Snooker betting tips: World Championship picks for Crucible marathon

READ: Richard Mann's World Championship outright preview

READ: Ronnie O'Sullivan interview as he demands protection from fans

READ: Part one of our Ronnie exclusive as he labels Mark Selby a 'bad loser'

Judd Trump to win the World Championship

By Paul Krishnamurty

For all the strengths and claims of others, there is no question regarding whom is the best player on the planet. JUDD TRUMP has more than twice the world rankings points, despite relatively underperforming in the majors. In two and half years, he's reached 18 finals and won 15 titles.

• Click here to back Judd Trump with Sky Bet

Judd's defeat in last year's quarter-final was entirely forgivable. First, he took a while to return to his pre-lockdown form. Second, Kyren Wilson was a very tough opponent and could be again in the semi. Third, he had the infamous 'Crucible Curse' on his back.

Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry both fell to the curse after their first world titles yet swiftly regained it the following year. Granted, it is tougher nowadays but at times Trump has looked set to dominate in their fashion. For his last title, the Gibraltar Open, his standard was incredible. Mesmerising.

I cannot find a way of getting Trump beaten before the quarter-finals, where at worst Yan Bingtao awaits. The Masters champion is special, but he's still a long way behind Trump in the game, who missed that major due to Covid-19.

From the semis onwards, it will become harder, as expected. Any of Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby or John Higgins could theoretically turn him over. However the most impressive aspect of Trump's rise to dominance is how he's saved his best for the strongest opponents, in the latter stages of the event. Prepare for a masterclass.

Qualifier to watch: Jamie Jones

By Paul Krishnamurty

Best among this year's qualifiers could be the resurgent JAMIE JONES. The 33-year-old is a match for anyone at his fluent best and looks set to finally fulfil his considerable potential. His career stalled when banned for failing to report a corrupt approach and he needed to go through Qualifying School just to make it on to this year's tour.

• Click here to back Jamie Jones to beat Stephen Maguire with Sky Bet

He's made the most of this comeback season, talking a determined game in interviews throughout which suggests more to come. Jones made the semi-finals of the Scottish Open, the last-16 of the UK Championship and after three qualifying matches, returns to the Crucible for a fourth time. This was the scene of his finest hour when reaching the quarter-finals back in 2012 and he also beat Shaun Murphy in 2018.

Plus there is plenty of potential for a run from this draw. Pitched in the easier half – without Trump or Robertson to worry about until the final – Jones could very plausibly reach the quarter-final again from where anything is possible. To get there he'll need to beat Stephen Maguire and either Ding Junhui or Stuart Bingham, none of whom have been anywhere near their best of late.

• Paul is a snooker, politics and golf expert who writes for various publications and on his own website. For more from Paul including his World Championship tips, visit betting.betfair.com.

Judd Trump to win the World Championship

By Nick Metcalfe

I do honestly think you can make a decent case for around a dozen players to win the tournament, but I'm going to back the world number one JUDD TRUMP.

I realise I won't win any awards for originality, but looking at Trump's stellar performances across the season I just find it difficult to go in another direction.

• Click here to back Trump to win and make a 147 at 33/1 with Sky Bet

Five more ranking titles for the Bristol man during this campaign. His status as the finest player in the game right now can't be challenged, despite the excellence of world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, UK winner Neil Robertson and three-time Crucible king Mark Selby.

Also, the draw looks pretty inviting for Trump. Liam Highfield first, followed by the winner of David Gilbert against Chris Wakelin. It will be a major surprise if he doesn't reach the quarter-finals with plenty of petrol left in the tank.

Plus there's no Crucible curse to worry about this year and no pesky lockdown break to lose his best form. It's Trump to be last man standing on May 3 for me.

Qualifier to watch: Ali Carter

By Nick Metcalfe

I sat in on a Zoom press call with ALI CARTER following his 10-4 win over Alexander Ursenbacher on Wednesday, which sealed his place at the World Championship.

• Click here to back Ali Carter to beat Jack Lisowski with Sky Bet

And I can tell you, this is a man feeling very comfortable in his skin right now. Carter was buzzing. He was all too aware that none of the seeds wanted to be drawn to play him. That fate fell to Jack Lisowski on Thursday.

