Ronnie O’Sullivan is once again rated the man to beat in the 2023 World Snooker Championship odds.
The Rocket is quoted at 4/1 to secure a record eighth title of the modern era, having joined Stephen Hendry on seven Crucible triumphs 12 months ago.
Joe Davis lifted the trophy 15 times between 1927 and 1946 but O’Sullivan can establish himself as the most prolific performer in the current format.
This season has been a quiet one in terms of his results in ranking tournaments.
Allied to a recent war of words with the sport’s bosses, it remains to be seen whether he retains the desire to do it all again over two gruelling weeks.
However, form is largely inconsequential when it comes to determining whether the mercurial 47-year-old has it in him to win a third world title in four years.
All things considered, O’Sullivan remains the outstanding favourite and will get the nod in most 2023 World Snooker Championship predictions.
Last year’s runner-up Judd Trump is 6/1 to emulate his 2019 victory while 2010 ace Neil Robertson can be backed at 15/2.
Here are four other contenders to consider and their 2023 World Snooker Championship odds:
Mark Selby @ 6/1
Few players in history have proved as well-equipped for the rigours of the Crucible than four-time champion Selby and at his often exasperating best he can prove almost impossible to overcome over the longer format. The bad news for Selby’s rivals is that he appears en route to rediscovering a happy place, with two ranking title wins already this season, and few would dare back against him if he was still standing at the tournament’s business end.
Shaun Murphy @ 8/1
After struggling through much of the previous year with back and neck complaints, Murphy has surged back to top form in 2023 and heads to the Crucible on the back of two tour title wins in three months. Champion as a qualifier in 2005, and three times a losing finalist since, Murphy is something of a Crucible specialist and has every chance of going all the way.
Mark Allen @ 12/1
Allen has shone out this season by winning three tournaments, albeit in a much-slowed style that has not endeared him to everybody, and ordinarily would be considered one of the likely contenders for his maiden crown. But Allen’s Crucible form is desperate – despite three quarter-finals, he rarely ventures beyond the second round, and may be ill-equipped for the unique rigours of the tournament’s final stages.
Ding Junhui @ 20/1
Fate sometimes plays funny games in snooker and so it is that former finalist Ding has squeezed back into the seedings after a season in which the match-fixing allegations levelled at 10 of his compatriots have left snooker’s relationship with China hanging by a thread. Ding, who is entirely innocent, reached the UK final earlier this season and the Tour Championship semi-finals earlier this month. What a year it would be for him to finally break his Crucible duck.
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