistically, he is fourth in this weeks field for close frames win percentage and fifth in the list for average break when 50 or above.

7- Judd Trump - Judd Trump is lower than many people may expect on this weeks Tournament Top Ten. However, Trump lost in the first round of the Masters in both 2014 and 2015, whilst making the semi-finals in 2016 and 2012 but has yet to reach a Masters final. Despite making the semi-finals of the International Championship he was then knocked out in the first round of the China Championship and lost in the quarter-finals of the Champion of Champions. Following that an early Last 64 exit in the UK Championship really prevents him from getting higher on the list. Statistically, Trump features in the top five on three of the four statistics used to build the list this week. A fifth placed finish for frames per 50+ break is joined by third placed finishes on the average frame aggregate and average break when 50 or above.

6- Marco Fu - Finishing ahead of Trump is his first round opponent Marco Fu. Fu's recent win at the Scottish Open was not taken into account in this list otherwise he may have been well inside the top five. However, his quarter-finals at the 2014 and 2015 Masters are taken into account here as well as a quarter-final at the China Championship. His best performance that counts towards the list is his UK Championship semi-final where he narrowly missed out on making the final in York. As for the numbers, Fu can boast high finishes of third place on the average frames per 50+ break, and second on the average break when above 50 list after making a stack of centuries and other big breaks in Glasgow. He has not just been scoring well though as he also comes second in this weeks field for close frames win percentage.

5- Neil Robertson - Things really heat up as we jump to fifth place on the list and our first Masters champion that has made the list. Robertson was a winner at the Alexandra Palace in 2012, before returning to the final and falling short as a runner-up in 2013 and 2015. In 2014 and 2016 he still made the quarter-finals but has not been as impressive this year so far. Robertson fell in the first round of both November invitationals, including his defence of the Champion of Champions title. The disappointing defences did not end there as he lost in the Last 128 of the UK Championships before the TV cameras even arrived. On the stats lists he has slipped down to fifth now on the average aggregate list, but still comes in second for this weeks field on the average frames per 50+ break made.

4- Shaun Murphy - In fourth place, just missing out on the podium is Shaun Murphy. Murphy is another Alexandra Palace champion having won his Masters title in 2015. That came after falling short in the 2012 final and making the semi-finals in both 2013 and 2014. A first round exit last year did not really damage his position on the list as he still fell a way short of third place. This season has been topsy turvy for Murphy but he has had decent finishes in some of the invitational and longer format events in this campaign. He fell just short of making the China Championship final and lost another decider in the International Championship quarter-finals. Despite the token first round exit at the Champion of Champions in Coventry he went on to make the semi-finals of the UK Championship. Having seen all of the six players on the list so far make the top five in at least one of the four stats list used for this week, Murphy has fallen short on each one.

3- John Higgins - Taking the bronze position this week is this seasons invitational king John Higgins. The Scotsman was a winner at both the China Championship and Champion of Champions which have seen him rocket up the list. In recent years at the Masters Higgins has fallen short of his best, making a semi-final in 2012 but not getting past the quarter-finals in four years since. He came close to big runs in the International and UK Championships but fell just short losing in the quarter-finals of each. Given the fantastic form of Higgins this season it is a great surprise that he falls in Murphy's boat of not getting into the top five for this weeks field in any of the four stats list that helped to create the tournament top ten.

2- Mark Selby - Three times Masters champion, and the reigning World and UK Champion Mark Selby has just come up short of the top spot on this weeks list. Of his three Masters wins, only his 2013 triumph counted towards the list, though he did go on to make the final again in 2014. 2016 was a brilliant year for Selby and in the first half of this season he has won the UK and International Championships. In the two invitationals he fell in the quarter-finals of each to Mark Allen. Statistically, Selby features highly with a third placed finish on the close frames win percentage list and a fourth place showing on the average break when above 50 list. His best of the lot comes as he tops the average frame aggregate list for the season so far.

1- Ronnie O'Sullivan - Top of the shop ahead of this weeks Masters is Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan is the defending champion after cruising to victory a year ago, and was also a comfortable winner in 2014. In 2015 he lost out in the semi-finals, whilst falling in the quarter-finals of the 2012 edition. 2013 was a non-entry for O'Sullivan at the Palace in his year out of the game. He was also an absentee from this years China Championship, pulling out a couple of weeks prior to the event. This allowed him to concentrate on the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship that followed where he was a runner-up on both occasions. Statistically, O'Sullivan has been pretty dominant this season up to now. On the average frame aggregate list he comes up just short of Mark Selby, but there was no-one that could beat him on either the average frames per 50+ break or the average break whenever he passes 50 as he leads the field in each.


The two obvious favourites are numbers one and two on the list this week but that does not mean that the statistics or the bookmakers will be right.

Don't forget to come back to the blog for the Stat Attack where the full list of each stat used for this week will be published and the full tournament preview ahead of the start of the first match on Sunday afternoon.

