Monday will see the start of the Welsh Open at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and whether you are betting on the event or just watching on TV or at the venue a good stat can always come in handy and I will have plenty in this blog for you. From the usual player performance indicators to some head to heads and statistics specific to the Welsh Open this blog will have everything you need. At the bottom of the post you will also find this weeks Tournament Top Ten.
Aside from the Performance indicators which I carry myself, many of the remaining stats will have been found using the wonderful cuetracker website.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT TRENDS:
- The last seven Welsh Open finals have had at least one of John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Ronnie O'Sullivan or Ding Junhui involved in them.
- In only two of the last five Welsh Opens has a Welsh player made it into the quarter-finals of his home event.
- Shaun Murphy has failed to go beyond the Last 32 of the Welsh Open since 2012.
- On the all-time list for most matches won in the Welsh Open, Ronnie O'Sullivan is top, with John Higgins just three wins behind him. Mark Williams is third, Mark Selby fifth, while Anthony Hamilton is seventh and Joe Perry eighth.
- Fergal O'Brien has won the most deciders in Welsh Open history with 13 from 20 played, while Matthew Stevens has 13 from 21.
- Kurt Maflin meanwhile has a 100% hit rate in Welsh Open deciding frames with five wins from five played. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh has three wins from three deciders in this tournament, as does Luca Brecel. Alex Borg is 6 wins from 7 in Welsh Open deciders while Michael Holt is 5 wins from 6.
- David Grace does not fair so well if it comes down to a final frame in this particular tournament, losing on all of the four occasions that he has been taken to a decider in the Welsh Open. Ricky Walden also has an unbelievably poor record with deciders in this competition having only won 2 from 11 played.
- Despite his record in deciders, Alex Borg has also been whitewashed in four matches in the Welsh Open. Tian Pengfei meanwhile has been whitewashed three times in Wales. Mark Davis and Jamie Cope have also been whitewashed four times in the Welsh Open but have also managed to whitewash an opponent.
Season Stats:
- Paul Davison has been whitewashed six times this season, without recording a whitewash victory of his own. Kurt Dunham, Fang Xiongman and Allan Taylor meanwhile have each been whitewashed five times in ranking competition. Noppon Saengkham has also been whitewashed five times but has managed to whitewash an opponent also.
- Yu De Lu has won the most deciders out of anyone to have a 100% success rate in deciders this season, being six from six. The same was true for Zhou Yuelong until he lost in a decider in the first round of this weeks World Grand Prix to Ali Carter.
HEAD TO HEADS (First Round Only)
- Both competitive ranking matches that Ronnie O'Sullivan has played against Tom Ford came in 2007, and were both won by O'Sullivan in deciding frames.
- Mark Davis has won all three of his competitive matches against Li Hang.
- Fergal O'Brien has won both of his previous matches against Cao Yupeng, both of which were best-of-7 frame affairs and saw Cao only win one frame between the two games.
- Joe Swail will meet Paul Davison in consecutive matches after playing Davison in China Open qualifiers. Davison won 5-3 for his first win over Swail in their fourth ranking match.
- In ranking competition, Marco Fu and Martin Gould have played six competitive matches prior to their first round meeting in Cardiff. They have each won three matches of those six, with three of those meetings being in the first round of the World Championships. Gould winning two of those.
- Lee Walker and Rhys Clark will meet for the third time in this years home nations series when they play in Cardiff. Clark came out on top against Walker in the Last 64 of the English Open 4-2, before Walker beat Clark in the Last 128 in the Northern Irish Open by the same scoreline.
- In ten meetings between Andrew Higginson and Judd Trump, Trump has won eight of them and all of the last seven a run the stretches back to 2011.
- Ali Carter will meet Zhao Xintong just a week and a half after their brilliant German Masters match which went all the way to a deciding frame.
- Barry Hawkins has played Fraser Patrick twice in ranking competition, winning both games 4-0 at the 2014 Welsh Open and this seasons Northern Irish Open.
- When Zhang Anda met Dominic Dale earlier in the season at the World Open, Zhang was the winner 5-1.
- Mitchell Mann has beaten Michael Holt in both of their previous meetings at the 2015 Ruhr Open and the qualifiers for this seasons Indian Open.
- When Liam Highfield plays Mark Selby in round one in Cardiff he will go in with the knowledge that he already has two wins against Selby, both 4-3 in the 2015 Gdynia Open and this seasons English Open.
