Snooker World Championship 2010 First Round Match Betting

Snooker is back and I for one am over the moon as Snooker is my favourite sport! For anyone who enjoys sports betting a bet on the snooker from the Crucible theatre in Sheffield is the perfect back drop for some good old-fashioned sporting duels. We are no longer in an era where one player dominates; there are eight or nine snooker players who have a chance to win the World Championship tournament. Here are my tips and advice regarding my selected best bets of the first round. All the matches from the tournament are available to bet on at bwin.com, including various special bets.

Mark Allen 11/50 versus Tom Ford 333/100

Tom is a talented young player but is getting to the age where he really needs to shine and quickly. This could be his moment but he has a tough draw against a player who is becoming a regular feature in the deep end of the ranking tournaments and had a great run last year beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the process. I think Mark will sail through the opening round and be a real force in this World Championships. I would rate Tom a 5/1 chance therefore we have a bit of value in Mark Allen for the first round.

Joe Perry 13/20 versus Michael Holt 5/4

You would not expect Perry to get past the quarter finals but he has a good chance against Holt. Holt has a history of not performing when it matters in my opinion and is a complicated character in the O’Sullivan mould in that his emotions sometimes get in the way of good play. Perry is a consistent performer, a little like Graeme Dott who won the World Championships but was never considered a massive snooker star. Perry to win at decent odds at around 10-6 is a good bet I think.

Sunday – Alistair Carter 13/20 versus Jamie Cope 5/4

I am surprised that Ali is rated at 13/20 which is more of a respect to Jamie Cope who certainly is a talented player but, like Tom Ford, needs his big breakthrough. Former finalist Ali is very competitive and successful in the last couple of seasons. Currently ranked at number three in the world Ali should go on to reach the quarter or semi-finals in my opinion. I expect Cope to be a game challenger but to ultimately fall short in this match. You could even consider Ali to win as a singles bet due to the generous odds. This is another match I think has value in it.

Monday – Mark King 9/20 versus Steve Davis 7/4

This all-Romford clash sees Mark King taken on Steve Davis, the legend of the Crucible making his 30th and possibly last appearance at the Championships. Steve certainly has what it takes to win, but looking at his provisional ranking of 27, having gained only 5200 ranking points this season as opposed to 14000 in the season prior to this one shows his star is perhaps finally on the wane at 52 years old. It will be a great cameo, but probably just that as Mark goes onto round two. Mark has had a good season, provisionally ranked at 14th. His status as a top sixteen player could be under threat and he will be hungry to ensure he remains in the top sixteen for next season.

The snooker betting odds are usually short in the first round because of the frequency of favourites that generally make it through to the next round. I would therefore recommend an accumulator bet in order to get a good return. Having a £10 bet on the four selections I have tipped above would return a total of £48.16 including your stake which is pretty good for the early part of the tournament. Selecting only four matches reduces the chances of one letting us down and I hope this accumulator does well for us.

Enjoy the snooker betting action and all of the matches are live on TV from April 17th. Don’t miss out! Get a bwin.com account registered today and get betting on who you think will win the matches and the tournament. Can anyone beat Ronnie O’Sullivan to his fourth title? We are about to find out!

By Malcolm Clarke