Ronnie Unlikely To Get It Right, Says Fred
In 2009 he was 9/4, last year 7/2…and now Betfred are happy to lay odds of 8/1 that Ronnie O’Sullivan will win a fourth World Championship on May 2.
It’s a measure of how often The Rocket has failed to have lift-off that his price has drifted so much from the days when he used to be the automatic favourite for every tournament.
A frequent absentee from the events held overseas, perhaps O’Sullivan has lacked match practice in opening defeats to Stuart Bingham, Mark Allen and Ryan Day this season.
But whatever the reason for the form that has led to him falling down the world rankings, Ronnie, a bit like previously dominant golfer Tiger Woods, no longer holds the fear factor over his fellow players.
That’s why Betfred are keen to take him on, offering an attractive price that you are unlikely to find bigger anywhere else. So if you think ‘the real Ronnie’ will turn up in Sheffield this year, Betfred is the place to put down your money!
So, if not O’Sullivan, who is the favourite to sample Crucible glory? On 2011 form it can only be John Higgins.
The Wizard of Wishaw has had the year from hell away from the table, serving a six-month ban for bringing snooker into disrepute and losing his father to cancer.
But on the green baize the 35-year-old has been at the peak of his powers, his performances since his return to action last November being those of a man you would never think had been away from the game.
Higgins’ recovery from 5-9 down to win 10-5 against Mark Williams in the UK Championship final was one of the all-time great fightbacks and must have made his rivals wonder what on earth they have to do to beat him.
The long format at the Crucible will suit him perfectly and at odds of 5/1 there are sure to be plenty of people backing Higgins, who lost 13-11 in a classic second-round encounter against veteran Steve Davis last year.
With eight previous champions in the field, however, this is perhaps the most open World Championship in memory and there are several other strong contenders to lift the trophy.
Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson and Mark Williams are all at single-figure odds, while the likes of Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Stephen Maguire and Ali Carter at prices around 16/1 and 20/1 also fall into the category of plausible winners.
Betfred do not just offer a market on who will become the champion though, and if you want to hedge your bets you can back a player simply to reach the final.
Graeme Dott has appeared in three of the last seven Crucible showdowns and the Sheffield specialist is a 12/1 chance to enhance that record to 50% from 2004 to 2011.
There are numerous other special bets available and if you think there will be a new name on the trophy this year, it’s 11/8 that all of the previous eight champions in the field will be beaten.
Mark King, who has slipped outside the world’s top 16 this season, is the 7/1 favourite to be the qualifier to progress furthest, with Crucible debutants Andrew Pagett and Jimmy Robertson the 50/1 outsiders in this market.
You can also bet on the nationality of the winner – English tops the list at 11/10 ahead of Scottish at 5/2 – and on which quarter of the draw the champion will emerge from. Betfred make the bottom quarter the 5/4 favourite.
A maximum 147 break is a 6/5 chance to occur at any time in this year’s tournament, and what about a piece of history to create the most dramatic World Championship climax imaginable?
You can have 66/1 that the final reaches 17-17 and is then decided on a re-spotted black!
To view the full range of snooker bets, visit www.betfred.com or the betting facility at the Crucible. Don’t forget you can bet in-play, while matches are in progress, throughout the tournament.
Good luck!
* All odds correct at the time of writing but subject to fluctuation
