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Neal Foulds on the top 16 seeds for the Crucible

World Snooker Championship top 16 profiles from Neal Foulds

By Neal Foulds

Snooker

Fri April 14, 2023 · 2y ago

Neal Foulds gives his verdict on the top 16 seeds for this year's World Snooker Championship, which begins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Saturday.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (1)

Recent World Championship record: R2/R1/W/R2/W
Crucible best: x7 winner
Season's best: Hong Kong Masters, Champion of Champions winner

Not for the first time in this blockbuster career, it's difficult to know exactly what to expect from Ronnie O'Sullivan in Sheffield. That might seem like an unfair comment given he's been crowned world champion seven times already, but we've seen so little of him since Christmas given he failed to qualify for the Players Series.

And if you look even more closely, what we have seen of O'Sullivan in that time hasn't been vintage stuff. The fact is that he hasn't played a lot of good snooker for a number of months now. But before that, he won two massive events – the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions – to remind everyone just what a force he remains.

On more recent form, there has to be serious doubts, but I do expect him to have worked hard in preparation for Sheffield and am sure he will be fully geared up for a crack at world title number eight. The other reason for optimism is that we know that he's had issues with his tip all season. At least he's now had time to get that fixed, and surely that issue won't rear its head here.

Given his lack of recent match practice, perhaps O'Sullivan will be more vulnerable in the early rounds than usual, and starting as the defending champion means that you either kick off the show on the opening Saturday with a win and then have plenty of time to prepare for your next match, or you're gone before the tournament has really begun.

For once, I do think he'll be hoping to avoid a really dangerous qualifier, but I learnt a long time ago to never doubt O'Sullivan on the snooker table. Perhaps winning this year would be one of his greatest ever achievements given the form he arrives in Sheffield in, but we all remember what happened in 2013 when he won the event at a canter having not played all season.

Mark Selby (2)

Recent World Championship record: R1/R2/SF/W/R2
Crucible best: x4 winner
Season's best: English Open, WST Classic winner

There have been a few murmurings in recent days suggesting Mark Selby hasn't enjoyed a good season, with the really big events alluding him so far. But we shouldn't forget where he was a year ago, battling depression and almost using the World Championship to signal that he was coming out of the other side of that battle.

And we must not forget that he's won two ranking events this year, the WST Classic coming as recently as last month when he looked really good in beating some very good players in the latter stages. He didn't play as well at the subsequent Tour Championship, but he lost to the eventual winner that week and I'd say there are plenty of positives about his overall form.

The other plus is his record in this tournament. He's won the event four times already and we know that the longer the match, the better he is. He's always such a tough nut to crack over this course and distance and if can work his way into the last few days of the event, he'll take some stopping. Even last year, when snooker wasn't the most important thing going on in his life, Yan Bingtao had to play out of his skin to beat Selby, just as did O'Sullivan in the semi-finals in 2020.

Mark Allen (3)

Recent World Championship record: QF/R1/R1/R2/R2
Crucible best: SF 2009
Season's best: Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship, World Grand Prix winner

Mark Allen is a really hard one to weigh up this year. I've always felt this tournament should be a good fit for him, but one semi-final way back in 2009 doesn't come close to doing his talents justice. I don't know what it is, but his Crucible record just doesn't match the rest of his achievements in the game.

That said, I have never found reason to fault his effort or application here and I'm not overly concerned about his more recent form. He was always likely to hit a quiet spell after dominating the early part of the season, but he's had plenty of time to freshen up and you can be certain he'll have left no stone unturned in his preparation.

I think he'll play well, but I personally think he'll need to speed up his game. It's my view that he's gone too far with this cautious, more measured approach and I'd like to see him take a few more risks and back his natural talent. In order to become world champion, having the game to manage those bad sessions is really important – and Allen has that now – but sometimes you need to step on the gas and breeze through those sessions when you are on top.

This event really is a marathon, and you don't need to make it harder work than it already is. Allen is a definite contender, but I'm not sure he can win the whole thing without firing a few more bullets.

World Championship: Outright preview

Mark Selby roars in elation having won his fourth world title at the Crucible

Shaun Murphy (4)

Recent World Championship record: R1/R2/R1/SF/R1
Crucible best: 2005 winner
Season's best: Players Championship, Tour Championship winner

Shaun Murphy is unquestionably the form player coming into this year's World Championship. He's playing brilliantly, probably the best snooker of his life, and he's sure to have taken a great deal out of doubling up in the Players and Tour Championship.

