The first big event of the snooker season starts on Monday, when the biggest names in the sport contest the Shanghai Masters – Richard Mann provides his preview.
Snooker betting tips: Shanghai Masters
No recommended bet
The snooker season really clicks into gear on Monday, with the prestigious Shanghai Masters featuring snooker’s brightest stars.
Judd Trump heads the betting, bidding to successfully defend the crown he claimed 12 months ago in the midst of an electric start to the campaign.
Not for the first time, Trump was the outstanding player in the early part of last season, and he is the type to hit the ground running again.
As the top seed, Trump gets a bye into the last 16, where a likely meeting with Neil Robertson awaits.
Robertson and Trump have fought out some memorable battles down the years, but predicting which Robertson will turn up is becoming harder and harder, and Trump appears far more likely to be dialled in for the season opener.
From there, the likes of Mark Selby, Mark Williams and John Higgins lurk in the top half of the draw, but the latter in particular has struggled to handle Trump in recent years.
Selby was also quickly out of the blocks last year, winning the British Open in August, so perhaps he will give Trump most to think about.
Selby can be backed at 9/1 this week, but I remain of the view that Trump is probably the man to beat, for all 7/2 makes no appeal for the first proper event of the season.
In the bottom half, all eyes will be on Ronnie O’Sullivan, winner of this tournament four years in succession prior to last year.
In fact, we didn’t see very much of O’Sullivan at all last term, but he generally keeps his Chinese commitments, and he did reach the last four here in 2024.
It will be fascinating to see where O’Sullivan is at with his game, both technically and mentally, having clearly struggled with both departments for a while now.
Still, he was good enough to reach the semi-finals of the World Championship back in the spring, despite limited preparation and looking a long way below his brilliant best.
He’ll face the winner of Barry Hawkins and Wu Yize in the second round, so things won’t be easy.
Kyren Wilson and Ding Junhui also feature in a strong bottom section, but right at the foot of the draw sits world champion Zhao Xintong.
The big home hope was a brilliant winner at Sheffield in May, bounding to his maiden world title with defeats of O’Sullivan and then Williams in the final.
Snooker fans will be hoping he can renew his rivalry with O’Sullivan this week and beyond, but in reality, the future will be about how he stands up to likes of Trump and Wilson week in, week out.
5/1 is available for Zhao this week, so the secret is most certainly out, but he will merit the utmost respect for this tournament and the many more to come.
Preview published at 1515 BST on 25/07/25
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling.
Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
