Is it unfauvorable to start last in the boulder final?

In 2009, I started saying that it is disadvantageous to start last in the Boulder finals, as the guys who had won the semifinal ended on average 2.8 in the final and that in world champions the results were almost upside-down. One possible explanation for this is that it is harder mentally to sit and wait hearing the others top out and then come out an execute, which was also what some of the top guys told me. Furthermore, you could assume that the biggest mental pressure occurs in the world championship. Here is the full data based on all World Cups and World Champions since 2007. The second column relates just to the ten results during the World Championships, which confirms my initial thoughts. Rank in semi-final -> Average Rank in all Finals/World Champions 1 -> 2.9 / 2.9 2 -> 3.3 / 3.6 3 -> 3.4 / 4.3 4 -> 3.7 / 3.7 5 -> 3.9 / 4.0 6 -> 3.9 / 2.6 During the World Championships, the guys starting first in the final, as they had the worst result in the semifinal, have the best results in the final. If we believe that the ones winning the semi have much higher chances for winning the final, compared to being #6 in the semifinal, we could say that it is unfauvorable to start last in the final. If we say that all the six semifinalists should have equal chances of winning the finals, we can say that in general, not talking about the world championships in particular, it is best to start last in the final. During the World Championships, the guys starting first in the final, as they had the worst result in the semifinal, have the best results in the final. Here are the stats for Anna Stöhr, the best female boulderer competitor in the history, suggesting that for her it is advantageous to quailify last to the final and therefore to start first. Interesting is also that she won her two world championships when she started first in the final, after being #6 in the semi. #1 or #2 in 25 semifinals = 36% victories #3 or #4 in 13 semifinals = 54% victories #5 or #6 in 12 semifinals = 75% victories What is also interesting to see is that until 2012, Anna Stöhr won only 17% of competitions where she started last but later, getting more experience to handle the pressure, she won 55%. Also Akiyo Noguchi, the second best female boulderer of the last ten years, shows similar stats. In other words, when they were not so experienced they could almost only win when they started first or second in the final but when they did win the semi and had to start last in the final, they seldom won in the beginning of their careers.