The main starting place for this year’s event has to be with the favourite, Ronnie O’Sullivan. Like many snooker fans, I have loved watching The Rocket over the years, and he’s always a player I will tune in to watch when I can. It’s amazing to think that he is probably in the twilight of his career, but yet he still manages to come and perform on the biggest stage. Furthermore, his record at the Crucible speaks for itself, having won the World Championship seven times.
This season, he has been holding his form well, and he comes here having won The Masters, World Masters, and World Grand Prix all in 2024. The draw for this year’s tournament looks to have been quite kind to him, as he’s got a good recent record against the players he’s likely to face in the early stages.
If O’Sullivan gets to the semi-finals, he could play against Judd Trump or Mark Williams. O’Sullivan would probably prefer facing Trump, as he has gotten the better of him the last three times they’ve met, compared to his record against Williams, where he has lost in their last two meetings.
At the time of writing this piece, O’Sullivan is 9/4 with Rhino to win his eighth title, and even though it might seem a bit short for some people, I do think he’s the most likeliest winner.
Last year’s winner, Luca Brecel, is another player I would be looking to take on. He caused a bit of an upset last year when he became the first Belgian to win Snooker’s biggest prize. We’ve always known he has the talent, but he had never quite put it together to get over the line in a major event.
His form this season has dipped off, but he did show a hint of a return to form when finishing as runner-up at the World Masters in Saudi Arabia last month. However, despite that promising effort, I think he will fall short in the defence of his title this year.
Judd Trump will certainly have his backers, and he is definitely one of the most exciting players to watch with his brand of snooker. When it comes to looking at his recent form, he arrives here in decent shape, and you only have to go back a couple of tournaments to see his victory at the World Open, where he beat Ding Junhui in the final.
However, as I mentioned before, his route could see him take on Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semis, and with his recent record against him, I would have to oppose the 2019 World Champion.
I think the best value to be had is looking at the other side of the draw, which has a very open look to it. Many people might be drawn to Mark Selby, who has won the World Championship four times. He has been very consistent at the highest level over the years, and he is probably one of the most attritional players to ever play the game. On the other hand, this year, he’s not been at the top of his game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got knocked out in one of the earlier rounds.
The one I quite like who is on the same side of the draw is Mark Allen. He has been playing very well in recent months, winning the Players Championship back in February and getting to the latter stages of tournaments with two semi-finals showings in his last three tournaments. His record at The Crucible also seems to be getting better, and he got to the semi-finals last year, which was his best effort since 2009.
Looking at his potential route to the final, he could play John Higgins, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, or Shaun Murphy, all players that he has a good recent record against. If he can get to the latter stages, he’ll be a massive threat to the rest of the field.
If I were to give one outsider that I think could possibly go far into the tournament, it would be Ali Carter. He’s no stranger to big performances at The Crucible and has made the final on two occasions during his career, even though his efforts in recent years have been underwhelming, to say the least.
However, this season, despite being sometimes hot and cold, he has recorded his most century breaks in a single season, and he got all the way to the final of The Masters back in January, only to be beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan. On route to the final, he beat Judd Trump, Mark Williams, and Mark Allen, so he is more than capable of beating some of the biggest names in the game on his day. If he can get into the groove early on, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was able to go far into the tournament.
It’s going to be a proper marathon of snooker over the next couple of weeks, so please remember to gamble responsibly if you decide to have a bet. I hope you enjoy the action.
World Snooker Championship Shortlist
Ronnie O’Sullivan (9/4)
Mark Allen (12/1)
Ali Carter (28/1)
