It really doesn’t seem that long ago when Mark Selby was parading around the Crucible with a Leicester City flag when he won last year’s World Championship. Here we are once again, with seventeen days of world class snooker where the best players on planet earth will do battle to be crowned the 2017 World Champion.
It all kicks off on Saturday morning and concluded on Monday 1st May. There are three sessions every day (morning, afternoon and evening) until the final when there are just the two (2pm & 7pm). Please note that the afternoon sessions times vary from 1pm – 2.30pm, so make sure to double check the times if you are planning an afternoon in front of the box!
I will be tipping on a daily basis, but first I will be picking a player from each quarter for the outright win market and the prices below are all with Betfair Exchange.
The Draw
Mark Selby (1) v Fergal O’Brien
Ryan Day (16) v Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson (9) v Noppon Saengkham
Marco Fu (8) v Luca Brecel
Shaun Murphy (5) v Yan Bingtao
Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) v Gary Wilson
Liang Wenbo (13) v Stuart Carrington
Ding Junhui (4) v Zhou Yuelong
Stuart Bingham (3) v Peter Ebdon
Kyren Wilson (14) v David Grace
Mark Allen (11) v Jimmy Robertson
John Higgins (6) v Martin Gould
Barry Hawkins (7) v Tom Ford
Ali Carter (10) v Graeme Dott
Anthony McGill (15) v Stephen Maguire
Judd Trump (2) v Rory McLeod
Mark Selby – Quarter One
Mark has been the world number one for the last two years and has won the World Championship twice in the last three years. So he should be the favourite in my eyes and has to be the value in the top part of the betting market.
BACK TO LAY – Selby (2 points) at 5.80 (5/1)
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Ronnie O’ Sullivan – Quarter Two
The Ronald has won this tournament five times, but not in the last three years! He has only won one tournament this season and that was in front of his “home crowd” in The Masters.
Personally I think The Ronald’s heart isn’t in snooker anymore and hasn’t been for some time. He is still very talented but his best days are behind him so he is a lay for me here.
LAY – O’ Sullivan (1 point) 6.40 (11/2)
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Kyren Wilson – Quarter Three
Kyren is a future World Champion in my opinion and I will be having a little dabble on him every year until he wins.
BACK TO LAY – Back Wilson (1 point) at 42.00 (41/1)
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Judd Trump – Quarter Four
Judd is box office when he is playing well and he is very capable of beating any player. But his attacking style of play gives his opposition plenty of chances and over this long format I feel that he will get found out.
He is the tournament favourite due to his recent form, but unless he changes his tactics for this tournament he won’t be lifting the trophy on Bank Holiday Monday.
LAY – Trump (2 points) at 5.10 (4/1)
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NB – You can only lay or back to lay on a betting exchange such as Betfair and not with a traditional bookmaker.
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Apex Sports Tips 