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The top 16 vs Qualifier

Postby SnookerFan

I'm just thinking, back in the day before the flat 128 draws, when the top-16 played qualifiers in the first round of most tournaments. Does anybody know off the top of their head, what the tournament was where the highest amount of top-16 players got eliminated in the first round?

I ask, because I have a memory of there being a tournament where 15 qualifiers won, and only one top-16er went through to the last 16. Though I can't think what that tournament was.

I may be misremembering, and I know in The Masters one year something similar happened with the highest ranked player in each match. Maybe I'm just thinking of that.

Re: The top 16 vs Qualifier

Postby PLtheRef

SnookerFan wrote:I'm just thinking, back in the day before the flat 128 draws, when the top-16 played qualifiers in the first round of most tournaments. Does anybody know off the top of their head, what the tournament was where the highest amount of top-16 players got eliminated in the first round?

I ask, because I have a memory of there being a tournament where 15 qualifiers won, and only one top-16er went through to the last 16. Though I can't think what that tournament was.

I may be misremembering, and I know in The Masters one year something similar happened with the highest ranked player in each match. Maybe I'm just thinking of that.


You might be thinking of the World Darts where all but one seed reached the last 16 after the first round with the only seeded player to win losing

Obviously the numbers going to venues has varied somewhat with many tournaments seeing 64 players competing at the finals, others seeing 32 players competing which means in some events there is more chance of seeded players losing.

The most I can think of is eight in the 1992 and 2012 World Championships but I guess its likely to have been more. How many seeds survived the first round of the Shanghai?

The 2011 Masters tournament saw seven of the eight seeds losing in the first round with the only seed to win.. Robertson losing in the quarter-finals