The World Snooker Championship is back this weekend with last year’s winner Mark Selby and Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan both kick starting their campaign on Saturday 16 April 2022.
Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre will once again play host to the World Championship and the winner of the competition will be crowned on 2 May 2022.
Selby won his fourth world title last year and will be the top seed going into this year’s tournament while the six-time champion O’Sullivan enters the championship as the world number one.
The first round of the tournament will consist of the best of 19 frames, the second round and quarter-finals are the best of 25 while the semi-finals are the best of 33 and the final is the best of 35.
The winner is set to receive £500,000 in prize money while the runner-up will take home £200,000.
The full list of those competing has not yet been announced due to players still going through the qualification process but Selby and O’Sullivan will be joined by China’s Zhao Xintong as well as fellow Englishmen Shaun Murphy and Barry Hawkins and Scotsman Anthony McGill. Wales’ Mark Williams will also be in attendance and the Championship.
Let’s take a look at what the odds are saying about who could take home the grand prize of £500,000.
1. 10th: Mark Williams - 33/1
The ‘Welsh Potting Machine’ is often noted for his single-ball long potting ability and has been ranked the world number one player in three seasons: 1999-2000; 2000-2001 and 2002-03. He has won a total of 24 ranking tournaments overall, including two UK Championships, making him fifth on the all-time list. He most recently won the British Open in 2021/22 as well as reaching the final of the Shoot-Out tournament.
2. 9th: Ding Junhui - 28/1
Ding is known as ‘Enter The Dragon’ and is the only Asian player to be ranked world number one - a feat he first achieved in 2014. He is currently ranked 29th and has seriously struggled with form this season after he found himself unable to practise as much, spending long stretches of time in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has reached one semi final - the Turkish Masters - and one quarter final - the Gibraltar Open
3. 8th: Yan Bingtao - 26/1
Yan Bingtao, ‘The Tiger’, is number 16 in the current rankings and won his first Triple Crown event at the 2021 Masters, winning in deciding frames in every match up until the final. The final saw Bingtao defeat John Higgins 10-8. In the 2021/22 season, Bingtao has reached the final of the German Masters.
4. 7th: Zhao Xintong - 21/1
Nicknamed The Cyclone, Zhao is one of the brightest talents in the circuit, winning his first ranking title at the 2021 UK Championship. His second win came less than two months later when he beat fellow countryman Yan Bingtao 9-0 to win the 2022 German Masters. In doing so, he has become only the third player in history to win a two-session final without conceding a frame.