On April 16, Beijing time, the 2022 Snooker World Championship will start today, the two openers will start at 17:00 today, the defending champion Selby will welcome the challenge of Jamie Jones, and the No. 7 seed Zhao Xintong will face Jamie Clark.
Seize the last time, the World Taiwan Federation continues to build momentum for the World Championships! Yesterday, on the official social media account, the World Taiwan Federation issued several dynamics on the topic of "2022 Snooker World Championship" and "World First Battle", analyzing the situation and conditions of the seven players competing for the world's first throne.
First of all, the no.1 dispute was divided into two echelons by the World Taiwan Federation, Selby, Neil Robertson, and Trump were regarded as the first echelon by the World Taiwan Federation, and O'Sullivan, Higgins, Zhao Xintong, and Karen Wilson were in the second echelon.
At this World Championship, Selby is the defending champion, if he can complete the defending title, Selby will ensure the throne of the world's first! In this way, Selby will end the season with world number one for the eighth time, behind Hendry's record of 9 season-end first places. In addition, if he can reach the final, as long as the opponent is not Neil Robertson, Selby can also guarantee a return to the world number one. Of course, once Selby stopped in the semi-finals, Neil Robertson and Trump both had a chance to overtake him, and O'Sullivan also had a chance to win the world championship for the seventh time while staying on the world number one throne. If Selby stops in the quarter-finals, Higgins has a chance. If Selby stopped in the first round, Zhao Xintong and Karen Wilson's opportunities also came.
As the best player this season and the number one favourite to win the World Championship, Neil Robertson also has a good chance of becoming the world number one at the end of the season. If Neil Robertson wins the title, he will return to the world number one for the first time after January 2015, and if he reaches the final, as long as the opponent is not Selby or Trump, Robertson will also become the world number one. Of course, once Neil Robertson stops in the semi-finals, Selby can also surpass by reaching the final four, Trump can also surpass the third world championship final, and O'Sullivan will also become the world number one by winning the title. Neil Robertson is out of the quarter-finals (the result of the past three years), Selby can surpass by reaching the quarter-finals, Trump and O'Sullivan need to reach the final, and Higgins needs to win the championship. If Robertson is out in the second round, Selby can surpass only by winning the first round, Trump needs to reach the final four, and if zhao Xintong wins the championship above, he can reach the first place in the world.
Trump is seen as the third candidate for the No.1 battle! Trump has been the ultimate world number one for the past 2 seasons, and if he can become the no. 1 of the season at the end of the season for three consecutive seasons, then Trump will become the fifth person in history to achieve this achievement. According to the World Taiwan Federation analysis, Trump needs to at least reach the semi-finals to surpass Selby. If Selby wins Jamie Jones in the first round, Trump will need to reach the final to regain world number one. Trump and Selby have a chance to meet in the semi-finals, and if this "showdown" comes true it will most likely be the world number one battle at the same time, depending on Neil Robertson's performance in the other half.
In addition to the above 3 people, O'Sullivan, Higgins, Zhao Xintong and Karen Wilson also have the opportunity to compete for the final No.1 throne at the end of the season, of course, provided that they win the championship! For O'Sullivan, winning the title also requires Selby or Trump not to reach the final from the other half, and for Higgins, Selby needs to be out before the semi-finals.
As for Zhao Xintong and Karen Wilson, if they want to become the final No.1, the conditions are more demanding, in addition to completing their own championship, they both need Selby to be cold out in the first round, and Karen Wilson also needs Neil Robertson, who is in a hot state, to also get out early, which is almost impossible.