Precisely, the SS Standings is based on total number of points won in SS/PSS tournaments only, not number of SS/PSS titles won. The same goes for BWF World Ranking. That's right , consistency in an equal number of tournaments played carries more weight than winning one or two titles but tanking in the rest. Of course, those who played too few tournaments, for whatever reasons, also lose out.
Then, finally, to decide who is the best for the year, the top 8 in SS Standings, including automatic qualification for the Olympic/World Champion, are invited to fight it out in a special tournament organized on a group stage followed by elimination stage competition.
As for the argument that LCW is the best based on recent/current form,that's only for now, but for the whole year, I'd argue Chen Long is the best as he not only beat LCW twice (though he also lost twice to him), he also won more titles, including the WC, not to mention he also beat Lin Dan twice. I believe BWF recognised that , which is why Chen Long, and not LCW, is awarded the Best Male Player of The Year.
Perhaps, it might be a good idea for some rich sponsor(s) to start a special invitational tournament where the contenders or candidates are selected by a different set of criteria with input based on nominees by popular vote, for example, other than the top few ranked players according to BWF WR/SS Standings, we can also extend invitations to the most in-form player the previous three months, or any highly regarded player who just came back from injury or personal long break, or highly promising young up-and-comers, child prodigies, etc - but still limited to 8 or at most 10 participants for each discipline. Maybe, consider featuring only the MS and WS, the two blue-riband events, leaving out the doubles.
However, my worry is, with the yearlong tournament schedule already so crowded and tight, where to fit in such a tournament. Anything I feel strongly is that the prize money has to be lucrative enough, in the millions where even the last-placed finisher gets a tidy sum, otherwise the idea is dead even before we debate about it.
One more thing, to give it more legitimacy and status, say, called it The Tournament of Champions, or bring back the World Cup and named it after the sponsor or a former great player ( how about Zhao Jianhua World Cup ?). Instead of a yearly affair, make it bi-annual, to enhance its value even more.
Pardon me, just letting my imagination run wild.
