2025 World Snooker Championship betting tips: Kyren Wilson can conquer the ‘crucible curse’

Snooker’s annual extravaganza is here, as the best players on the planet congregate at the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the 2025 World Snooker Championship.

Qualifying for the blue riband event has been going on elsewhere in the city, but the televised stages take place across 17 days between 19 April to 5 May.

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With a top prize of £500,000, the World Championship is an examination like no other on the professional snooker circuit. This is one of the reasons Midnite were so keen to partner with the World Snooker Tour ahead of the tournament. 

Long-format matches, a relentless schedule, and a tight, cauldron-like atmosphere can make or break a player.

The main draw at the crucible features 32 players; the world’s top 16 are fixed into the bracket, and they will be randomly drawn against the 16 qualifiers who emerged from the preliminaries just a few days before. 

The odds earlier this week suggest Judd Trump is the favourite but could reigning champ Kyren Wilson actually be the value play? 

Judd Trump favourite, but unfancied by many pundits

As mentioned, runaway world number one Judd Trump is the pre-tournament favourite (7/2 Ladbrokes). ‘The ace in the pack’ is aiming for his second world title following his maiden triumph here in 2019.

Trump enjoyed an incredible first half to the season by collecting three huge titles. But since his UK Championship success at the start of December, he has not won a trophy. In fact, during this spell, he has only made one final – last month’s Players Championship.

There are concerns about his reliability in longer-format events such as the recent Tour Championship where he has lost his opening match in each of his last four appearances there.

Last year at the crucible, Trump suffered a shock quarter-final exit, and 12 months before that he went out in the first round.

The 30-time ranking event winner has made three finals here, though, so perhaps that criticism is harsh. He has managed his playing schedule differently this season, so maybe that will pay dividends at the most crucial time of all. 

The Second favourite is Mark Selby (11/2 Coral), who has no doubters when it comes to his crucible pedigree, having been in five of the last 11 finals, winning four of those.

Selby has had a rejuvenating season, winning three events, and he was runner-up at the last tournament.

Next in the ratings is reigning champion Kyren Wilson (7/1 Betway), who has had a stellar year, doubling his career ranking event title tally from five to ten – a streak that began here when winning the world title for the first time.

‘The Warrior’ will have to create history if he is to successfully defend though, no first-time crucible champion has ever retained the title.

As number one seed, Wilson is at the top of the draw. Neil Robertson and Mark Allen are in his quarter, but they could meet each other in round two.

Selby is further down in the top half and could play seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in a mouthwatering last eight clash.

It’s bizarre to say about the greatest of all time, but O’Sullivan will be somewhat of an unknown quantity as he hasn’t played professionally since the start of January. 

It is still unclear whether ‘The Rocket’ will even play in Sheffield, but it seems more likely than not and it would be foolish to write off O’Sullivan’s chances under any circumstances.

Chinese cueist Zhang Anda and Si Jiahui are also in the second quarter alongside Selby and O’Sullivan.

FIRST’s top tip for the 2025 World Championship – Kyren Wilson

The weight of expectation and extra scrutiny has sometimes been too much for maiden world champions, but not for Wilson, who has thrived wearing the crown and taken his game up several levels.

From his last seven crucible appearances, Wilson has made at least the semi-finals on four occasions.

A lot can depend on the first round draw, but if results go according to seeding, a repeat of last year’s final against Jak Jones in the last 16 is a favourable one for him.

He is excited about breaking the ‘crucible curse’ - he was talking about it shortly after winning last year - and I believe he has all the ingredients to rewrite the record books.

Pick: Kyren Wilson is 7/1 with Betway to win the 2025 World Championship

An open-looking bottom half of the draw

Trump and John Higgins are the two highest ranked players in the bottom half of the draw, but there are questions about their upcoming campaigns - we have already discussed the former’s inconsistency here.

Number three seed John Higgins (12/1 BetMGM) has had a spectacular return to form over the past several weeks, winning two of the four most recent events on the circuit, including the last one at the Tour Championship, which used a multi-session format like here – although a scaled down version.

The great Scot is nicely placed in the draw. The other seeded players in his quarter are Xiao Guodong – a player he has defeated in the last two events on tour, Barry Hawkins – a player he defeated at the last event, and fellow ‘class of 92’ member Mark Williams who is currently struggling with eyesight issues.

Now 49-years-old, Higgins may eventually run out of steam over the next few weeks – the last of his four world titles was 14 years ago – but he is bang in form, has confidence with his cue, and can be in the mix come the one-table set-up.

Higgins can win the third quarter of the draw and reach the semi-finals.

In the bottom section – where Trump sits – there are three one-time world champions, and Ding Junhui who has four ‘triple crown’ event victories and is a former crucible finalist.

Luca Brecel – champion here two years ago – and Ding are not really being talked about as serious contenders, but someone who is, is Shaun Murphy.

It is 20 years ago when Murphy won his sole world crown, although he has been back to the final three times since (2009, 2015, 2021).

Murphy is a showman, a big arena player – he proved that again at the Masters in January when he made a 147 en route to winning his second Ally Pally title.

FIRST’s value pick – Shaun Murphy

Should Murphy navigate his qualifier opponent in round one, he could have a blockbuster last 16 showdown with Trump – someone he could intimidate and has defeated on this stage twice before.

If ‘The Magician’ can get through that, there could be no stopping him.

In 2015 when he won the Masters, he reached the world final a few months later. Can history repeat itself? 

Pick: Shaun Murphy is 18/1 with Ladbrokes to win the 2025 World Championship

Odds correct at the time of writing.