5 World Snooker Championship betting tips
World Snooker Championship betting - The complete guide
In this guide we will look at the 5 key things to consider when you are betting on the World Snooker Championship. On top of that, we will provide a general overview of the tournament itself, which will hopefully give you some assistance whether this is your first foray into betting on a Snooker tournament or just give you some new things to think about if you have done it all before.
What is the World Snooker Championship?
The world snooker championship began back in 1927 when it was the only professional tournament for snooker players. Snooker had some ups and downs before it became recognised as a major sport in the 1970’s and had it’s golden era in the 1980’s mainly due to the BBC’s coverage which was only really down to showcasing colour TV’s! The tournament was played at various venues and even in Australia the one year before it settled into it’s current home of the Crucible theatre in 1977. Former player Mike Watrterson then a snooker tour director took a trip there to watch a play with his wife and they both felt it would be perfect for a snooker tournament with it’s coliseum like setup and enclosed atmosphere.
This is still the tournament’s home (though there is some talk of it changing in the future) and winning at the crucible is the dream for every burgeoning young snooker player as well as many older professionals on tour who still await their moment of glory there.
The matches are much longer than usual tour events, and it makes it the ultimate test for a snooker player as you need to battle through a best of 19, 2 best of 25’s a best of 33 and a best of 35 to win the tournament, meaning you have to win 71 frames over 14 days against the best in the world to lift the famous old trophy. It’s a test of skill, luck, resilience and determination and you’ll be facing the best in world snooker in every round, it’s arguably harder now with so many highly skilled professionals on the tour, the extended qualifying and increased prize money (£500,000 for the champion).
The draw is made up of the top sixteen players based on 2 years worth of rankings points accrued over ranking tour events. These players are seeded across the draw, with 1 v 16, 1 v 8, 1 v 4, 1 v 2 scheduled. In the first round they meet sixteen qualifiers who come through the qualifying tournament held in the 2 weeks before the championship to make it a 32 man draw. (or woman, though one has not yet qualified for the last 32).
Bookmakers have plenty of interest in Snooker and several sites sponsor tour events and have previously sponsored the Worlds. Bonuses and markets will be abound when the tournament is held every April. You will find plenty to bet on and get involved with when they “get the boys on the baize” below are the main things to keep in mind when betting on individual matches or the overall tournament winners.
5 Tips for Betting On the World Snooker Championship
1: Look at the Qualifiers before you look at the 16 Favourites
Qualifying for the last 32 at the crucible nowadays is harder than ever with players potentially having to play 5 best of 19’s to get to the final stages. It’s also been moved to the weeks just before the championship in April. This means the qualifiers hit the first round more match sharp and fresher than ever. So have a good look at whose qualified well for first round upsets. Furthermore look at top 16 players with the added pressure of falling further down the rankings by losing (and losing ranking points) in their first match. A qualifier will usually have nothing to lose early in the tournament. It’s also no longer so rare that qualifiers go deep in the tournament with half of last years quarter finalists made up of players outside the top 16.
2: Study the Form
Form for snooker players is vital, and with the rankings based on two years performances simply betting on the higher ranked player is more than likely to go wrong if you haven’t taken due diligence in looking into the form guide. Players who have made the players and tour championships at the end of March are the top ranked 16 players from this years tour anyone in these tournaments has had a good season so has a chance of a decent world championship. Anyone who makes the semis or finals or one or both is in peak form just before the Worlds.
3: Look at the Tournament Draw & Head to Head records
If you are looking at an overall tournament winner then it’s vital you plot their route to the final looking over any potential pitfalls on the way. WIth individual sports head to heads are really useful to look over. Players will have bogey players who they can na ever seem to beat. If they look like they could face a couple of these on their way to the final it can seriously hamper their hopes of winning the big one.
4: Pick Crucible specialists- everyone has a “Bad session”
Everyone has a bad session at the crucible but the players who can handle it when they come and can escape with a 4-4 or a 3-5 scoreline despite playing poorly are the ones who will go deep into the tournament. Most snooker tour matches don’t go beyond a best of 19 so until you have more experience in how to play the longer games many players will struggle to get to grips winning in the crucible, which is also a very different venue to play in than the majority of tour events. Luca Brecel for instance took 5 attempts to win a first round match before winning the whole tournament. It can take a few visits to become comfortable playing in the tournament. Furthermore those that have seen it all before are generally much more comfortable in the later stages. In 2024 3 out of 4 of the semi finalists had been to the last four before.
5: Clashes of Style
Styles are important. A quick attacking player like Ronnnie O’Sullivan or Judd Trump can get bogged down against slower safety first players.Players who can disrupt flow and win long safety battles even when playing poorly like Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson will often win out in the longer matches.
Choosing the Best Bookmakers For betting on the World Championship
Why not have a look over our betting on snooker guide for our best snooker betting sites (link) all these should be jam packed with world championship offers and bonuses when the tournament is coming up. Below are our current three best sites for snooker betting
- Bet365 - The world’s largest online bookmaker is a trustworthy and secure site that covers all major sports. They have a super snooker section dedicated solely to the sport and live stream tournaments all year around. When it comes to the world championship they will have bonus offers and price boosts galore.
- Bet Victor - A former sponsor of the world snooker championship Bet Victor have maintained a keen interest in snooker and have one of the strongest snooker offerings on the internet. You Can use their welcome offer on a snooker bet and they always run promotions when the major championships are in process.
- BetFred - Betfred have also previously sponsored the world snooker championship and have a dedicated snooker section covering ongoing events right over the whole snooker season. They are one of the first to publish snooker odds pre tournament and also offer a pick your punt feature for your own personalised bet. They will offer bonuses and boosts during the tournament as well.
What are the best World Championship Welcome Offers?
Many sites will offer a welcome bonus that you can use in conjunction with snooker betting so to maximise returns it can be worth signing up with extra sites. We will update this section nearer the start of the world snooker championship.
The Sites below all have welcome bonuses that can be used with a world championship snooker bet:
What are the best World Snooker Bonus Offers?
The bookmaker's offers for this event usually only appear in the days before or even during the actual event, so we will update you as and when they become available.
