The eyes of the sporting world will be on Sheffield during April and May as the 2024 World Snooker Championship is staged at the iconic Crucible Theatre.
The 2023 edition of the tournament produced a shock result, with Luca Brecel upsetting the odds to defeat Mark Selby 18-15 in a thrilling final.
Read on as we look at the schedule, format and betting for this year’s event, before assessing which player will get their hands in the prestigious trophy.
Dates & Format
The tournament runs from April 20 to May 6. It features 32 players – the top 16 in the world rankings and 16 who book their place via qualifying. The format is as follows:
- First Round: Best of 19 frames.
- Second Round: Best of 25 frames.
- Quarter-Finals: Best of 25 frames.
- Semi-Finals: Best of 33 frames.
- Final: Best of 35 frames.
Outright Betting
Online bookmakers rate Ronnie O’Sullivan as the favourite to win the tournament and the seven-time world champion could be tough to stop in Sheffield.
Judd Trump will also be a popular pick with sports bettors, while Mark Allen could come in for plenty of each-way support in the run-up to the event.
The Northern Ireland-born star reached the semi-final last season, but came up short against Selby. He will be eager to set the record straight this year.
Allen is priced at 14/1 on World Championship Snooker betting sites – odds which will likely attract plenty of interest among his sizeable fanbase in Ireland.
Four-time world champion Selby could also be dangerous, although he will need to improve on the form he has shown this season. Here are the latest outright odds:
- Ronnie O’Sullivan – 3/1
- Judd Trump – 4/1
- Mark Selby – 7/1
- Mark Allen – 14/1
- Shaun Murphy – 14/1
- Mark Williams – 16/1
- Neil Robertson – 16/1
- Luca Brecel – 18/1
- Kyren Wilson – 20/1
- Ali Carter – 22/1
- Ding Junhui – 22/1
- John Higgins – 22/1
- Barry Hawkins – 25/1
- Jack Lisowski – 28/1
- Zhang Anda – 28/1
- Si Jiahui – 40/1
- Anthony McGill – 50/1
- Stuart Bingham – 50/1
- Gary Wilson – 66/1
- Hossein Vafaei – 66/1
- David Gilbert – 100/1
- Joe O’Connor – 100/1
- Noppon Saengkham – 100/1
- Pang Junxu – 100/1
- Robert Milkins – 100/1
- Ryan Day – 100/1
- Stephen Maguire – 100/1
- Zhou Yuelong – 100/1
- Jak Jones – 125/1
- Tom Ford – 125/1
- Cao Yupeng – 150/1
- Fan Zhengyi – 150/1
- Graeme Dott – 150/1
- Jamie Jones – 150/1
- Joe Perry – 150/1
- Marco Fu – 150/1
- Ricky Walden – 150/1
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – 150/1
- Tian Pengfei – 150/1
- Wu Yize – 150/1
- Xiao Guodong – 150/1
- Yuan Sijun – 150/1
- Jackson Page – 200/1
- Jimmy Robertson – 200/1
- Jordan Brown – 200/1
- Lyu Haotian – 200/1
- Martin Gould – 200/1
- Matthew Selt – 200/1
- Matthew Stevens – 200/1
- Michael White – 200/1
- Scott Donaldson – 200/1
- Xu Si – 200/1
Other players are available on request.
Tournament Preview
O’Sullivan has already won the Masters and UK Championship this season and will be confident he can add an eighth world title to his CV.
The mercurial 48-year-old has been in fine form in the tournaments he has entered this season despite struggling with his well-documented mental health issues.
The world number one recently withdrew from the German Masters and has also pulled out of this week’s Welsh Open to prioritise his wellbeing.
His decision to take a step back should pay dividends when the World Championship gets underway and he will be tough to beat in Sheffield.
Trump capitalised on O’Sullivan’s absence in Germany by winning the tournament and he should give punters a good run for their money at the Crucible.
The 2018/19 world champion has won four ranking events this season to demonstrate that his game is in fine fettle at the moment.
Selby’s previous record in Sheffield makes him a dangerous proposition, although he has failed to reach the final in a ranking event this season.
Looking further down the betting, Kyren Wilson may attract interest from punters looking for a player who could spring a surprise this year.
Wilson finished runner-up in 2019/20 and has progressed to the semi-final on two other occasions, so could be worth a small bet to win the tournament.