However, winning those big events is bound to take it out of you and the more recent record of Tour Championship winners at the World Championship isn't great. Neil Robertson last year is the most obvious example and with his media commitments with the BBC as well, there is little doubt that Murphy has plenty on his plate. Perhaps that's how he prefers it, but there won't be much time to put his feet up between matches.

His Crucible record is outstanding, though. His victory here in 2005 was very special, but he has made three more finals since to help build a seriously good World Championship record. For all I have a few nagging doubts, that record and his recent form certainly helps form a strong case.

Judd Trump (5)

Recent World Championship record: QF/W/QF/QF/F
Crucible best: 2019 winner
Season's best: Masters winner

I'd be delighted to be proven wrong, but I don't fancy Judd Trump this year. I just can't get a handle on how well he's playing and he hasn't been consistent enough in the last 18 months to make me want to go out and back him for the biggest prize in the snooker.

He would be the first to admit that his cue action can let him down on occasions and it's always been his incredible eye that has got him out of trouble. But when that hasn't happened, things have gone wrong, and the good days have been more infrequent than we became accustomed.

But in spite of that, he still battled his way to his second Masters title in January when his fighting qualities more than his form hauled him to the final before he put Mark Williams away with an impressive, ruthless late surge. And I don't think he was ever at his best here last year, but that was still good enough to carry him to the final.

His willingness to scrap and fight have really carried his snooker over the last year or so, and that's to his great credit, but I sense he might need more than that this time around with some seriously in-form rivals and a few equally fresh sleeping giants ensuring this year's renewal will take plenty of winning.

Neil Robertson (6)

Recent World Championship record: R1/QF/QF/QF/R2
Crucible best: 2010 winner
Season's best: x5 SF

I'm all over Neil Robertson this time. World champion 2010, he certainly fits the profile of a multiple winner and I don't think he'll finish his career with only one world title to his name. He's better than that.

In the last few years he's arrived at the Crucible as the form horse with expectations high, but this year is different and I like that for a few reasons. The biggest factor in his favour is the freshness angle. He'd won four tournaments prior to last season's World Championship, and I remember how well he played in the first week in 2019 before running out of steam in a real war of attrition against John Higgins in the quarter-finals. That won't be the case this time around.

I also think it's significant that his Dad has come over to help with his preparation, and it seems that after an unusually quiet campaign he's determined to mount a bold bid at the Crucible. He'll want to finish the season well, of course, but winning here again is no doubt a big motivation.

People will argue that he comes into this event rusty, but prior to Christmas we were all talking about him being the best player in the game. Joe O'Connor played brilliantly to beat him in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open and but for that, Robertson could well have won a tournament already this season and have less questions to answer than many of his rivals.

All that aside, I'm not tipping him because of his recent form, I'm tipping him because of the player he is. He's one of the best snooker has seen in recent times and all the evidence tells us that if he clicks like we know he can, he can be an irresistible force at the business end of big events. We've already discussed O'Sullivan and Selby, but Robertson has enjoyed plenty of success against both recently – in particular Selby – and he could well be tournament favourite if getting through the first couple of rounds.

Predicting the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible

Kyren Wilson (7)

Recent World Championship record: SF/QF/F/SF/R2
Crucible best: 2020 runner-up
Season's best: European Masters winner

There's lots to like about Kyren Wilson when it comes to the World Championship. He's got a game very much suited to the longer format and though he hasn't been around as long as many in the top 16, he's already put together a strong Crucible CV. He's enjoyed plenty of success in this tournament, reaching the final in 2020 and making the last four in 2018 and 2021.

His form at the Tour Championship was outstanding and though he will have been disappointed to let slip a good lead over Murphy in the final, he ought to take the positives from that. He's playing well, he'll feel that and be confident he can go deep again. Those drawn around him will know Wilson is always hard to beat in Sheffield, too.

He's sure to have his supporters and if you're looking for the next generation of champions, he's an obvious option as one of the younger men in the top 16. I do think he's been guilty of overthinking things in the past, often changing his cue and searching for something extra, but he kept things simple at the Tour Championship and backed himself.

