Who Looks Best Placed to Win The World Snooker Championship?
The 2025 World Snooker Championship is now underway, and the battle as to who will be the next World Champion has commenced!
Already, we have seen several shocks, including both of last year’s finalists being eliminated in the first round of the competition. However, many star names are still very much in the competition after the First Round and heading into the second.
First Round Shocks – The Crucible Curse
Several top 16 players suffered from the ‘Crucible Curse’ in the first round, none more so than 2024 Champion Kyren Wilson, with the top seed being beaten 10-9 by Lei Peifan in his opening match. Last year’s runner-up and 16th seed Jak Jones also bit the dust, losing 10-4 to Zhao Xintong.
Other top 16 seeds that went out in the first round included Mark Selby (4), Zhang Anda (12), Neil Robertson (9) and Barry Hawkins (11).
However, many big names did progress amongst them Mark Williams (6), Ronnie O’Sullivan (5), Judd Trump (2), John Higgins (3), Shaun Murphy (15), Luca Brecel (7), Xiao Guidong (14), Ding Junhui (10), Si Jiahui (13) and Mark Allen (8).
Amongst the most impressive performers in the First Round were Zhao Xintong, Xiao Guodong, Shaun Murphy and Judd Trump.
Ronnie O’Sullivan also recovered well after a tight start in his game against Ali Carter, winning five frames in a row to win 10-4.
Round 2 Losers And Players In Form Heading Into The Quarterfinals
In Round 2, Chris Wakelin (20) continued his impressive run. After defeating Neil Robertson (9) in Round 1, he then dispatched another top ten seed, Mark Allen (8), 13-6 to move into the quarter-finals. That despite Allen hitting a 147 in the match.
Both Round 2 and the Quarter-finals are played over the best of 25, allowing players a little more time to get into their rhythm.
Wakelin was joined in the quarter-finals by two very famous former Champions. John Higgins and Mark Williams, who will face off against each other for a spot in the semi-finals.
Several other players look well-set after their opening sessions in the second round, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong seemingly on their way to wins.
However, Liuca Brecel’s 7-1 lead after his first session against Ding Junhui was the session of the tournament and arguably the most impressive display of snooker seen at the Crucible in many years.
The flamboyant Belgian lost the first frame to Ding, but rattled off seven almost perfect frames of snooker to take a huge lead into the second session.
Latest World Snooker Championship Betting Odds
The current World Snooker Championship betting odds on the outright winner market with bet365 Sport are as follows:
- Ronnie O’Sullivan – 3.40
- Judd Trump – 4.33
- Zhao Xintong – 5.00
- John Higgins, Luca Brecel – 9.00
- Shaun Murphy – 10.00
- Mark Williams – 15.00
- Chris Wakelin, Si Jiahui – 17.00
- 81.00 bar
*Odds shown were correct with bet365 Sport as of Sunday April 27th 2025.
Our Tip To Be World Snooker Champion in 2025!
We can see how the bookmakers see this as a three-horse race, but having witnessed Luca Brecel’s astonishing display against Ding Junhui in the first session, our tip would be to back the former World Champion from Belgium at 9.00 to win this event for the second time.