This is a genuinely fascinating first round match to look forward to. Lisowski has shown he's made of sterner stuff than ever this season, reaching a number of finals. But Carter has immense Crucible experience and has himself been a consistent performer in recent months.

Also, the match doesn't start until Monday and Carter talked about wanting a few days of rest between qualifying and the main tournament. I'm backing Carter to win.

The Essex man will then potentially face Robertson in round two. The Australian is clearly the form player in the game, having stormed to the prestigious Tour Championship title last month. But his Sheffield record is still a real concern, and if he's slightly below his best, Carter is just the type to pounce.

We're all looking for qualifiers to give us a run for our money frankly, aren't we? Carter looks like that man.

• Nick Metcalfe is a journalist who covers snooker for Sporting Life along with various sports for the Metro, and other publications. Read his interviews with Ronnie O'Sullivan here and here.

John Higgins to win the World Championship

By Ben Coley

Judd Trump has plenty in his favour here. Free from The Curse, he has fallen into a good part of the draw, and it will be a surprise if it's not him or Neil Robertson who reaches the final from the bottom half. Trump is hard to oppose, and I'm with Nick: come early May he looks the one.

But there's no harm looking to the other half of the draw for a spot of each-way value, and I've come down on JOHN HIGGINS at double-figure prices.

• Click here to back John Higgins with Sky Bet

Beaten in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 finals, it wouldn't be unreasonable to conclude that the 45-year-old will have to make do with four world titles, a decade on from the last of them. But I'm happy to draw a line through his second-round exit last year, in what was a strange renewal as Kurt Maflin produced some excellent snooker to beat him, and since then he's done a lot right.

Back to something closer to normality, experience should carry real worth again and Higgins obviously has it in spades. Crucially, he has also remembered what winning feels like, thrashing Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O'Sullivan to take the Players Championship having earlier been beaten in the final of the Masters.

Defeat to O'Sullivan in the subsequent Tour Championship may be no bad thing and certainly isn't any cause for alarm, and Higgins, who credits a change in set-up and alignment for his resurgent form, is in good enough shape to go deep here once more.

Although I respect Tian Pengfei, who Richard Mann holds in high regard, it's a big ask for him to beat a Crucible legend like Higgins over two sessions, and I like Higgins to see off Mark Williams or Sam Craigie after that. It's not impossible he then gets a crack at Maflin and I would fancy him to take revenge were that to come to pass.

The bottom line is that once he gets rolling here, as I expect him to, there's nobody Higgins should fear, with O'Sullivan the biggest threat in the top half. With recent success in the memory bank and a nice break to sharpen up, don't rule out once final hurrah and I would rather support him than Ronnie at the odds, and take my chances if we do get that blockbuster final.

Qualifier to watch: Lyu Haotian

By Ben Coley

It's almost a decade since LYU HAOTIAN first tasted tour-level snooker and it feels a little like he's not delivered on his promise, but it's worth remembering he's only 23, and he certainly has plenty more to give. This could be another good chance to show us what he can do.

• Click here to back Lyu Haotian to beat Mark Allen with Sky Bet

The Chinese showed an aptitude for playing at the Crucible three years ago, beating Marco Fu 10-5 in the first round and giving Barry Hawkins a real run for his money in the second. Four centuries in front of the cameras and those two results made for a really impressive debut, the like of which few of his inexperience are able to produce.

For his return, it's Mark Allen who awaits. Clearly, Allen is a cut above most opponents Lyu has faced so far but he's lost five times in the first round and a further five in the second in just 14 attempts. For a player of his calibre his record at the Crucible is abysmal. Besides, Lyu has beaten O'Sullivan in a short-format match, and drawn with Mark Selby, and some heavy scoring lately suggests he might just be ready for this.

Throw in the fact that Lyu has only had to play in two qualifying games to make it to the main stage this time, and there are lots of reasons to believe he can at least give Allen, whose form has been patchy, a real scare. He's 6/4 to win at least eight frames and 7/2 to cause an upset, while siding with him in break markets makes some appeal too.