PLAYER PERFORMANCE - KEY INDICATORS:
All of the statistics in this section are up to date as of the end of the German Masters, with the World Grand Prix still going on in Preston I felt it pointless to include that this week, but have now had time to add stats from the event in Berlin. This is after these were not included after the short turnaround coming into the World Grand Prix. Stats from the China Open qualifiers will not be added to player totals until the Pre-China Open blog in March.
Average frame aggregate:
This week's Top 10:
- Mark Selby = 20.41
- Barry Hawkins = 20.7
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 17.5
- Judd Trump = 17.45
- Neil Robertson = 15.69
- Stephen Maguire = 15.54
- John Higgins = 14.96
- Marco Fu = 14.29
- David Gilbert = 14.22
- Shaun Murphy = 13.2
This week's Bottom 10:
- Darryl Hill = -34.94
- David John = -30.87
- Sydney Wilson = -28.41
- Jason Weston = -28.21
- Christopher Keogan = -28.17
- Paul Davison = -27.81
- Kurt Dunham = -27
- Boonyarit Kaettikun = -26.25
- Cao Yupeng = -22.24
- Michael Wild = -21.31
Average frames per 50+ break:
This week's Top 10:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 2.16
- Neil Robertson = 2.28
- Marco Fu = 2.31
- Mark Selby = 2.37
- Judd Trump = 2.41
- Ding Junhui = 2.47
- Shaun Murphy = 2.54
- John Higgins = 2.56
- Barry Hawkins = 2.6
- Liang Wenbo = 2.72
This week's Bottom 10:
- Darryl Hill = 33
- Sydney Wilson = 19.75
- Jason Weston = 18
- David John = 14
- Alex Borg = 13.43
- Kurt Dunham = 11.71
- Elliot Slessor = 11.22
- Ken Doherty = 10.4
- Christopher Keogan = 10.11
- Ross Muir = 9.38
Average break when above 50:
This week's Top 10*:
- Marco Fu = 83.31
- Jak Jones = 82.88
- Judd Trump = 81.31
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 80.96
- Michael White = 80.86
- Stuart Bingham = 80.34
- Mark Allen = 80.12
- Stephen Maguire = 80.05
- John Higgins = 80.05
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh = 80
*Must have made over 10 50+ breaks
This week's Bottom 10*
- Dechawat Poomjaeng = 59.65
- Cao Yupeng = 60.64
- Gareth Allen = 62.38
- Zhang Yong = 62.76
- Oliver Lines = 62.93
- James Cahill = 63.26
- Nigel Bond = 63.69
- Adam Duffy = 63.92
- Paul Davison = 64.47
- Yu De Lu = 64.52
*Must have made over 10 50+ breaks
Close Frames Win Percentage:
This week's Top 10:
- Michael Georgiou = 78.26
- Yan Bingtao = 75.76
- John Astley = 74.07
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh = 70.59
- Marco Fu = 69.44
- Liang Wenbo = 67.57
- Mark Selby = 66.07
- Peter Ebdon = 65
- Christopher Keogan = 64.71
- Kurt Maflin = 64.71
This week's Bottom 10:
- Fang Xiongman = 15.38
- Thor Chuan Leong = 18.75
- Robbie Williams = 20
- Alex Borg = 21.05
- Jamie Cope = 23,08
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri = 27.78
- Cao Yupeng = 29.41
- Tian Pengfei = 30
- Elliot Slessor = 30.77
- Jamie Barrett = 30.77
TOURNAMENT TOP TEN:
This weeks Top Ten has been built using results from the last four editions of the Welsh Open, the three home nations events that have already been played this season along with the German Masters that concluded just a week ago. Along with this, the performance indicator statistics mentioned above also have their small say in things. With all of those components in mind, these are who the numbers say should be the top contenders in Cardiff:
10 - Neil Robertson - Only just sneaking on to this week's list is last years runner-up Neil Robertson. Robertson may have made it to the final last year at the Welsh Open, but earlier exits in the three years previous stop him from moving any further up the list. He also exited in the first round at the venue in Berlin and in the Last 32 stages of the English Open, while a Last 16 in Scotland helps him a small amount. Statistically, Robertson is fifth for average aggregate and second on the frames per 50+ list which allow him to get on to this list ahead of the likes of Mark King who only just missed out.
