General Avoidance & Strangers Passing in the Night
Some head-to-head snooker pairings seem to always be popping up in major snooker tournaments, as you would expect when the top seeds should have regular meetings at the business end of tournaments. It seems like common sense.
However, some players just never meet with any regularity, even though, on paper, you'd expect it at least once or twice a year.
I suspect the most famous one currently would be Judd Trump versus Mark Selby, two players who have competed for the No.1 ranking spot for nearly a decade. But they are no Reardon versus Spencer or Davis versus White or Higgins versus O'Sullivan.
While they have met professionally 32 times since 2008, the vast majority of those encounters have been minor ranking tournaments, various league based tournaments and snooker etcetera. Let's look at their 'more important' meetings:
2011 - China Open final, Trump won 10-8
2019 - International Championship Semi Final, Trump won 9-4
And both of those were in China.
The next most important meetings include non-ranking events:
2014 - Champion of Champions Quarter Final, Trump won 6-1
2015 - German Masters Quarter Final, Selby won 5-4
2016 - European Masters Semi Final, Trump won 6-2
2019 - Masters Quarter Final, Trump won 6-2
2019 - World Grand Prix Quarter Final, Trump won 5-1
And that's it really. 4 times they met at the early stages of tournaments during 2013 and before, 19 times they've met in various leagues, once at the Six Reds and once at the late stages of a PTC event in 2011.
Slightly lower down the rankings you can find an even weirder unexcused absence between Tom Ford and Michael Holt, two players who seem destined to not only be the fascination of a certain commentator but also seem to have almost identical careers at the same time as each other.
You'd think these two would meet a few times a year. But no. They have only met professionally three times, the last time being a last 32 way back in 2015, and that was a minor ranking PTC event.
Before that and we're talking a last 128 in 2010 and a last 48 in 2007. And that's it.
What are some surprisingly non-existent head to heads that you find weird and unusual by their absence?
However, some players just never meet with any regularity, even though, on paper, you'd expect it at least once or twice a year.
I suspect the most famous one currently would be Judd Trump versus Mark Selby, two players who have competed for the No.1 ranking spot for nearly a decade. But they are no Reardon versus Spencer or Davis versus White or Higgins versus O'Sullivan.
While they have met professionally 32 times since 2008, the vast majority of those encounters have been minor ranking tournaments, various league based tournaments and snooker etcetera. Let's look at their 'more important' meetings:
2011 - China Open final, Trump won 10-8
2019 - International Championship Semi Final, Trump won 9-4
And both of those were in China.
The next most important meetings include non-ranking events:
2014 - Champion of Champions Quarter Final, Trump won 6-1
2015 - German Masters Quarter Final, Selby won 5-4
2016 - European Masters Semi Final, Trump won 6-2
2019 - Masters Quarter Final, Trump won 6-2
2019 - World Grand Prix Quarter Final, Trump won 5-1
And that's it really. 4 times they met at the early stages of tournaments during 2013 and before, 19 times they've met in various leagues, once at the Six Reds and once at the late stages of a PTC event in 2011.
Slightly lower down the rankings you can find an even weirder unexcused absence between Tom Ford and Michael Holt, two players who seem destined to not only be the fascination of a certain commentator but also seem to have almost identical careers at the same time as each other.
You'd think these two would meet a few times a year. But no. They have only met professionally three times, the last time being a last 32 way back in 2015, and that was a minor ranking PTC event.
Before that and we're talking a last 128 in 2010 and a last 48 in 2007. And that's it.
What are some surprisingly non-existent head to heads that you find weird and unusual by their absence?
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LDS - Posts: 11318
- Joined: 31 October 2020
- Snooker Idol: Ray Reardon
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- Walk-On: Borderline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZuhiwyyunw