Riyadh Season Snooker Championship: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Partner Authors Updated: 17 Dec 24 08:04

The second edition of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship takes place in Boulevard City this week as 10 of the world's best players compete for the £250,000 top prize.

The tournament was staged for the first time in March 2024 and arguably snooker's all-time greatest player, Ronnie O'Sullivan, lifted the trophy after beating Luca Brecel 5-2 in the final.

The Rocket is playing once again this time, though he arrives in poor form, while the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Mark Selby and John Higgins are all in the mix in a 12-man field, that includes a couple of local wildcards.

Riyadh Season Snooker Championship

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Riyadh Season Snooker Championship betting tips and predictions

Mark Williams to win - 10/1

Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump have been the standout performers in 2024, with Wilson landing the World Championship and Trump scooping the UK Championship.

Last month's win in York saw Trump eliminating Wilson in the semi-finals, banishing memories of a Northern Ireland Open final demolition in Belfast.

They are leading contenders for this adventure in Saudi Arabia but the market has identified them well with Trump favourite at 5/2 and the Warrior trading at 9/2.

Splitting them is O'Sullivan but the Rocket has not been at his best of late and pulled out of last week's Scottish Open. He could catch fire at any time, of course, and the £250,000 on offer will motivate him for sure but he is an unappealing price on form.

Instead, it is another Class of '92 member, Mark Williams, that looks to hold a solid chance.

Williams faces Trump first in the quarter-finals. They last met at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Masters, where Trump edged a best-of-19 clash by the odd frame.

Williams won the Champion of Champions month and did so in style, defeating Wilson, Neil Robertson and Xiao Guodong.

The 49-year-old Welsh ace has been putting in the hours on the practice table and it has shown in his form. He was unlucky to lose his UK Championship opener 6-5 to Stuart Bingham.

With the best-of-seven format in the quarters and semi-finals, Williams is a dangerous opponent and has the scoring power to defeat anyone. At double-figure odds, the left hander is a definite contender.

Ding Junhui to win - 18/1

Ding Junhui is another player that looks overpriced. He faces a local wildcard in the tournament opener and should have few worries there – both wildcards lost 4-0 in the first staging of this tournament.

If he wins that it will be Shaun Murphy in the last eight and a chance to avenge his 6-5 UK Championship loss against the Magician in York.

Ding should still be on a relative high having won the International Championship in his native China at the end of October.

He beat Mark Davis and Jackson Page at the Scottish Open last week, too, and he knocked in two centuries but was beaten 4-3 by Luca Brecel in the last-16 in a game he ought to have won.

He made three ton-plus breaks in Scotland and had four more contributions over the half-century mark, so is clearly in good touch.

Murphy leads their head-to-head but Ding beat the Englishman en route to winning that International Championship win and if he can repeat the feat in Saudi Arabia he should then fancy his chances of upsetting an out-of-sorts O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals.

Riyadh Season Snooker Championship odds

Judd Trump – 5/2
Ronnie O'Sullivan – 7/2
Kyren Wilson – 9/2
Mark Selby – 6/1
Mark Allen – 8/1
Mark Williams – 10/1
Shaun Murphy – 18/1
Ding Junhui – 18/1
Zhang Anda – 25/1
Luca Brecel – 25/1

View the full market and more odds for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.

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