On January 7, 2024, Beijing time, the World Snooker Masters will officially kick off. At 21:00 on the 8th, China's first brother Ding Junhui will face the world's No. 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan to open the sixth meeting between the two sides in the Masters.
It is worth mentioning that O'Sullivan has maintained a record of winning all five matches in the past five Masters meetings, and this performance also puts O'Sullivan in an absolute advantage.
Judging from the competitive state and performance of the two players in the recent period, it is still difficult for Ding Junhui to defeat O'Sullivan. What's more, O'Sullivan has now become Ding Junhui's curse in the Masters.
Therefore, from the perspective of probability, Ding Junhui may suffer six consecutive defeats in the face of O'Sullivan in the Masters.
Ding Junhui was at a disadvantage in the face of O'Sullivan in the Masters
In the past meetings between Ding Junhui and O'Sullivan, the two players have met a total of 32 times, and O'Sullivan is in an absolute advantage with a record of 22 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. In the record of the Masters, O'Sullivan's five-game winning streak has become Ding Junhui's curse in this event.
In the 1/4 finals of the 2005 Masters, Ding Junhui defeated O'Sullivan 2-6. In the final of the 2007 Masters, Ding Junhui lost to O'Sullivan with a performance of 3-10 and was the runner-up. In the first round of the 2012 Masters, Ding Junhui lost to O'Sullivan 4-6 and stopped in the round of 16.
In the 2019 semifinals, Ding Junhui lost to O'Sullivan 3-6. In the first round of the 2021 Masters, Ding Junhui lost to O'Sullivan 5-6 and announced a round of travel. So far, O'Sullivan has completed five consecutive victories against Ding Junhui.
Ding Junhui is still difficult to defeat O'Sullivan in the Masters
Although Ding Junhui's current competitive state has picked up, objectively speaking, Ding Junhui's current competitive state is still difficult for him to defeat O'Sullivan in the game.
You must know that O'Sullivan has completed three consecutive victories against Ding Junhui in the last four competitions, including exhibition matches. Although Ding Junhui won the Lhasa Star Challenge, objectively speaking, the process was also very difficult.
Therefore, judging from the current performance of the two people, O'Sullivan is still much more likely to win the game than Ding Junhui. What's more, O'Sullivan is still the biggest winner in the Masters, and he has an absolute home status here.
When the atmosphere is good, O'Sullivan tends to play very well. What's more, O'Sullivan, who has just won the British Championship, is currently ambitious. What he wants is probably to hit more Grand Slams, so he'll care a lot about this matchup.
O'Sullivan may complete his six-game winning streak against Ding Junhui
Despite the fact that O'Sullivan's competitive form has declined relative to his peak form, in fact, his current form can still help him defeat many strong opponents. You know, O'Sullivan has only lost three games on the tour this season, which also makes O'Sullivan the player with the highest winning percentage this season.
Even Trump, who has completed three consecutive championships, can only be ashamed of himself. Although Ding Junhui has also played a good performance this season, it is still difficult to guarantee the stability of his current far platform, which is also the biggest shortcoming of China's first brother.
is different from Ding Junhui's performance, O'Sullivan's far platform is rarely inaccurate, so he still has a lot of advantages in the face of Ding Junhui.
In terms of player ability, Ding Junhui and O'Sullivan both have the ability to win. But judging from their comprehensive performance, O'Sullivan still has a better chance of winning, so Ding Junhui may face O'Sullivan's six-game losing streak.