Richard Mann nominates his best bets for the last 16 of the World Snooker Championship, with fireworks predicted when Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy meet on Sunday.
Snooker betting tips: World Championship
1pt Over 5.5 match centuries in Shaun Murphy/Judd Trump match at 7/4 (General)
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
- Sunday 10:00
- Sky Bet match odds: Murphy 9/4, Trump 1/3
A real battle of the titans await, with two of the heaviest scorers in the game locking horns in the tie of the second round.
2019 champion Judd Trump was deeply impressive when routing Zhou Yuelong 10-4 on Wednesday, registering five centuries in the match and four in the second session alone, including three in succession.
It was a devastating display from Trump, but Shaun Murphy was rightly pleased with his comfortable beating of Daniel Wells where he himself stroked in three tons.
Both men look to have their games in good shape, but Trump has had the wood over Murphy of late. In fact, you have to go back to the 2022 UK Championship for Murphy's last victory over Trump, though he did beat Trump at the Crucible a year earlier.
Of the two, I think Trump is the more likely to carry his form from the first round into the last 16. However, Murphy did win the Masters earlier in the year and declared 'my game is the best it has ever been' after his win over Wells.
One thing is for sure, we can expect an open, attacking game with these two heavy hitters on show.
This tournament has already seen a plethora of centuries, so expect more of the same in the coming days.
That should apply to this match, too, so backing OVER 5.5 MATCH CENTURIES at 7/4 makes sense.
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu
1pt Pang Junxu to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan (+4.5 frames) at 11/10 (General)
- Saturday, 14:30
- Sky Bet match odds: O'Sullivan 1/6, Pang 7/2
The Ronnie O'Sullivan bandwagon has quickly started rolling again following his facile 10-4 comeback win over Ali Carter in round one.
If O'Sullivan was rusty in the first session, the second was very close to vintage Rocket as he knocked in three centuries to reel off five frames without reply.
In truth, he didn't meet a great deal of resistance from Carter who was largely disappointing, but there was no mistaking O'Sullivan's quality and he suddenly looks a genuine contender.
We shouldn't be surprised given he has been world champion seven times already, but this is the first time he has played competitively since January.
One suspects O'Sullivan will continue to get better and better, but outwardly at least, he is putting putting very little pressure on himself and continues to play down his chances.
I don't believe a word and have long thought fresh is best when it comes to the particular demands of this tournament.
However, I don't expect his second-round tie with Pang Junxu to be a walk in the palk and will be backing the impressive Pang to cover the handicap.
Pang took a while to warm to the task in round one, but his burst to beat Zhang Anda 10-7 from 7-5 behind was hard to fault, nor the breaks of 58, 102, 55 and 65 that helped him get over the line.
He displayed a really good level of composure to win a couple of close frames in the second session of that contest, all the more meritorious when you consider Pang had never previously won a match at the Crucible.
Pang's two previous visits here saw him lose 10-9 to Robert Milkins last year, and 10-7 on his Crucible debut against O'Sullivan in 2023.
Pang shaped really well in that aforementioned clash between the pair, and it's worth pointing out that he has two wins over O'Sullivan already from only five meetings.
Clearly, beating O'Sullivan on the biggest stage will require another big step forward, but I'd argue that Pang's run to the semi-finals of this season's Northern Ireland Open, when just losing a close match to eventual winner Kyren Wilson, highlights he is still very much on the upgrade.
He ought to give O'Sullivan a game, and PANG (+4.5 FRAMES) ON THE HANDICAP makes plenty of appeal.
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Williams
1pt Hossein Vafaei to have the most centuries in the match against Mark Williams at 15/8 (Sky Bet)
- Friday, 10:00
- Sky Bet match odds: Vafaei 6/4, Williams 1/2
Hossein Vafaei and Mark Williams have previous, so the notoriously laidback Welshman might be more keyed up than usual to earn yet another Crucible quarter-final appearance.
Unsurprisingly, Williams dominates the head-to-head 6-1 with Hossein Vafaei, with a couple of those wins coming in semi-finals of ranking events.
This is another big match and despite making concerning noises about his eyesight in recent weeks, the suspicion is that Williams' greater big-match experience and flawless temperament will give him the edge.
Bookmakers certainly agree, making Williams strong favourite. That makes sense, given the veteran mastered the wildly-talented Wu Yize in the first round.
Nevertheless, Williams was outscored in that match, with the young Chinese making two centuries to Williams' one.
Given Vafaei is a notoriously heavy scorer himself and knocked in four tons in his win over Barry Hawkins, VAFAEI TO MAKE THE MOST CENTURIES IN THE MATCH looks the bet at 15/8.
Vafaei is also a 6/5 chance to have the highest break in the match – another seemingly solid play.
Posted at 1105 BST on 24/04/25
Related snooker links
- Richard Mann's World Championship outright preview
- World Championship: Top 16 player profiles
- Where are the young snooker players
- Perfect Snooker Player
- Snooker's GOAT: O'Sullivan by the numbers
- O'Sullivan's Triple Crown timeline
- Watch all the Crucible 147 breaks
- Should the worlds stay at the Crucible?
- History of 147 breaks
- Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 breaks
- O'Sullivan: One of a kind
- History of snooker's number ones
- Best players never to win a world title
- Crucible memories: Ronnie's finest hour
- Crucible memories: Higgins denies Trump
- Crucible memories: White a People's Champion
- Crucible memories: Johnson stuns Davis
- Crucible memories: Foulds' dream debut
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.
Related snooker links
- Where are the young snooker players
- Perfect Snooker Player
- Snooker's GOAT: O'Sullivan by the numbers
- O'Sullivan's Triple Crown timeline
- Watch all the Crucible 147 breaks
- Should the worlds stay at the Crucible?
- History of 147 breaks
- Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 breaks
- O'Sullivan: One of a kind
- History of snooker's number ones
- Best players never to win a world title
- Crucible memories: Ronnie's finest hour
- Crucible memories: Higgins denies Trump
- Crucible memories: White a People's Champion
- Crucible memories: Johnson stuns Davis
- Crucible memories: Foulds' dream debut
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.
