CHINA OPEN: GENERAL TRENDS
- Two of the last five China Open tournaments have seen a non-top 16 player make the final. Peter Ebdon was outside of the top 16 when he won back in 2012, while Gary Wilson made the final in 2015. Equally, Kurt Maflin made the semi-finals in 2015 and Mike Dunn got as far in 2014 with both being well outside of the top 16.
- Since the 2012 China Open final went the distance, the finale to the tournaments have been fairly one sided, with the closest being 10-6 between Selby and Robertson in 2013.
- At least one wildcard player has progressed in each of the last five China Opens, with the last three having four wildcard players in the tournament, down from the eight that were previously allowed. One has already progressed to the Last 64 due to the withdrawal of Robbie Williams, meaning only three wildcard matches will have to be played this year.
- As defending champion in 2014 Neil Robertson made it all the way to the final, while Ding Junhui made the semi-finals in 2015 as defending champion. A good recent record for defending champions in Beijing then, with Selby not entering in 2016 as defending champion, while Judd Trump will defend his title this week.
- The last maximum 147 break in the final stages of the China Open came all the way back in 2010, when Neil Robertson completed snooker perfection.
- Judd Trump leads the way for win percentage on the tour this year winning 79.49% of all matches he has played. Ronnie O'Sullivan is second on the list while John Higgins is third.
- Judd Trump also tops the century list with 63 centuries. John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the next best of those playing this week, both having made 42 centuries this week. Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby both have 40.
- Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump have lost to eventual tournament winners the most out of anyone this season. Both have suffered the fate on five occasions, though given the amount of finals and semi-finals they have made between them this is no surprise. Shaun Murphy and John Higgins have lost to the eventual winner of four ranking events this season, while Kyren Wilson is amongst those who have lost to the eventual winner of a ranking event on three occasions this season.
- Since the 2012 China Open final went the distance, the finale to the tournaments have been fairly one sided, with the closest being 10-6 between Selby and Robertson in 2013.
- At least one wildcard player has progressed in each of the last five China Opens, with the last three having four wildcard players in the tournament, down from the eight that were previously allowed. One has already progressed to the Last 64 due to the withdrawal of Robbie Williams, meaning only three wildcard matches will have to be played this year.
- As defending champion in 2014 Neil Robertson made it all the way to the final, while Ding Junhui made the semi-finals in 2015 as defending champion. A good recent record for defending champions in Beijing then, with Selby not entering in 2016 as defending champion, while Judd Trump will defend his title this week.
- The last maximum 147 break in the final stages of the China Open came all the way back in 2010, when Neil Robertson completed snooker perfection.
- Judd Trump leads the way for win percentage on the tour this year winning 79.49% of all matches he has played. Ronnie O'Sullivan is second on the list while John Higgins is third.
- Judd Trump also tops the century list with 63 centuries. John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the next best of those playing this week, both having made 42 centuries this week. Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby both have 40.
- Stuart Bingham and Judd Trump have lost to eventual tournament winners the most out of anyone this season. Both have suffered the fate on five occasions, though given the amount of finals and semi-finals they have made between them this is no surprise. Shaun Murphy and John Higgins have lost to the eventual winner of four ranking events this season, while Kyren Wilson is amongst those who have lost to the eventual winner of a ranking event on three occasions this season.
HEAD TO HEADS:
- When Tian Pengfei plays Shoot-Out winner Anthony McGill in round one he will go in having won three of their previous four meetings. Not something you would expect given the direction there careers have headed since their last meeting during the 2013 German Masters.
- Mike Dunn has the same three out of four going into his Last 64 clash with Andy Hicks, but they have not met since way back in 2010.
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri will be looking to get one back on Joe Perry when they meet in the Last 64. The pair have played twice so far this season and Perry has won both times, 4-0 in the Scottish Open and 5-3 in qualifying for the World Open.
- Rhys Clark and Mark Davis also met at this stage of last years China Open. Clark won the match 5-4, though Davis got his revenge in World Open qualifying by beating him 5-0.
