World Snooker Championship- Crucible Tips

Judd Trump is looking to end a 43 year wait for a first-time winner to retain the World Championship

The waiting is nearly over and after a three month postponement, the Betfred World Championship finally gets underway on Friday at the iconic Crucible theatre in Sheffield.

As the 2019/20 season enters its 15th month, it will be a World Championship like no other that has gone before.

Snooker lead the way in sport returning to our screens in June with the Championship League event played behind closed doors in Milton Keynes. It will again blaze a trail in hosting the first indoor sporting event with spectators since the UK lockdown.

But eyes will quickly turn to the action on the table with defending champion Judd Trump kicking off proceedings against Leicester's Tom Ford.

We asked our snooker pundits Joseph Richardson and Elliott Walsh for their expectations for the tournament, and who they are backing to take the world title.

1ST ROUND DRAW

Judd Trump v Tom Ford

Yan Bingtao v Elliot Slessor

Stephen Maguire v Martin Gould

Kyren Wilson v Anthony Hamilton

John Higgins v Matthew Stevens

David Gilbert v Kurt Maflin

Jack Lisowski v Anthony McGill

Mark Allen v Jamie Clarke

Mark Williams v Alan McManus

Stuart Bingham v Ashley Carty

Ding Junhui v Mark King

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Mark Selby v Jordan Brown

Shaun Murphy v Noppon Saengkham

Barry Hawkins v Alexander Ursenbacher

Neil Robertson v Liang Wenbo

Are there any potential shocks on the cards in the first round?

Joseph Richardson- ELLIOT SLESSOR to beat YAN BINGTAO - 10/3 (via Oddschecker)

I would not be surprised if there were a few shocks with some of the top players potentially lacking match practice. The seeds who played in the Coral Tour Championship should also be a lot sharper on paper. However, one of those is Yan Bingtao who could be vulnerable to Elliot Slessor on debut, who beat Ben Woollaston in qualifying.

Mark Williams has not played since lockdown and could find a match sharp Alan McManus a tricky opponent

Elliott Walsh- KURT MAFLIN to beat DAVE GILBERT - 11/4 (via Oddschecker)

In the top half of the draw, Kurt Maflin has a great chance against Dave Gilbert. He has been a steady player for a few years but has only made one appearance at the Crucible before.

Who is your debutant to watch?

JR- JORDAN BROWN

One of the most eye catching wins in qualifying was beating Ryan Day 10-6, who got to the final stage of the Championship League. I’m not saying he will beat the three-time champion Mark Selby, but on that form he will push him all the way.

EW- ASHLEY CARTY

I really like the look of local boy Ashley Carty from Rotherham. He was fantastic in the Championship League in beating Neil Robertson and I think is someone who could go quite far in the game.

Local lad Ashley Carty from Rotherham is one of five Crucible debutants in the field this year

How will Ronnie fare?

JR- QUARTER-FINALS

Well if anyone could win a World Championship without much match practice, it is Ronnie as he proved in 2013. However, I don’t think the top players fear him as they did then and he hasn’t reached the one table setup since losing in the 2014 final to Mark Selby. I think he will dispatch Thepchaiya and probably Ding Junhui. But in the quarter-finals, I’ve got him facing Stuart Bingham who I think could beat him as he did at the same stage in 2015.

EW- SEMI-FINALS

Ronnie has been true to form and very vocal about spectators being allowed at the venue but in actual fact I think fans being there will help him with his following. It is always hard to look past him but his potential encounter with Ding in the last 16 will be a key clash in determining how far he can go into the tournament.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is gunning for his sixth World Championship, currently two off Stephen Hendry's record seven titles

Who could be a surprise package for the fortnight?

JR- STUART BINGHAM

Despite his draw, STUART BINGHAM is my fancy to go deep this week. His record in ranking events this season is poor and as such has dropped to 14th in the world rankings. However, he won the Masters in January and recently played in the final group of the Championship League event. He will possibly have to overcome the likes of Williams and O’Sullivan just to reach the semi-finals but I think he will thrive under these far from normal conditions.

EW- JACK LISOWSKI

It is difficult to call him a surprise package after the last few seasons but Jack Lisowski could find that this tournament is really a chance to make himself a household name. He has made the last two Masters events at Alexandra Palace but going into these championships as a seed will be a huge boost for him.

Most importantly, who wins the 2020 Betfred World Championship?

JR- STEPHEN MAGUIRE

I have a feeling we could have a new name on the trophy and I would look no further than the Scot. He is fresh from winning the Tour Championship, where he produced some stunning snooker to beat the world number one Judd Trump and Mark Allen 10-6 in the final. He will likely have to face Trump again in the quarter-final, but if he was to come through that he is the form player in the top half of the draw.

EW- KYREN WILSON

I really fancy Kyren Wilson to finally fulfil his potential and win his first triple crown event. Whether his walk-over victory against Anthony Hamilton will make any impact remains to be seen, but If anything it may mean he is less fatigued come the latter rounds. He is in the top half of the draw, which is definitely the more open of the two sides, particularly in terms of seeded players and those with the know-how of how to win at the Crucible.