Four rounds of qualifying for the World Snooker Championships are now complete. Staged in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, they have provided the tournament with the 16 players that will join the world’s top-16 seeded players in the Crucible stages of the tournament.
This year there will be an amateur player in the competition with Michael White winning four qualifying matches to reach the final 32 stage. However, as the 30-year-old is a previous winner of the Indian Open, Paul Hunter Classic and Snooker Shootout, his progress is not a total surprise. But still, it is a rare occurrence.
White has played in the World Championships three times in the past. Twice a first-round casualty he made the quarter final stage on his debut in 2013. This year the Welshman will meet fellow countryman Mark Williams in the first round.
The Ranked Qualifiers
The lowest-ranked player to reach the final 32 is another Welshman, Jackson Page. The 20-year-old is a former European Under-21 champion and the former Under-18 World Snooker champion. Ranked 90, he will play 2013 world championship runner-up, and four times semi-finalist, Barry Hawkins in his first-round match.
The highest-ranked players from outside of the world’s top-16 to qualify for the Crucible stages include number 18 seed Hossein Vafaei, number 19 Dave Gilbert, and number 29 Ding Junhui. The Chinese player will be making his 16th consecutive appearance in the tournament. He lost 18-14 to Mark Selby in the 2016 final and was a semi-finalist in 2011 and 2017.
A player that has been absent for the majority of the season, Ding showed his considerable ability was still intact when reaching the semi-final of the Turkish masters and quarter-final of the Gibraltar Open in recent weeks. His profile and route to the Crucible is reminiscent of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s successful assault on the tournament in 2013. It makes him a fascinating contender. One of four Chinese players in the competition, his first-round opponent is Kyren Wilson.
Stevens’ Brings Back-Class
Other noteworthy qualifiers include Stephen Maguire – who will be making his 19th consecutive appearance in the competition – World ranked number 37, Jamie Jones, Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, and two-time finalist Matthew Stevens.
Stevens is a remarkable contender. He has only qualified for the competition three times in the past eight years. But there is an abundance of back-class in his form book. In addition to his two finals – 2000 and 2005 – he has also reached the semi-finals four times.
His troubled personal life has been well documented by the press. But, in the qualifiers, Stevens played some excellent snooker. In the final qualifying match, he eliminated Ali Carter producing a 100, a 115 and a 139 break. One of five Welsh players in the 2022 Betfred World Championship, he can be backed at a whopping 200/1 for outright glory with the sponsors. There have been far worse 200/1 shots in sport.
Matthew Stevens to win at 200/1 with bet365*
2022 the Year of the Qualifier?
Only three qualifiers have ever won the tournament: Alex Higgins in 1972, Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005. But there are plenty of classy established players amongst the qualifiers to give us reason to believe a player from outside the world’s top 16 will prevail in 2022.
Naturally, the snooker betting odds are headed by the established top-ranked players. Number three seed and 2010 world champion, Neil Robertson, is the bookies’ favourite at best odds of 7/2. The Australian has won this year’s Masters, English Open and German Masters. Plus he took the Tour Championship following a memorable comeback against John Higgins just two weeks ago.
2019 world champion Judd Trump follows in the betting odds. The 32-year-old had a phenomenal 2020/21 season, but the wins have not come so easily this campaign. He won the small field Champion of Champions event in November and landed the Turkish Masters a month ago. But just as it looked like he had timed his World Championship preparations to perfection, he was a fourth-round casualty in the Gibraltar Open and fell at the first flight in the Tour Championship losing to Luca Brecel 10-6 two weeks ago.
Ronnie and Selby’s Form is Questionable
Third favorite is Ronnie O’Sullivan a player that needs no introduction. Brilliant at his best – probably the greatest player we’ve ever seen – but unpredictable and underpriced on the balance of 2021/22 season form at 11/2.
Mark Selby is the defending champion and a four-time winner of this event. He seems to come alive in the World Championships and he will need to as this season has been truly forgettable for the ‘Jester from Leicester’. Even at odds of 8/1, like O’Sullivan, he seems short in the betting based on recent efforts.
Higgins is Mr Consistency
John Higgins has maintained a great level of form throughout this season. At the prices – he can be backed at 14/1 – he makes the most appeal amongst the principles.
The four-time world champion and four-time runner up has reached the final of no less than six major tournaments this season. Amongst those, he only managed to snag the Championship League final. But he raced to a 9-4 lead against Neil Robertson in the Tour Championship final in Llandudno a fortnight ago.
If the 10-9 loss has not left any scars, the Scotsman can be expected to go deep in the 2022 World Championship. He meets Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round. Noppon Saengkham or Luca Brecel are his potential second-round opponents.
John Higgins to win at 14/1 with Betfair
Our Conclusion & World Snooker Betting Tips 2022
Neil Robertson is the favourite and deservedly so. He has been the most impressive player of the season, he has won the title before and must be full of confidence. If you are backing one player at the top of the betting, he makes the most appeal.
John Higgins could have easily won the Tour Championship 10-4. If had done so, he would be much shorter than his 14/1 odds. Considering his tussle with Robertson there, it makes sense to play him each-way.
But this could be the year of the underdog and in addition to the big-priced Matthew Stevens, we really like Iran’s Hossein Vafaei. World ranked number 18, the 27-year-old is not a conventional underdog. At 100/1 he is only an underdog price.
Neil Robertson to win at 7/2 with bet365*
Why Hossein Vafaei?
Best known for winning the Shootout competition in January, he made the semi-final of the Welsh Open where he lost to Judd Trump by a narrow margin. Arguably it was a match he should have won. But it is fair to say he did not get a great deal of luck in the game.
Nevertheless, Hossein Vafaei showed he could go toe-to-toe with the very best. He is clearly improving and he is regularly tipped as a player with a huge future by his peers.
It could be a bonus that Judd Trump is his first-round opponent. He should approach the game with a degree of confidence – knowing he so nearly beat him recently – and if he does beat the ‘Juddernaut’ his 2022 World Snooker winner odds could be slashed to proverbial ribbons.
Hossein Vafaei to win at 100/1 with Betfair
Scott for the Brave
Another player worth a few pennies at a huge price is Scott Donaldson. He registered a 132 and a 139 during his three qualifying matches which he won 6-0, 6-5 and 10-1. The 28-year-old won the 2020 Championship League final, so he is a proven winner which is a big bonus.
Scott Donaldson to win at 400/1 with SpreadEx
Summary – Our Recommended World Snooker 2022 Bets
- Neil Robertson – 7/2 at bet365*
- John Higgins. – 14/1 at Betfair
- Hossein Vafaei – 100/1 at Betfair
- Matthew Stevens – 200/1 at bet365*
- Scott Donaldson. – 400/1 at SpreadEx
World Snooker 2022 Draw
1st Quarter
Mark Selby v Jamie Jones
Yan Bingtao v Chris Wakelin
Barry Hawkins v Jackson Page
Mark Williams v Michael White
————————————
2nd Quarter
Kyren Wilson v Ding Junhui
Stuart Bingham v Lyu Haotian
Anthony McGill v Liam Highfield
Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
————————————
3rd Quarter
Neil Robertson v Ashley Hugill
Jack Lisowski v Matthew Stevens
Luca Brecel v Noppon Saengkham
John Higgins v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
————————————
4th Quarter
Zhao Xintong v Jamie Clarke
Shaun Murphy v Stephen Maguire
Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson
Ronnie O’Sullivan v David Gilbert
The final stages at the Crucible start on Saturday and run until May 2nd.
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