World Championship Snooker Betting Update

The Masters final was an amazing example of what true talent, belief and a little bit of luck can bring a player. On the one hand you had Ronnie O’Sullivan, the greatest cueman of all time and a flawed genius in the mould of Alex Higgins and Jimmy White. On the other hand you had Mark Selby, a snooker player who modified his technique and continues to rise through snooker becoming one of the best young players clash in an epic final. At 9-6 in a race to ten match it looked like O’Sullivan was going to win, but Selby dug in and executed a marvellous comeback to win 10-9. As we draw breath, we can consider the odds for the Snooker World Championships to be held in April.

Snooker betting fans no longer consider just a handful of players able to win a tournament. There are five or six young players very much in the frame (no pun intended) to win every snooker tournament along with established pros like O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has odds of 3.50 from bwin to win what would be his fourth World Championship. He should be favourite as in a longer match he is very likely to win against anyone. Unfortunately his fragile mental state is suspect during a tough battle. The 10-9 defeat to Selby yesterday ironically will not affect him as much as another player as he plays in a generally downbeat mood most of the time anyway. If anything he will be motivated by coming so close to the victory. He is likely to be a real threat at the Crucible.

John Higgins is the defending champion and he is usually a sure thing for the quarter finals and semi-finals in most tournaments. He won the tournament last year with a consistent performance and fantastic matchplay winning three final frame deciders. In a final frame shoot out, you bet on Higgins or you lose money. It will be tough to win again for John but his odds of 6.50 are attractive in terms of his consistency in every tournament. He played badly against Mark Allen in the masters, but bad form is so rare for Higgins it is almost guaranteed he will bounce back better than ever.

Mark Selby has odds of 8.00 to win and I believe it is his year. This young player has character, interacts with the audience and is firmly established as one of the best snooker match players in the world. He was discussed by the experts as being “one of two players able to compete with O’Sullivan at his best” (the other being John Higgins) and this is telling. His performances have ensured he is right up there with the best. He is yet to win a major World title in snooker (he was World 8 Ball Champion in 2006) it is surely his best chance so far in his career to win it this year. Experience of playing in the final will help him and he has numerous wins over O’Sullivan and Higgins when it matters.

I believe that the other two genuine contenders at this point of the season are Shaun Murphy at odds of 11.00 and Stephen Maguire at 13.00. Ding Jun-Hui is also 11.00 but I consider it too early for him. Despite being number two in the world Stephen Maguire is regarded as a little petulant when things do not go his way during a snooker match and this appears to have hindered him in his quest to become world number one. I think a Maguire/Selby final could usher a new era in snooker this year. Murphy won the title in 2005 and reached the final last year. His technique demands respect and he could easily win this year. I expect both Murphy and Selby to win World Championships in the next five years.

Keep following the snooker season for more Snooker betting to see how the players perform on route to Sheffield and the World Championships.

By Malcolm Clarke