Mark Williams to win the World Championship

By Richard Mann

MARK WILLIAMS has been there and done it all so many times before and looks good value at the Crucible.

• Click here to back Mark Williams with Sky Bet

By his own admission, there have been times since Williams roared back to his best to claim his third world title in 2018 that the Welshman has looked close to finished. However, he is enjoying his snooker again and played really well to reach the last four of the Welsh Open in February.

Since then, Williams produced some of his best form in some time to finish runner-up to the Wilson in the Championship League and I think he’s in a good place. I certainly think his game is in better shape than last summer when he pushed Ronnie O’Sullivan all the way in the quarter-finals, and it should take a good performance to see the back of him this year.

Berthed in a red-hot second quarter with Higgins and Selby, that could easily happen, but his first-round match against Crucible debutant Sam Craigie might be a baptism of fire for the latter, while anyone who comes up against Williams will know they have their work cut out against one of the very best of all time.

This is a tough quarter, that much is clear, but while my antepost pick, Mark Selby is now 8/1, and John Higgins 10/1, Williams – a three-time Crucible champion himself – is 40/1, despite appearing to have his game in good working order and with his laidback attitude always counting for plenty on the big stage. I can't let him go unbacked.

Qualifier to watch: Stuart Bingham

By Richard Mann

Ahead of qualifying, I nominated Sam Craigie and Tian Pengfei as part of a three players to watch feature, and here they are in the main draw. It's difficult to abandon them but Craigie faces Crucible stalwart Williams in round one, and had to come through a tense deciding frame to get this far. Tian meanwhile comes up against John Higgins and these two couldn't really have asked for tougher introductions, although it's a reintroduction for the Chinese: he fared well in losing 10-9 to Stephen Maguire on his debut here two years ago.

That digression aside, there's nothing like a bit of experience here and STUART BINGHAM – Masters champion as recently as January 2020 – therefore looks the pick of the qualifiers. He was back in free-scoring form in taking care of Luca Brecel in what was supposed to be a difficult final qualifying game and has shown hints for a while, beating Judd Trump in the Players, Shaun Murphy in the Masters, and playing some good stuff in the Pro Series more recently.

• Click here to back Stuart Bingham to beat Ding Junhui with Sky Bet

He faces Ding Junhui first and while the Chinese edged their sole World Championship meeting, it's Bingham who dominates the head-to-head (10-6). It's not a surprise Bingham is no bigger than 6/5, and if he does come through he'll feel like he should be beating either Maguire or the dangerous Jamie Jones. If Ronnie is next then that might be that, but Bingham did beat him en route to the title here in 2015, and he can win at least a couple of matches if building on his qualifying exploits.

World Championship content

• Richard Mann's World Championship outright preview
• Pundits' predictions including qualifiers to watch out for
• Ronnie O'Sullivan interview as he demands protection from fans
• Part one of our Ronnie exclusive as he labels Mark Selby a 'bad loser'
• World Snooker draw, schedule, results, format and TV info
• Richard Mann's loveletter to the Crucible Theatre
• Watch every 147 break in Crucible history

World Championship draw

Quarter one

• Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Joyce
• Anthony McGill v Ricky Walden
• Ding Junhui v Stuart Bingham
• Stephen Maguire v Jamie Jones

Quarter two

• John Higgins v Tian Pengfei
• Mark Williams v Sam Craigie
• Mark Allen v Lyu Haotian
• Mark Selby v Kurt Maflin

Quarter three

• Neil Robertson v Liang Wenbo
• Jack Lisowski v Ali Carter
• Barry Hawkins v Matthew Selt
• Kyren Wilson v Gary Wilson

Quarter four

• Shaun Murphy v Mark Davis
• Yan Bingtao v Martin Gould
• David Gilbert v Chris Wakelin
• Judd Trump v Liam Highfield

When is the World Snooker Championship?

This year's tournament runs from Saturday April 17 to Monday May 3

How can I watch the snooker on TV?

Coverage will be live in the UK via BBC and Eurosport