There is plenty of snooker to be played between now and the World Championships (20th April – 6th May), but you can be sure that plenty of the world’s top players have one eye on the Crucible. There are several tournaments between now and then for players to hone their form, but the days will pass quickly, and all roads lead to Sheffield.
Last year, we saw something of a shock – at least a minor one – as Luca Brecel managed to win his first World Championship. The Belgian had been knocking on the door for a while, yet not everyone thought he was ready to take that final step.
Brecel is among the favourites in the snooker betting to do it again in 2024, although his odds are much higher than the three frontrunners – Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Mark Selby. That trio has proven time and time again that they are the men to beat at the Crucible, and at least one of them has appeared in 11 of the last 13 World Championship Finals.
Being the favourite is not the same as winning, of course, and there are plenty of interesting candidates who could spring a surprise in May. Indeed, Brecel himself can be found at odds of 16/1, and nobody should be ruling out the Belgian to pull it out of the hat again.
Allen looks like a future champion
Perhaps the most interesting candidate is Mark Allen, however. The Northern Irishman is now ranked number three in the world, and to some he looks every inch a future World Champion. The Pistol had a sluggish start to the season, but he has looked much better since winning the Snooker Shootout in December. His performance in the Masters and the Players’ Championship (he won the latter) were also signs that he can really kick on at the Crucible.
Allen’s odds of 14/1 seem about right for a player who can offer a mixed bag performance-wise. His Crucible record is not great, but he did find some form last year, and he went agonisingly close against Mark Selby in one of the best matches of the tournament. In truth, Allen and Selby always seem to deliver cracking matches. On his day, Allen can beat anyone, though. And we certainly wouldn’t consider it surprising if he went all the way in Sheffield.
Further down the list we have Zhang Anda, the 32-year-old Chinese star who has really upped his game recently. Having never been in a ranking final before, Zhang won the International Championship, and reached the Final of the English Open and Players’ Championship, losing the latter to Allen. He is now at his highest ever ranking at world number 12. While it will be a tall order, he has the kind of form that most players would crave as we approach the biggest tournament in the sport.
Higgins and Williams can always deliver
There is, of course, never a day in snooker where you would rule out the old guard of John Higgins and Mark Williams, and both men are considered 20/1 shots for their 5th and 4th world titles respectively. Williams started the season on fire, reaching the Final of the Championship League and winning the British Open, but he has gone off the boil a little since then. Higgins, meanwhile, has been more consistent, reaching five semi-finals in ranking events across the season. The above is just a little suggestion of some who may cause an upset in the 2024 World Championships. We haven’t even mentioned some of those, such as Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, who will certainly see themselves as real contenders. The likes of O’Sullivan and Trump will be well backed by punters, but there’s probably close to a dozen players with a genuine shot at glory when the action kicks off in late April.