Mark Williams (8)

Recent World Championship record: W/R2/QF/QF/SF
Crucible best: x3 winner
Season's best: Masters runner-up

There's an argument that he was the second best player last year and but for a disastrous first session in his semi-final with Trump, when falling 7-1 behind, he would have probably been playing in the final against his old sparring partner O'Sullivan. His earlier victories over Jackson Page and Bingtao were seriously impressive, though he had a tough match against the latter and that probably left its mark early in the Trump match.

It was a similar story at this season's Masters when Trump beat him again, this time in the final, after Williams had downed the likes of O'Sullivan and Jack Lisowski in the earlier rounds. Some of the snooker he has played in the last 12-18 months has been as good as he's ever produced and I know many of my colleagues fancy him for another deep run. Lee Walker – who is possibly the best coach in the world right now – has got his game in really good shape and we know his temperament is excellent.

He's fit and healthy and certainly playing well, but winning the World Championship at his age would be his greatest achievement and I'm just worried that he's been close a few times in the last year before coming up short. I think he might need to step up again to go all the way this year, though we should remember that nobody gave him a chance before he did just that in 2018.

Luca Brecel (9)

Recent World Championship record: R1/R1/LQ/LQ/R1
Crucible best: x4 R1
Season's best: English Open runner-up

Luca Brecel is a really interesting runner this year. I love watching him play and would love to see him go well, particularly because his Crucible record is so poor. We know he's so much better than that, but he's gone from being the youngest player to ever play at the Crucible to someone who's never won a match at the venue. For some reason he seems to hate the place.

The thing with Brecel is that he can throw in a really bad session and he led Marco Fu 7-1 in 2017 before losing that match. On the other hand, he can blow people away just like he did John Higgins in the 2021 Scottish Open final. He's the sort of player who can be inspired by things and then go on a hot streak, so I do believe he could yet show his best form at the Crucible if able to get that first win under his belt.

He's too good to keep disappointing in the World Championship, and I'd dearly love to see an overseas player become world champion. We'll just have to wait and see which Brecel turns up next week.

John Higgins (10)

Recent World Championship record: F/F/R2/R2/SF
Crucible best: x4 winner
Season's best: Hong Kong Masters SF

Very few players have achieved what John Higgins has in the game, nor can they boast anything like the World Championship record he can. He's been world champion four times and finished runner-up on four more occasions, thrice since 2017. He's been a titan of the Crucible.

But like Williams, he'll be 48 next and when you consider his last world title came in 2011, it would take a herculean effort to see him regain that crown at this stage of his career, particularly when his form has dipped so dramatically this season. He lost in five big finals last term, too, and that must have left some scars.

Of course, there is a strong chance that he will feel right at home when he returns to his favourite venue and I certainly won't be surprised if he suddenly produces his best form of the campaign in the next week or so. I'm just not convinced that will be good enough to see him win the tournament. He came up short against O'Sullivan in the semi-finals last year and I'd expect something similar 12 months on.

Ali Carter (11)

Recent World Championship record: QF/QF/LQ/R1/LQ
Crucible best: x2 runner-up
Season's best: German Masters winner

Ali Carter is back at the Crucible as a seeded player, something I know he wasn't sure would happen again as he battled with his form over the last few years. He deserves immense credit for the way he's turned things around and that says everything about the man. I was delighted he won in Germany and the overall body of form this season is not only strong, but also very consistent.

He's seen it all at the Crucible, having made two finals in 2008 and 2012, but those were a long time ago now and I fear his chance might have gone as regards to becoming world champion. I'd love to be wrong on that, and his excellent all-round game will always make him a tough man to beat at the Crucible.

Jack Lisowski (12)

Recent World Championship record: R2/R1/R1/R2/QF
Crucible best: x1 QF
Season's best: x3 SF

What's that old saying? The heart says yes, but the head says no. That's exactly how I feel about Jack Lisowski and the World Championship. I'd dearly love to see him win. He's a really good lad and a pleasure to watch. When he's on, you'd be pushed to find anyone who makes the game look so easy.

Beating Robertson here last year ought to give him plenty of confidence, but he's had some tough losses to stomach this season – namely when losing in the semi-finals of the UK Championship to Mark Allen and then at the same stage of the German Masters to Tom Ford. I still don't know how he lost that match in Berlin, and he'd need to be made from stone to not be haunted by that one.

