On April 16, 2022 Beijing time, the first round of the World Snooker Championship will officially begin, and China's highest-ranked player Zhao Xintong will play against Clark, who eliminated former world champion Dort in the qualifiers. "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan will compete with Champions League new champion David Gilbert to advance to the round of 16. In terms of probability, Clark and O'Sullivan have a high probability of advancing to the round of 16, after all, they are very experienced and confident. Zhao Xintong's defect is lack of experience and defensive ability, while Gilbert is mainly poor in psychological quality.
Zhao Xintong is likely to lose to Clark and be out of the cold
Although Zhao Xintong's performance this season is very eye-catching, he is still a bit naïve in terms of the long-term competitive performance. When facing young players, Zhao Xintong can gain the initiative by playing with his own daring style. However, when facing opponents who are truly experienced and can fight hard battles, Zhao Xintong's possession and defensive disadvantages will be presented, so he is obviously at a disadvantage when facing players like Clark. And now clark has beaten former world champion Dort to advance, which will be very helpful for his confidence growth. Therefore, from an objective point of view, Zhao Xintong's draw is not good, because the player clark he faces this time will be very difficult to deal with. Clarke has a clear advantage against players like Zhao Xintong, because his tactics and experience are very practical.
O'Sullivan has a high probability of beating Gilbert to advance
Although O'Sullivan's current competitive form is much worse than before, he still has a very big advantage against players outside the Big Three. In gilbert and O'Sullivan's last seven encounters, O'Sullivan has an absolute advantage with a record of seven wins and zero losses, including a 10-win game in 19 innings. When facing a player like Gilbert's, O'Sullivan has little pressure because he can put a lot of pressure on his opponents. Many players simply can't play their true strength, let alone Gilbert, who has lost seven consecutive games. So don't look at Gilbert's performance in the qualifiers is not bad, when facing a player like O'Sullivan, his glass heart will appear, because his heart can't carry such a high pressure game. What's more, O'Sullivan's current level of competition is not very bad.
O'Sullivan is expected to advance with Clark
In terms of probability, O'Sullivan and Clark are certainly the players who have a better chance of winning the game. Facing Zhao Xintong, Clark has already defeated Dort, so Zhao Xintong will not bring him any pressure, after all, Zhao Xintong's performance at the World Championships is not good. And after a really strong matchup, Clark has clearly improved his tactics and playing style, and he will know how to deal with strong opponents and how to deal with the next game. And O'Sullivan is also obviously superior to Gilbert when facing him, whether it is ball possession or actual combat ability, O'Sullivan is obviously better, not to mention Gilbert's psychological quality is not very good. So as long as O'Sullivan doesn't play particularly badly, then he has a good chance of winning the game. Therefore, objectively speaking, Zhao Xintong and Gilbert are likely to be out of the first round. But the probability is not equal to a certainty, if Zhao Xintong and Gilbert can overcome the shortcomings of their own ability, they also have the hope to complete the promotion, but this possibility is not particularly large. So, I'm more bullish on Clark and O'Sullivan advancing to the Round of 16 of the World Championships.