[By NBC-1TV E. H Kim]In one month, the world‘s top match racers will arrive in Malaysia for the final event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour season. Whilst Bjorn Hansen and Ian Williams are touted as the most likely winners of this year’s title, the stats suggest that the Monsoon Cup could well provide a twist in the tale of the season.

Spurred on after a disappointing regatta at Match Race Germany, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team has gone on to lead the overall table since the second event of the season. Consistent performances from fellow Tour stalwarts Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar and Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing have seen two of the most successful Tour skippers ever progress to the knockout stages of every event that they have competed in, putting them in second and fourth overall respectively.

Hansen leads 9-5 head-to-head against Williams overall in 2012 and assuming both teams progress to the knockout stages of the Monsoon Cup, it would be interesting to see whether the Swede would choose to face his opponent at the earliest possible opportunity to try and eliminate him. The stats suggest he should - while Williams has achieved a podium finish in all but one of his Tour events this year, Hansen has beaten his biggest title rival in both of their knockout stage battles.

The high risk-high reward strategy has been a feature in the climax of previous Tour seasons as the world's best helmsmen back their own ability. Ben Ainslie picked his nearest rival Mathieu Richard in the 2010 Monsoon Cup, despite holding an inferior head-to-head record against the Frenchman. He successfully eliminated his main contender and went on to win the season title.