The other concern about Lisowski as far as this tournament goes is whether he has the game to grind out those bad sessions when it isn't coming as easy as he'd like. It's those sessions that make world champions and I'm yet to see evidence to suggest he has it in his locker.

Jack Lisowski after losing in the Masters semi-finals

Robert Milkins (13)

Recent World Championship record: R2/LQ/LQ/LQ/LQ
Crucible best: x3 R2 QF
Season's best: Welsh Open winner

What a season this has been for Robert Milkins. German Masters semi-finalist and then Welsh Open champion, beating man-of-the-moment Murphy in the final. All that added up to a bumper payday for the 47-year-old who also scooped the BetVictor Series bonus of £150,000. He was in financial trouble not so long ago and his tale of redemption is real a real feel-good story.

Getting back into the top 16 is nothing short of a miracle considering where he was a year or so ago, and to qualify for the Crucible as a seeded player will give him a real sense of satisfaction. He's only won three matches at the Crucible in his lifetime, and two of them were against Robertson, so he'll no doubt be hungry for more.

I just worry that this is where the story ends, for this season at least. His form has tailed off a little since Wales, which is understandable, and for all he appears to be a reformed character these days, he might be the one seed a few of the qualifiers are hoping to draw. I don't say that to be disrespectful, but his Crucible doesn't compare to some of the other seeds and as I've said, he's had a long, hard season comparative to many others in the draw.

Stuart Bingham (14)

Recent World Championship record: R1/R2/R2/SF/QF
Crucible best: 2015 winner
Season's best: Masters SF

Perhaps we should expect the unexpected when it comes to Stuart Bingham. He was a shock winner in 2015, but a very good one, and he came from nowhere to reach the last four in 2021 and the last eight 12 months ago. What we do know is that he clearly loves the Crucible and is always geared up to do well at the World Championship.

His form, however, is a real concern. He's shown very little and just when we thought he was back at the Masters, he was blown away in the semi-finals and has only show bits and pieces of promise since. He plays a lot of snooker, but his really good days have become less and less frequent and it's hard to argue he's as good now as he was in 2015, or indeed when coming up short in 2021.

Gary Wilson (15)

Recent World Championship record: LQ/SF/LQ/R1/LQ
Crucible best: 2019 SF
Season's best: Scottish Open winner

Without knowing who he'll play in the last 32, I'm keen on Gary Wilson's chances of showing up well and enjoying a good run in Sheffield. I certainly wouldn't underestimate him. People gave him no chance in 2019 but he played some terrific snooker to reach the semi-finalis, losing to eventual champion Trump having earlier beaten Selby over 25 frames. Not many players do that at the Crucible.

He's another who has breathed new life into his career this season, finally winning his maiden ranking title at the Scottish Open when ticking off one of his major career goals. Perhaps he'll feel like it's mission accomplished, but Wilson is a really tough competitor who has the game for this longer format. I can't see him suddenly becoming world champion, but I could see him claiming a big scalp or two along the way. He'll be a tough match for anyone, anyway.

Gary Wilson produced a brilliant performance in the Scottish Open final

Ding Junhui (16)

Recent World Championship record: QF/R2/R2/R1/R1
Crucible best: 2016 runner-up
Season's best: Six-Red World Championship winner

I quite like the chances of Ding Junhui this year. I sense a little bit of a change from Ding in the last few months. Given there has been so much controversy surrounding the Chinese players caught up in the match-fixing saga, I just wonder if Ding feels a responsibility to show Chinese snooker in a good light again and keep the flag flying.

It seems like he's been putting in the work and when it comes to the really big events, he's been far from a spent force. He was a brilliant winner of the UK Championship in late 2019 and reached another final in York in December, a match he led 6-1 until coming up short in the evening session. He won the Six-Reds World Championship more recently and was far from disgraced at the Tour Championship when losing in a high-quality match there.

The profile of players losing in a world final and then coming back and going one better a few years later is strong, and Ding only found Selby too hot in 2016. In fact, he built an impressive Crucible record around that time and though his more recent returns in Sheffield haven't been great, I'm of no doubt that he thrives on snooker's biggest stage.

Like a few in the top 16, he can be prone to throw in a really bad session, but he's older and wiser now and 36 is a really good age for a modern snooker player to take his game to the next level. Perhaps we shouldn't expect Ding to suddenly become Mr Consistency, but I can't believe there aren't more big prizes in him. They don't come any bigger than the World Championship.

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