2023 World Snooker Championship tips: Ronnie O’Sullivan favourite to regain Crucible crown
- Seb Sternik
- 13 April 2023
Ronnie O’Sullivan will be looking to shatter snooker’s history books as he targets a record-breaking eighth world championship crown at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
When looking ahead to the World Snooker Championship, the conversation can only begin with one man - O'Sullivan.
Twelve months ago, The Rocket became the oldest world champion in the history of the sport after romping to an 18-13 victory over Judd Trump at the ripe old age of 46.
O'Sullivan still has some time to go before collecting his state pension and he enters the 2023 edition of the tournament as red-hot favourite to defend his crown.
If the competition was determined solely on ability, the WST chiefs would already engrave O'Sullivan's name on the trophy. Instead, we must wait and see what state of mind the Rocket is in.
Having won almost everything in the sport, it's no surprise that the 47-year-old may not always have the same motivation he did three decades ago.
Nevertheless, the bookmarkers certainly fancy O'Sullivan to recreate his magic after pricing him at 4/1 to go all the way.
Mark Selby is currently second on the list at 11/2.
The world number two will kick off his campaign against Matthew Selt as he looks for his fifth world championship.
The Jester from Leicester has won four of the last nine editions of the tournament but was disappointed by his second-round exit in 2022.
Selby won the recent WST Classic in his hometown and looks in decent form ahead of his Crucible opener.
Shaun Murphy was the winner of the most recent event. The Englishman beat Kyren Wilson 10-7 to claim the Tour Championship crown in Hull last week.
The former world champion has been priced as fifth-favourite and is likely to be a popular choice with odds of 17/2.
Another name who will be fancied by many fans is last year's runner-up Judd Trump.
The 33-year-old won the Masters this season but did fall in three other finals - the World Grand Prix, Champion of Champions and Champions League.
Trump is third-favourite and is currently priced at 6/1 to claim his second world title.
Another man who deserves a mention is Neil Robertson. While he has not enjoyed a fruitful year, the Aussie can never be written off.
While he has failed to win a tournament this season on the WST tour, the 41-year-old did reach six semi-finals.
Robertson has also reached three quarter-finals on his last four world championship appearances. He is currently priced at 15/2 to go all the way.
