Buckle up – Crucible fortnight is upon us again, as the world’s best collide for the richest prize in snooker.
It is that time of year when 32 must divide into one in Sheffield as we get ready for what feels like 24/7 snooker and, as always, there is one player on everyone’s lips.
Ronnie O’Sullivan arrives at his 32nd World Championship looking for title number eight – a feat that would see him go 8-8-8 in the Triple Crown events.
But as always there will be strong competition in the Steel City.
Let’s consider the chances of the four favourites and argue their respective corners.
- Ronnie O’Sullivan - 9/4
- Judd Trump - 4/1
- Mark Selby - 9/1
- Mark Allen - 12/1
Ronnie O’Sullivan
A massive 41 ranking titles and 23 Triple Crown event wins give Ronnie O’Sullivan enough credit in the bank when you are to evaluate his chances coming into another World Championship.
The “Rocket” has been the best player on tour once again for the past 12 months scooping big wins at the UK Championship, World Grand Prix, Shanghai Masters, Masters and World Masters of Snooker, and the 48-year-old doesn’t look like he is close to being finished yet.
What has become apparent in his latter years is that he can get himself up for the big ones.
His picking and choosing of events has raised eyebrows in certain corners of the snooker world, but as world number one his back catalogue speaks for itself.
Marathon matches come with the territory at the World Championships and the one big hurdle that could prove fatal for the “Rocket” is if he loses his patience against one of the grittier more defensive players on the tour.
We have seen him lose 6-0 to Mark Selby already in 2024, but on the whole, O’Sullivan seems to be in the perfect frame of mind and form to record an eighth World Championship.
A mouth-watering semi-final with Judd Trump is something to look forward to if the bracket plays to form, but first he must open up his campaign against Wales’ Jackson Page.
Judd Trump
If it wasn’t for O’Sullivan’s exploits this season, everyone would be going Judd Trump crazy…
The “Ace in the Pack” has won a ridiculous FIVE ranking titles so far this season matching his record in the 2019/20 season, and he comes to the Crucible this year looking to win his first “Big One” since 2019.
Trump has matured on the baize and is beginning to master the ebb and flow of snooker tournaments, finding the right time to peak and take the crown.
Like a seasoned race horse Trump is rarely in a tournament where he isn’t a threat – he might not win them all, but he’s always in the running.
A 10-6 first round exit to Anthony McGill will haunt Trump coming into this week, but he is resolute enough to use that as motivation to run well in 2024.
He’s been drawn a tough, tough tie in the opener against Hossein Vafaei, but will take heart in winning three of the last four against the Iranian – including a 10-4 win at the same stage of the 2022 World Championship.
Mark Selby
It’s that time of the year where Mark Selby tends to find some of his best form.
The World Championship and the “Jester from Leicester” go hand-in-hand, with the 40-year-old’s four wins in Sheffield underlining his threat in any season.
His unrivalled tactical awareness and stubbornness at the table lends itself to these long format encounters, and in a half of the draw without Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, Selby must be fancying his chances to run to a seventh Crucible final.
Selby has blown hot and cold on tour so far this season without recording a ranking title victory, but a semi-final run at the Players Championship and quarter-final spots at the UK Championship and World Grand Prix highlight his ability when the chips are down.
Selby will have to navigate Joe O’Connor in the opening round, a player he has never lost to in seven meetings.
Mark Allen
Mark Allen is better than the two semi-finals and three quarter-finals that he has reached at the World Championship.
The Crucible hasn’t always been kind to the Northern Irishman, but he once again arrives as one of the big hitters after a successful year on tour as the world number four.
Allen has won five ranking titles across his last two seasons, almost doubling his previous efforts, and this underlines the threat he has now become at the business end of big tournaments.
His talent on the baize cannot be questioned, but his Achilles heel can often come when he goes through short periods of play where he simply can’t pot a ball.
Resetting in between mammoth sessions and matches could well be the key to a maiden title for Allen, and like Selby he will be avoiding the best two players in the world until the final.
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