| 09 November 2010
There was part of me that felt the need to revisit this stat, which really stood out on Sunday during the Southern California Regionals finals. A few people have told me they don't value one round over another; others value round three the most, if they even reach that point at a time during a match. Some people stack the rounds in value depending on the situation (round 1, 1-0, 0-1 or 1-1).
I looked at the results of every game played in the top eight, and the results were surprising. The player that won round one eventually won the game 27 out of 31 times. The first 12 games went this way, where the player that won the opening round won the game. The player that broke the streak? Ryan "Filipino Champ" Ramirez, who eventually won the tournament.
Here's a little bit more of a breakdown:
| Won in R2 | Won in R3 | Lost in R3 | |
| Preliminaries | 10 | 9 | 3 |
| Finals | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Totals | 15 | 12 | 4 |
Only three players in the top eight were involved in a game in which the round one winner lost the game:
- Daigo Umehara: 1-3
- Filipino Champ: 3-0
- Tokido: 0-1
All three of Daigo's losses in this situation came at the hands of Filipino Champ. Two were during the winners finals, one was during the second finals, which gave Filipino Champ a 2-1 lead. Daigo's win against Tokido in that situation was the one that sent him to the finals.
Some people might interpret this as "Well, why play after round one if it's so certain?" What I'm saying is that, with eight of the best players in the world providing the statistics, it shows that locking up round one is an immense advantage. The game win percentage in the top eight at Southern California Regionals was .871 in this situation.
