The snooker season continues with the prestigious Players Championship starting in Telford on Tuesday. James Cooper has looked at the draw and recommends one outright bet.
Snooker betting tips: Players Championship
1pt e.w. Neil Robertson to win the Players Championship at 8/1 (General 1/2 1,2)
Formerly a PTC Finals event, the Players Championship was formed in 2017 with the top 16 on the one-year list only eligible to play.
Ronnie O’Sullivan (who hasn’t qualified for this) and Judd Trump shared the first four titles but there has been a different winner of each renewal since 2021, with 2024 victor Mark Allen the only non-world champion to lift the trophy.
It should go without saying that this is a prestigious event with every facet of the game scrutinised and the roll call of winners certainly backs that up.
Top Trump makes solid appeal
Judd Trump will have been relieved to snap a sequence of four losing final appearances in Berlin last month, running out a commanding 10-4 winner over Shaun Murphy.
That rubber-stamped the fact that he remains the man to beat and a subsequent early reversal in Hong Kong is easy to explain away on account of fairly brutal scheduling for top-level sport given the lengthy travel associated with the switch to the Far East.
Trump is in the other half of the draw to Zhao Xintong and Mark Selby, and with time to fully prepare, there’s a lot to like, though at 3/1, he’s been priced up accordingly.
On-song Zhao a threat to all
Zhao, meanwhile, survived a serious scare from the aforementioned Selby in Hong Kong, recovering from 4-1 down to win 5-4 and having looked in control against Chris Wakelin, the world champion needed to win the final two frames to advance in their quarter-final clash.
It was fairly plain sailing after that though, with Zhao recording his first ranking success since the Sheffield showpiece and joining a very exalted list to win their first four ranking finals.
There’s certainly an intimidation factor as far as Zhao is concerned given his propensity to knock in the opening red of a frame and the way he plays the game lends itself to being fresher than most at the business end of tournaments.
Elliot Slessor is an opponent Zhao will expect to beat, though the pair served up a bit of a World Championship qualifying classic in the spring, Slessor pushing Zhao closer than anyone managed in the tournament proper, ultimately succumbing 10-8 with the pair sharing six centuries.
However, like Trump, at the general 9/2 in an event of this quality, I can’t make a compelling case for the Chinese superstar at those odds.
Who is the best bet?
So who is the pick at the prices?
At 8/1, I would argue it’s 2022 Players Championship winner NEIL ROBERTSON.
Having won the 2025 World Grand Prix, it was a meek defence of the trophy from Robertson a fortnight ago, losing 5-1 to Jak Jones.
The likeable Aussie did plenty right in Berlin prior to that, though, reaching the semi-final before running into an inspired Shaun Murphy.
The lion share of Robertson’s 2025/26 earnings has come from the Saudi events, winning a decider against O’Sullivan in a drama-filled final of the Saudi Arabia Masters before finding just Zhao too good in the showpiece of the lucrative Riyadh Season invitational.
For a while now I’ve had it in my mind that Robertson targets certain events more than many of his contemporaries, staying as fresh as possible both physically and mentally and watching him play, as a keen student of the game, Robertson really gets himself up for matches against the sport’s elite.
First up is John Higgins, who fits into that category in no uncertain terms and it’s fair to say Robertson has had the upper hand in recent times, landing a couple of punches to the solar plexus in huge matches from very unpromising positions.
It’s rarely as straightforward as this but a semi-final against Judd Trump would be one to savour.
Installed as 8/1 fourth favourite, there’s enough mileage in that price to make Robertson the sole recommendation.
Posted at 11:55 GMT on 16/02/26
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