With the 2021/22 snooker season returning to normal scheduling, the race is on to be crowned World Champion. The championship returns to the Crucible with three weeks of top class action set to cross April into May.
A number of ranking events are already in the bank so who are the players in form and looking to lift that 2022 World Title?
Dates for the Diary
The 2022 edition of the World Snooker Championship gets underway on April 16th with the final set to take place on May 2nd. The Crucible theatre in Sheffield is the venue once again for the best that the game has to offer.
Short form ranking events have offered some indicators as to who may come through to take the trophy but what’s the neutral verdict for 2022?
The Men to Beat
According to online sports betting websites affiliated with Sbo.net, Judd Trump is the bookmakers’ favourite to win. Along with a welcome bonus, bets can be placed on the platform now for the World Championship in 2022. The Ace in the Pack claimed his first world title in 2019 and has been a consistent winner on tour ever since.
Close behind is Australia’s Neil Robertson, followed by Ronnie O’Sullivan and defending champion Mark Selby. Robertson is one of the form players on the circuit with wins this season in the English Open and The Masters.
Rocket Ronnie has been subdued by his own high standards but will remain a threat for now. The Jester from Leicester Mark Selby has also been quiet and needs to find some form in the weeks ahead if he is to mount a successful defence.
There are five more ranking tournaments to come before the World Championships including the Turkish Masters, the Welsh Open and the European Masters. The markets will, therefore, be subject to change based on the results from those events.
When changes do occur, the panel of sportsbooks will update their prices and Sbo.net will reflect the new figures. While assessing those odds, visitors can also keep pace with the sport thanks to breaking news stories and opinion pieces that appear on the website.
If readers decide that they want to take things a step further, each of the sportsbooks listed on the site are set up to accept new registrations. The majority of those providers have welcome packages in place while a selection of deposit methods can get the account funded.
Once fully on board, customers can look to take advantage of ongoing promotions while a choice of other markets and the potential to live stream top class sport are among the other benefits.
The site can help out considerably when studying those markets but have the bookmakers got it right?
The Chasing Pack
One man who needs watching at the Crucible is multiple world champion John Higgins. The Scot has been in top form across the 2021/22 season with victory in the Championship League, together with appearances in no fewer than four finals.
He may have struggled to get over the line at times but few will rule out Higgins for another world title. Other cuemen who are highly ranked by the sportsbooks include Kyren Wilson, Zhao Xingtong, Yan Bingtao, Mark Williams, Mark Allen and Luca Brecel.
All of those players have enjoyed some success in 2021/22 but they will need to add some consistency to their games if they are to claim the biggest prize in the sport.
The Verdict
That need for consistency is defined by the format of the World Championships. There are no fast games here and no scope for players to pull off a shock as we see in some best of seven earlier rounds.
The World Championship is something of a test of endurance and, in the modern era, it’s rare for upsets to happen. The top four in that market are the players to watch with Neil Robertson displaying the better form and consistency across the season.
From the chasing pack, John Higgins is in great touch and the Scot seems to be the man most likely to mount a challenge. Whatever happens, we’re set for another 17 days of thrilling snooker action as the World Championship returns to the Crucible this April.