Fantasy Snooker: Masters Update

Time for the Fantasy Snooker update to start the build up for the Masters which begins on Sunday. This event is double points and given that it is only the elite involved this is a time where players will have to be careful and strategic with picks. Don't forget you can only pick the same player three times in the whole season.

Here is how the table stands after December's Scottish Open and who everybody has picked so far:

1^st: Anthony: Selby x2, Ding x2, Robertson, Hawkins x2, O’Sullivan, Trump, Higgins x2, Maguire, Allen, Bingham, Wenbo, M. Williams, Fu, Walden 663

2^nd: Gary: Ding, Bingham, Murphy, Trump x2, Allen x2, Robertson, Higgins x2, Selby x2, Fu, O’Sullivan, Wenbo, McGill, Hawkins, Perry 583

3^rd: Daniela Reich: Ding, Selby, Robertson x2, Trump, O’Sullivan x2, Allen x2, Gould, Walden x2, Bingham, Murphy, Wenbo, Higgins, M. Williams, Fu 526

4^th: Isitan Bakar: Bingham x2, Maguire x3, Allen x3, Trump x2, Higgins x2, Robertson, Selby x2, 

Perry, O’Sullivan, Carter 513

5^th: Igor: Murphy x2, Carter, Selby x2, Trump x2, Higgins x2, Ding x2, Robertson, Bingham x2, McGill, Maguire, Hawkins, O’Sullivan 494

6^th: Kellie: Selby x2, Wilson, Trump x2, O’Sullivan, Robertson, Bingham x2, McGill, Walden, Murphy, Higgins, Wenbo, Gould, Allen x2, Maguire 486

6^th: M. Lowson: Murphy x2, Carter, Robertson, Selby x2, Higgins x2, Ding, McGill, O’Sullivan x2, Allen, Bingham, Trump x2, Wenbo, Perry 486

8^th: FAM147: Bingham x2, Perry, Robertson x2, Allen x2, Higgins, Wilson, Walden x2, Gilbert, Trump, Carter, Maguire, Selby, O’Sullivan, Hawkins 462

9^th: Mark Taylor: Robertson x2, Bingham, Holt, Carter, O’Sullivan, Selby x2, Maguire x2, Trump x2, Murphy, Ding x2, Allen, Higgins, Hawkins 410

10^th: John McBride: Selby, Trump x2, Robertson x3, Maguire x2, Murphy, Higgins, Bingham, O’Sullivan, Allen, Hawkins, McGill x2 402

11^th: Andrew Walker: Allen x2, Trump x3, Robertson x3, Selby, Bingham x2, Ding x2, O’Sullivan, Fu, Higgins x2 389

12^th: SnookerFollower: Bingham, Ding x2, Carter, Holt, Allen x2, Higgins x2, McGill, Maguire, Trump, O’Sullivan, Wenbo x2, Hawkins, Murphy 385

13^th: TungstenDarts: Perry, Bingham x2, Carter, Trump x2, Allen, Wilson, Higgins, Wenbo x2, Gould, Maguire, O’Sullivan, Holt, Hull 362

14^th: P. Mudd: Ding, Trump x2, Holt, McGill, Higgins, Gould, Robertson, O’Sullivan x2, Murphy, Bingham x2, Allen, Perry, K. Wilson, Wenbo, M.Williams 360

15^th: LTD: Wilson, Selby x2, Hawkins x3, Walden, Allen x2, Robertson x2, Murphy, Bingham x2, Perry, O’Sullivan, Wenbo, M. White 319

16^th: Kjetil: Wenbo, Bingham x2, Murphy, Bingtao x2, Allen, Ding, Hang, Trump, O’Sullivan, Maflin, Hawkins x2, M. Williams 312

17^th: Couge: Carter, Holt, Murphy, Selby x2 Robertson x2, Higgins x2, Trump x2, Ding x2, O’Sullivan, Maguire, Hamilton, Bingham, Brecel 304

18^th: Gorkem: O’Sullivan x2, Selby, Hawkins, Murphy x2, Ding, M. White, Robertson, Allen x2, Trump, Selt, Wenbo, K.Wilson, Higgins 300

19^th: TYIO: Gould, Bingham x2, Carter x2, Walden, Higgins, Trump x2, Maguire, Ding x2, Murphy x3, Allen x2, Robertson 275

20^th: Ezgi Ulutas: Wilson, Robertson x2, McGill, Higgins x2, Fu x2, Wenbo x2, Allen x2, Trump, O’Sullivan 270

21^st: Munraj Pal: Ding x2, Trump x2, Murphy x2, Allen x2, Robertson, Wilson, McGill x2, Walden, Fu, Selby, O’Sullivan x2, K. Wilson 259

22^nd: Andrew Brooker: Wilson, Maguire x2, Murphy x2, Carter, Allen x2, Ding, McGill, Bingham x2, Trump, O’Sullivan, Perry, Robertson, Walden, Hawkins 248

The deadline for all picks for this DOUBLE POINTS EVENT is before the first match on SUNDAY 15TH JANUARY AT 1PM. 

So good luck to you all and happy picking!!!