The 2021 World Snooker qualifiers are over and the draw has been made, we are ready for making some World Snooker 2021 predictions for the first round matches and outright betting
Ranked 69 in the world, Jamie Jones is the least known of the qualifiers. He has had to win three matches to book his appointment with Stephen Maguire in the first round of the championships. Along the way he has registered five 100+ breaks so he should not be dismissed easily.
World number 32 Matthew Selt has also qualified. He had to win two matches (16 frames in total) to do so. As reward he is playing Barry Hawkins in the first round. Given Selt registered six 100+ breaks in those 16 frames and he was previously in the world’s top-20, he’s another qualifier who may be able to beat a top-16 ranked player who has automatically been placed in the main draw.
World Snooker 2021 Draw
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (England) (1) v Mark Joyce
- Anthony McGill (Scotland) (16) v Ricky Walden
- Neil Robertson (Australia) (3) v Liang Wenbo
- Jack Lisowski (England) (14) v Ali Carter
- Barry Hawkins (England) (11) v Matthew Selt
- Kyren Wilson (England) (16) v Gary Wilson
- John Higgins (Scotland) (5) v Tian Pengfei
- Mark Williams (Wales) (12) v Sam Craigie
- ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
- Mark Allen (England) (13) v Lyu Haotian
- Mark Selby (England) (4) v Kurt Maflin
- Shaun Murphy (England) (7) v Mark Davis
- Yan Bingtao (China) (10) v Martin Gould
- Ding Junhui (China) (7) v Stuart Bingham
- Stephen Maguire (Scotland) (8) v Jamie Jones
- David Gilbert (England) (15) v Chris Wakelin
- Judd Trump (England) (2) v Liam Highfield
Wilson Pick
Gary Wilson is a third qualifier that we really like.
He’s No. 22 in the world but almost breached the hallowed top-16 a year ago. A semi-finalist in this competition in 2019, he knows how to win at the Crucible and faces Kyren Wilson in a first-round match scheduled for April 19th.
So why are we so keen on qualifiers and expect them to beat higher ranked opponents?
Put simply the history books show a top-16 ranking is no guarantee of success. In 2020 11 of the sixteen seeded players made it through the first round. 12 did in 2019, ten did in 2018, 12 in 2017 and only nine in 2016.
While a higher ranking means any player is the odds-on match favourite by default, they only win in their turn.
Recommended First Round Snooker Bets:
April 17th & 18th:
- Jamie Jones to beat Stephen Maguire at 13/8 (2.63) with bet365*
April 19th:
- Gary Wilson to beat Kyren Wilson at 14/5 (3.80) with SpreadEx
April 20th & 21st:
- Matthew Selt to beat Barry Hawkins at 23/10 (3.30) with Boylesports
Neil Robertson the Outright Fancy
As for the final destination of the prize, Neil Robertson is our pick of the World Snooker betting outright odds.
The Australian is in the bottom half of the draw which has a remarkable 13 English players in it. He meets China’s Liang Wenbo in the first round. This pair last met in this competition at this ‘final 32’ stage last season with the Aussie winning 10-5.
Since then Robertson has been in brilliant form winning two of the nine ranking competitions he has contested – that includes the most recent Tour Championship in late March where he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-4 in the final.
The best form is the most recent form in snooker and with him dismissing Mark Selby 10-3 in the previous round of the Tour Championship, World No.3 Robertson is red-hot.
Outright Snooker Betting Tip:
Neil Robertson to win at 4/1 with Unibet
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