- The last time Scott Donaldson met Stuart Bingham he was a 4-3 winner, back during qualifiers for the 2016 European Masters. However, in three meetings prior to that Donaldson only managed a single frame, losing 14 in the process.
- Going into the first round here, Kyren Wilson has won each of his last four games against Xiao Guodong, including two games this season in German Masters qualifying, and from 3-0 behind at the Indian Open.
- Mark Joyce has beaten Fraser Patrick in all four of their previous meetings, all of which were in Chinese tournaments, but never at the main venue with all of them being in qualifying stages.
- Ahead of their Last 64 meeting in China, Stephen Maguire has beaten Fergal O'Brien in all seven of their previous matches. Two of those were this season at the UK Championships and Scottish Open. One of these meetings came at the 2008 China Open, when Maguire went on to win the entire tournament.
- Andrew Higginson meanwhile, has won each of his last three meetings against David Gilbert coming into this tournament.
- Mike Dunn has the same three out of four going into his Last 64 clash with Andy Hicks, but they have not met since way back in 2010.
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri will be looking to get one back on Joe Perry when they meet in the Last 64. The pair have played twice so far this season and Perry has won both times, 4-0 in the Scottish Open and 5-3 in qualifying for the World Open.
- Rhys Clark and Mark Davis also met at this stage of last years China Open. Clark won the match 5-4, though Davis got his revenge in World Open qualifying by beating him 5-0.
- The last time Scott Donaldson met Stuart Bingham he was a 4-3 winner, back during qualifiers for the 2016 European Masters. However, in three meetings prior to that Donaldson only managed a single frame, losing 14 in the process.
- Going into the first round here, Kyren Wilson has won each of his last four games against Xiao Guodong, including two games this season in German Masters qualifying, and from 3-0 behind at the Indian Open.
- Mark Joyce has beaten Fraser Patrick in all four of their previous meetings, all of which were in Chinese tournaments, but never at the main venue with all of them being in qualifying stages.
- Ahead of their Last 64 meeting in China, Stephen Maguire has beaten Fergal O'Brien in all seven of their previous matches. Two of those were this season at the UK Championships and Scottish Open. One of these meetings came at the 2008 China Open, when Maguire went on to win the entire tournament.
- Andrew Higginson meanwhile, has won each of his last three meetings against David Gilbert coming into this tournament.
PLAYER PERFORMANCE: KEY INDICATORS:
(The following statistics exclude the Snooker Shoot-Out and the Championship League)
(The following statistics exclude the Snooker Shoot-Out and the Championship League)
Average frame aggregate:
This week's Top 10:
- Judd Trump = 19.24
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 16.59
- Mark Selby = 16.26
- Shaun Murphy = 14.4
- Stephen Maguire = 14.05
- John Higgins = 13.46
- David Gilbert = 12.16
- Stuart Carrington = 11.55
- Ding Junhui = 11.33
- Stuart Bingham = 11.17
This weeks statistical analysis begins with the leaders in average frame aggregate, which is average points conceded per frame taken off the average points scored per frame of a player.
Therefore, it is no surprise to see the season's form man at the very top of the list. Judd Trump has won the Players Championship and made the finals of Gibraltar and the Welsh Open in the last month, which coupled with his form from October leaves his stats looking very healthy. O'Sullivan and Selby have been at the top end of this list all season long given some of their success, though poorer form recently has seen their numbers drop. Shaun Murphy has shot up the list after winning the Gibraltar Open. Maguire is one of the surprise men as he has slipped down the rankings at a rather rapid rate despite what his stats suggest. It is also a surprise to see someone in the "mid table" of the rankings like Stuart Carrington coming in as high as eighth spot. Runs to the Welsh Open quarter-finals and the Shanghai Masters Last 16 will be the main reason for this.
