The biggest snooker event of the year is right around the corner: the WSC starts on April 19, and the great final is scheduled for May 5. Obviously, such a high-level competition won’t happen in a pub, and the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield (England) will be the arena once again. World championships always reunite the best in their sport; that’s what they are for.
However, the level will be particularly high this year for WSC contestants, with many champions, including the title defendant and the biggest WSC winner in modern history. Among the stars, there’s the seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and former champions like Mark Williams, Mark Selby, and Judd Trump. Kyren Wilson, who won the competition for the first time last year, will also be there, as he earned a two-year card for the next editions. Learn more about players, dates, prizes, and new rules for this year’s edition.
Lucky Strike
The best sportsbooks are already calculating their odds for the most important snooker event on the calendar. The most dedicated punters have also started studying odds and statistics. While the tournament doesn’t kick off, why not try snooker live betting, which has pretty similar dynamics? In the WST, matches will be disputed in best-of-five frames, and the top two players of each group will move on to the next stage.
Things will get more challenging in the knockout stage, as games will be disputed in best-of-seven frames. The final will be even longer, with nine frames. Surely, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for in-play betting, and punters will find all of them at Sportsbet.io. The competitors will also fight for juicy prizes from a pot of GBP 2.3 million, and the winner won’t be the only one walking away with heavy pockets.
The winner will bag GBP 500,000, while the runner-up will receive GBP 200,000. Even the semifinalist loser will have a reason to smile, bringing home GBP 100,000. Quarter-finalists won’t leave the tournament empty-handed either, receiving GBP 50,000 if they move forward and GBP 30,000 if they get eliminated. The player scoring the highest break in the competition will get a GBP 15,000 bonus.
How to Bet on Snooker
Betting on snooker isn’t rocket science, but it’s advisable to get familiar with its specific markets for those who have never tried it. Like in any tournament, it’s possible to bet on the outright winner, match winner, guess correct scores, over/under scores, and handicap. In the case of snooker, punters must also pay attention to frame bettings, where they can choose Stuart Bingham will win over Judd Trump, for instance.
For those following the game, in-play or live bets are excellent options. They are dynamic and require time management since markets can open and close in a few minutes as the game unfolds. So, there isn’t much time for odds calculation here. The trick is to compare pre-match odds across different sportsbooks, as they tend to be much more precise than in-play odds. Punters can always stick to their gut feelings when placing their bets, but knowing about each player’s stats and track record can be tremendously helpful.
The Competitors
This year’s edition will bring the top 16 players in the world ranking, plus 16 players coming from qualifying rounds, which will run between April 7 and 17. The matches will also occur in Sheffield but at the English Institute of Sport. In that order, the top 5 players are Kyren Wilson, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Mark Williams.
Indeed, it’ll be a tough competition. Kyren Wilson is the title defendant, and he proved his value beyond doubt last year. Ronnie O’Sullivan is one of the biggest winners, though Mark Selby ruled the competition in the past decade, winning four times, while O’Sullivan won only twice. Mark Williams and Judd Trump won once each in the same period, but they’re rated among the best players in the world.
Biggest Winners
Ronnie O’Sullivan shares the top with Stephen Hendry, both having won seven titles. Stephen Hendry won’t be playing in this edition, though. Mark Selby and John Higgins (both playing this year) won four titles each, while Mark Williams has won thrice, and they’ll be around this year again.
The last time O’Sullivan lifted the trophy was in 2020, but if he manages to do so again this year, he’ll become the biggest winner in the championship’s history. Still, telling who will win next is impossible based on trophy numbers. Last year, the WSC was won by a first-timer, for instance.
About the World Snooker Championship
The WSC is a reference for professional and amateur snooker players worldwide. It’s also the most traditional, running for nearly 100 years now. The first edition occurred in 1927 and has been held at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. The WSC is a yearly event between April and May, followed in 150 countries by over 500 million enthusiasts. Its global popularity is greatly enhanced by its extensive media coverage from Eurosport and BBC.
