I bolded a couple of sentence/sentence fragments in NL's post. The WTTC is a pressure packed crucible. The fact that Ma Long has collected 3 bronze and 3 gold over a 10 year period shows his incredible strength over the field over a very long period of time. This is in addition to his dominance over almost all other top players head to head such as:
20-10 over FZD
30-14 over Ma Lin
32-12 over Wang Liqin
41-11 over XX
31-10 over ZJK
5-1 over Liang Jingkun
7-2 over LGY
19-2 over Chen Qi
10-2 over Fang Bo
20-9 over Hao Shaui
16-5 over Timo Boll
17-0 over Dima
20-3 over Joo Saehyuk
16-0 over Mizutani
7-3 over Ryu Seungmin
7-0 over Michael Maze
9-2 over Oh Sang Eun
10-0 over Gao Ning
9-0 over Werner Schlager
17-2 over Chuang Chih Yuan
9-5 over Vladi
3-0 over Kreanga
and on and on...
The only one close to ML in head to head is Wang Hao. ML has 30-27 record over him. For those that are saying ML has competed against a weak field, the above record since 2005 says otherwise.
For the 2009 WTTC, WH was seeded #1. ML was seeded #3. For 2011 WTTC, WH was seeded #1, ML was seeded #5. For 2013 WTTC, WH was seeded #3, ML was seeded #2. For 2 of the 3 WTTCs where ML faced WH in the semis, he was the underdog as per the tournament seeding and the seeding held. 2013 was the only time ML was the favorite per seedings. And yet, he is labeled as a "choker" for these 3 losses by some. ML got a bronze in these WTTC. Its not like he lost in round 1 or round 2 to some unranked or low ranked player.
These are arguments I have made before. It is funny arguing with a past version of yourself.
1) This is a bit of mixing and matching. The records say nothing about when/where the matches were played or whether the opponents were at certain ages or points in their careers. In a few years, we might be lauding Fan Zhendong for beating Ma Long before turning 21, for example. And that record almost certainly takes into account a lot of junior and league matches between ML and XX and ML and ZJK.
2) Ma Long did not consider himself the underdog for any of those WTTC matches. The public did not consider him the underdog in 2011 for sure and 2013 doubly sure. The perspective he brings to his losses now is better but you can see the true ML sometimes come out like when he refused to talk to the press after losing to Fan at the Asian Cup recently.
3) Moreover, what makes Ma Long look bad is not just whatever his ranking relative go Wang Hao's was, but the fact that ZJK was able to reliably beat Wang Hao in big matches over the same period.
4) The issue being flagged is simply a matter of whether Ma Long is dominating in an era of great players or not. You know an era of great players when the same people are performing at a high level almost all the time. Which is why I think there is only one other great player currently in this era but he is from a younger generation (Fan Zhendong). Maybe we should credit ML somewhat for longevity? But the point around great players is still intact. You can only beat the players in front of you, yes. But it is a very different feeling to me to see Zhang Jike beating an in-form Wang Hao vs Ma Long beating Fang Bo or a hobbled Xhang Jike. Which is why I consider 2017 to be Ma Long's best WTTC. Beating Xu Xin and FZD when both were doing well is never easy.
So to summarize - Ma Long was winning everything except the biggest matches in the cell ball era. His rise to dominance and the plastic ball coincide. But what is also unfortunate is that his biggest opponent retires and his second biggest opponent becomes a shell of himself and only one player takes their place.
I still think Ma Long is the GOAT. I just don't think he is playing in an era of great players similar to when Wang Liqin and Ma Lin clashed. It isn't his fault that ZJK and XX couldn't keep up. But it is his fault that when they were up on the cell ball era, he wasn't winning the biggest events.