Bingham, Higgins and Ding meanwhile have sustained similar numbers for much of the season.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Jason Weston = -25.99
- Paul Davison = -21.37
- Gareth Allen = -14.92
- Rhys Clark = -13.29
- Alex Borg = -11.84
- Allan Taylor = -11.11
- Fraser Patrick = -10.48
- Aditya Mehta = -9.64
- Eden Sharav = -8.5
- Sean O'Sullivan = -8.36
The bottom ten has much the same look as it has done all season. Jason Weston is rock bottom given all of his poor performances this season. Paul Davison is surprisingly low in my opinion, while Alex Borg has at least made a small climb in the second half of the season, as has Aditya Mehta following a slow start to this season.
The bottom ten has much the same look as it has done all season. Jason Weston is rock bottom given all of his poor performances this season. Paul Davison is surprisingly low in my opinion, while Alex Borg has at least made a small climb in the second half of the season, as has Aditya Mehta following a slow start to this season.
Average frames per 50+ break:
This week's Top 10:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 2.22
- Judd Trump = 2.37
- Mark Selby = 2.41
- Ding Junhui = 2.48
- Shaun Murphy = 2.58
- John Higgins = 2.68
- Liang Wenbo = 2.77
- David Gilbert = 2.77
- Stuart Bingham = 2.82
- Stuart Carrington = 2.82
Ronnie O'Sullivan is still top of the shop for average frames per 50+ break which is no surprise from the heavy scoring king. I fully expect that he will retain that place at the end of the World Championships in May. Again, Judd Trump has climbed up on this list after the fantastic month of snooker he has had. Ding Junhui and Mark Selby retain their fairly high positions, while Murphy has also made a move following Gibraltar.
Once again though, Stuart Carrington is in the top ten which surprised me just as much as the average aggregate situation. However, I have said for a while how much of a heavy scorer he is, and I would say he is one of the best outside of the top 32 in this regard. David Gilbert is another heavy and frequent scorer who retains his place in the top ten here as he pushes to be seeded at the World Championships.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is still top of the shop for average frames per 50+ break which is no surprise from the heavy scoring king. I fully expect that he will retain that place at the end of the World Championships in May. Again, Judd Trump has climbed up on this list after the fantastic month of snooker he has had. Ding Junhui and Mark Selby retain their fairly high positions, while Murphy has also made a move following Gibraltar.
Once again though, Stuart Carrington is in the top ten which surprised me just as much as the average aggregate situation. However, I have said for a while how much of a heavy scorer he is, and I would say he is one of the best outside of the top 32 in this regard. David Gilbert is another heavy and frequent scorer who retains his place in the top ten here as he pushes to be seeded at the World Championships.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Jason Weston = 16.8
- Ross Muir = 9.31
- Mike Dunn = 7
- Allan Taylor = 6.7
- Alex Borg = 6.53
- Paul Davison = 6.4
- Fraser Patrick = 6
- Rory McLeod = 5.8
- Eden Sharav = 5.48
- Martin O'Donnell = 5.46
Once again Jason Weston is bottom here, and of course he is only in China because his Last 128 match with Judd Trump was heldover. He is nearly twice as bad for 50+ break frequency to the next worst this week who is Ross Muir, which is surprising as he has had some good results lately including a 4-0 defeat of Marco Fu in the Welsh Open. Mike Dunn has not had the best of seasons and his standing in the one season money list is evidence of this. Rory McLeod has also struggled this season, while the remainder of the bottom ten have been there for much of the season in this list.
Average break when above 50:
This week's Top 10:
- Ronnie O'Sullivan = 81.53
- Judd Trump = 80.23
- Alfie Burden = 79.8
- John Higgins = 79.46
- Stuart Bingham = 79.38
- Shaun Murphy = 79.18
- Stephen Maguire = 79.17
- Liang Wenbo = 79.01
- Stuart Carrington = 78.83
- Joe Perry = 78.78
Once again O'Sullivan is top of the shop in the scoring weight as well as the the scoring frequency. Trump has made another climb after his month of brilliance on the baize. A run for Alfie Burden that got him to the quarter-finals of the Gibraltar Open has clearly helped his scoring weight stats as he climbs into the top three in this weeks field. Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham continue to look strong, as does Stephen Maguire who has been in a similar position ever since his Shanghai Masters run.