9 - Mark Selby - Again Mark Selby is lower this week than we would usually expect to see him. The home nations has not seen much of Selby given that he did not enter Scotland or Northern Ireland and in Manchester he lost in just the second round. In the last four years of the Welsh Open he has not managed better than a couple of quarter-finals which, while being decent, will not get him any higher on the list than ninth. Statistically, he is top for average frame aggregate and fourth for frames per 50+ break amongst the full 128 field for this week in Cardiff.
8 - Liang Wenbo - Liang Wenbo was the first home nations event champion of the season as he took the title at the English Open in Manchester, and that is the main reason that he makes it into the top ten for this week. Aside from that, he made the last eight at the Scottish Open, and would have been much higher up on the list had he have gotten past the Last 32 of the Welsh Open on more than just the one occasion in the last four stagings. On the performance indicator lists, Liang failed to break the top five on any of them, not furthering his position in this list.
7 - Anthony Hamilton - Seventh on the list is another first time ranking winner from this season, in German Masters champion Anthony Hamilton. Hamilton has also had some good runs in the home nations series, making the quarter-finals of the English Open and the semi-finals of the Northern Irish Open. His recent record in the Welsh Open matches the fact that, until this season, Hamilton had been sliding down the rankings.
6 - Stuart Bingham - Sixth on the list is a runner-up from the 2013 Welsh Open as Stuart Bingham joins the list. Bingham made the semi-finals in Manchester, as well as the recent German Masters. Bingham has reached a couple of Last 16's in Wales since that final in 2013 but that is only enough to give him a small nudge up the list, as is the fact that Bingham is second on the tour for quarter-finals or better since the start of the 2014/2015 season.
5 - Barry Hawkins - Into the top half of the list, and that is where we find form man Barry Hawkins. Hawkins is in the World Grand Prix which takes place on the day of publication and is not included in this list. However, he has had a final this season, finishing runner-up in Belfast, whilst also making the semi-finals in Manchester and the Last 16 in Glasgow. In the recent German Masters, Hawkins made the quarter-finals and this consistent run of results is certainly enough to put him in the top five this week. Showing his consistency, Hawkins is second on the tour for average frame aggregate this season.
4 - Marco Fu - Just ahead of Hawkins in fourth place is Scottish Open winner Marco Fu. Fu made the semi-finals in the recent World Grand Prix though this does not count towards this weeks list, else he would be a spot or two higher. In recent Welsh Open's he has a couple of quarter-finals in 2014 and 2015 but has not been able to go on any further in the last four stagings. Statistically, Fu is top of the shop for average break when above 50, third for average frames per 50+ as well as being fifth on the list of close frames win percentage which is quite an effort.
3 - Judd Trump - Trump makes it into the top three on this weeks list mainly thanks to his performances in the home nations series this season. He may have pulled out of Northern Ireland, but a semi-finalist in Scotland and runner-up in the English really boosts his standing. In the last four years of the Welsh Open, Judd Trump has lost in the Last 16 in each of the last three after reaching the semi-finals in 2013. The numbers really help to pick Trump up though additionally. The left hander tops the shop for quarter-finals since the start of the 2014/2015 season, lies third on the list of average break when above 50, fourth for average frame aggregate and fifth for average frames per 50+ break.
2 - John Higgins - Coming close to the top of this weeks Top Ten but not close enough is 2015 Welsh Open champion John Higgins. This was one of the most influential factors in is standing, along with making the final of December's Scottish Open. He was a quarter-finalist in Wales in 2014, and in this season's English Open which also help to forward his case on this weeks list, despite poorer form at the start of 2017. On the performance indicators, the only top five that the Scotsman can boast is a joint second place standing in the quarter-finals or better list.
1 - Ronnie O'Sullivan - Naturally, it is Ronnie O'Sullivan who is once again top of the Tournament Top Ten this week. O'Sullivan is the defending champion in Wales, but he also won the title in it's last Newport staging in 2014. In this season's home nations his best has been a quarter-final at the Scottish Open. However, it is the performance indicator stats where the Rocket also stands out. He is number one for average frames per 50+ break, third for average frame aggregate and fourth for average break when above 50. Given his two recent Welsh Open triumphs, something no-one else could bring to the table, it is no wonder that O'Sullivan leads the top ten for the Welsh Open.
That is all from this weeks Statistics blog, but my full preview with my tournament thoughts and opinions, plus some other bits of information you need will be up very soon.
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