World Open: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The anticipation is rising for the World Snooker Championship in April and world number one Judd Trump will be hoping to get another success on the board before the Sheffield showpiece with a third successive victory at the World Open in Yushan.

Trump defeated home favourite Ding Junhui 10-4 in a one-way final last season, having also taken the title in 2019 when the tournament was previously staged with an equally emphatic 10-5 win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the concluding match.

The world number one has already secured three tournament wins this season, the most lucrative of which came at the UK Championship in December, although he has failed to get in the winners’ enclosure since.

Instead, market rivals Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson have been the two form players on the tour.

Selby arrives in China having won the last two competitions at the Championship League and the Welsh Open and appears back to something like his best, while reigning world champion Wilson has three titles to his name, the most recent of which came at the German Masters earlier this month.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Luca Brecel and Mark Williams are among a list of high-profile absentees from the World Open, but it is still a star-studded field which also features Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, John Higgins and Ding Junhui.

World Open betting tips and predictions

Mark Selby to win - 5/1

Selby has struggled for the best part of 18 months both on and off the table, but the Jester from Leicester is a dangerous player to underestimate when things are clicking and that certainly seems to be the case right now.

The Leicester cueman has roared back to form with successive titles in the Championship League and the Welsh Open, taking his winning run to 11 matches and he has a nice early draw to work with at the Yushan Sport Centre.

Selby’s toughest obstacles before a potential semi-final showdown with Kyren Wilson look to be against Xiao Guodong and Gary Wilson, neither of whom look in good enough touch to live with him over the early best-of-nine format.

Even if Selby does have to meet the world champion in a blockbuster semi-final battle, the Warrior has a much tougher challenge to get there as Zhou Yuelong and Higgins are standing in his way beforehand.

But Selby has won his last five meetings with Wilson and the four-time world champion could start to go on a roll from now until The Crucible with his confidence levels up.

Trump is housed away from his two chief rivals in the top half of the draw but there are plenty of dangers to his supremacy, including Allen and Murphy, who have also had productive campaigns.

Barry Hawkins to win - 16/1

If there is a player who could be flying under the radar then it may well be Barry Hawkins, who has twice been a World Open semi-finalist and who has been rejuvenated this season.

The Hawk's runner-up efforts to Trump at the UK Championship and Wilson at the German Masters show how dangerous he can be, and the 13th seed will be desperate to claim his first ranking title since the 2023 European Masters.

And that seems entirely possible when you consider his early draw. Hawkins has landed in a soft section of the draw, where he opens up against Jamie Jones, while Ryan Day would be his only potential seeded rival before the quarter-final stage.

That suggests another deep run could be on the cards and from there Hawkins would be a danger to all, which includes Trump in a potential semi-final showdown.

Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site

World Open odds

Judd Trump 11/4
Mark Selby 5/1
Kyren Wilson 6/1
Mark Allen 8/1
Xiao Guodong 10/1
John Higgins 10/1
Shaun Murphy 11/1
Ding Junhui 12/1

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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.