Once again, Stuart Carrington has impressed and is the only player outside of the top 16 to appear in the top ten in each of these three statistics. One to watch perhaps for this week, but certainly in World Championship qualifying.
Once again O'Sullivan is top of the shop in the scoring weight as well as the the scoring frequency. Trump has made another climb after his month of brilliance on the baize. A run for Alfie Burden that got him to the quarter-finals of the Gibraltar Open has clearly helped his scoring weight stats as he climbs into the top three in this weeks field. Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham continue to look strong, as does Stephen Maguire who has been in a similar position ever since his Shanghai Masters run.
Once again, Stuart Carrington has impressed and is the only player outside of the top 16 to appear in the top ten in each of these three statistics. One to watch perhaps for this week, but certainly in World Championship qualifying.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Paul Davison = 62.95
- Gareth Allen = 65.04
- Yu De Lu = 65.33
- Daniel Wells = 65.62
- Alex Borg = 65.76
- Ian Burns = 66.46
- Robert Milkins = 66.65
- Allan Taylor = 67.13
- Jamie Cope = 67.58
- Sanderson Lam = 68.24
Once again this list is looking very similar to how it has done for much of the season. Alex Borg seems to have made a slight climb, while Robert Milkins is still very low considering the heavy scoring that he is known for and a recent run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. I would have expected to see Yu De Lu and Daniel Wells a lot higher too, considering that they have had decent seasons.
Once again this list is looking very similar to how it has done for much of the season. Alex Borg seems to have made a slight climb, while Robert Milkins is still very low considering the heavy scoring that he is known for and a recent run to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. I would have expected to see Yu De Lu and Daniel Wells a lot higher too, considering that they have had decent seasons.
Close frame win percentage:
This week's Top 10:
- Mark Selby = 66.15%
- Kurt Maflin = 64.1%
- Liang Wenbo = 61.7%
- Alfie Burden = 61.54%
- Ricky Walden = 60.47%
- Stuart Bingham = 60.38%
- Joe Perry = 60%
- Graeme Dott = 59.09%
- John Higgins = 58%
- Alan McManus = 57.69%
The tactical genius of Mark Selby leads the way for the close frames statistic. Kurt Maflin is not far behind him, which may surprise some people given his attacking style of play. Liang Wenbo has been close to the top here for much of the season, while Alfie Burden is high up on another list. Spots 8, 9 and 10 though are of no shock with three hardened Scottish match players in Dott, Higgins and McManus making the list. This is to the credit of Dott and McManus who have not necessarily had the seasons that they would have hoped for.
This week's Bottom 10:
- Alex Borg = 27.27%
- Jimmy Robertson = 31.03%
- Hossein Vafei Ayouri = 32%
- Jamie Cope = 35.29%
- Rory McLeod = 36%
- Ian Burns = 37.5%
- Tian Pengfei = 37.5%
- Noppon Saengkham = 38.89%
- Ben Woollaston = 39.02%
- Xiao Guodong = 39.13%
The key here at the bottom is players that have struggled for results are struggling to get over the line in close frames. Jimmy Robertson has not lived up to expectations at times in the last year or so, though I am surprised to see Hossein Vafei this low because when he has played in tournaments he has been impressive. Jamie Cope and Rory McLeod have both struggled for results. Cope is a near certainty to fall off of the tour, while if you look at McLeod's rank on the one year list, he will have to play much better to avoid the same fate in a years time.
Tian Pengfei is also in the same boat as McLeod, with one or two events from last season saving them from being in a survival scrap, one of which will ironically be the 2015 Ruhr Open where they contested the final.
Those are the big facts and figures ahead of the start in Beijing, and hopefully that has offered an insight into how things may go next week.
Still to come in my China Open preview work is my full tournament preview with my pick to win the tournament. My Tournament Top Ten blog is already out and can be viewed here:
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/tournament-top-ten-china-open.html
http://cueactionsnookerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/tournament-top-ten-china-open.html
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