The 2022 World Snooker Championship begins on April 16 in Sheffield, England at the Crucible Theatre and runs through until May 2.
There are eight former champions among the top 16 seeds for the tournament to highlight the quality of the field that will tussle for top honours.
Defending champion Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham are the former victors, while there are past finalists also in the running.
We look through some of the top picks for trophy.
Who is favourite to win the 2022 World Snooker Championship?
Ronnie O’Sullivan may well have the public support as he looks to equal Stephen Hendry’s modern record of seven world titles but he is not favourite with the bookies to lift the trophy on May 2.
Neil Robertson is the favourite with Sky Bet at odds of 7/2 to win the tournament for a second time, 12 years after his maiden success in Sheffield.
The Australian is the man in form after winning the Tour Championship in March with a 10-9 win over John Higgins in the final. He defeated O’Sullivan in the semi-finals and looks to be the player to beat in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan is second favourite at 9/2, while 2019 winner Judd Trump is at 11/2.
What are Ronnie O’Sullivan’s odds to win the 2022 World Snooker Championship?
O’Sullivan is at 9/2 to go on and pick up his record-equaling seventh crown, 21 years after he won his first. Sky Bet are also offering a price boost on the six-time champion that pushes him out to 11/2.
O’Sullivan has had a solid 2021/22 season. His only tournament win was the World Grand Prix crown, but he has still returned to the world No 1 ranking in the game. He is second seed in Sheffield due to defending champion Selby being No 1.
He was beaten narrowly by Robertson 10-9 in the Tour Championship semi-finals but his game looked in good nick. He won a thriller against Williams 10-9 in the quarter-finals to cement the fact his safety play and aggressive potting style could be coming to the boil at the right time.
O’Sullivan would meet Robertson in the semi-finals in Sheffield if both win their first three matches.
2022 World Snooker Championship betting odds
Odds via SkyBet; updated as of April 18.
| Player | Odds |
| Ronnie O’Sullivan (England) | 7/2 |
| Neil Robertson (Australia) | 7/2 |
| Judd Trump (England) | 5/1 |
| Mark Selby (England) | 13/2 |
| Mark Williams (Wales) | 10/1 |
| Zhao Xintong (China) | 10/1 |
| John Higgins (Scotland) | 16/1 |
| Kyren Wilson (England) | 16/1 |
| Yao Bingtao (China) | 22/1 |
| Ding Junhui (China) | 28/1 |
Why is Mark Selby not favourite to retain his title at the 2022 World Snooker Championship?
Heading into the Crucible, Selby had not played since the start of March when he lost 4-3 to Liam Highfield in the first round of the Welsh Open.
The No.1 seed here missed the Tour Championship and his form is in question as he prepares to start his title defence on Saturday at the Crucible.
The four-time world champion had revealed in January after losing to Barry Hawkins at the Masters that he has been struggling with his mental health, announcing the situation in a number of social media posts.
He has yet to do promotional media for the action in Sheffield so it is unclear how he is set up to get back to playing, hence the bookies’ reluctance to be too confident in his chances of a fifth title.
Mark Williams can challenge for fourth title at 2022 World Snooker Championship
Welshman Williams has had a fairly uneventful season since winning the British Open but he looked to be on fine form at the Tour Championship as he pushed O’Sullivan to the limit before losing 10-9 in the quarter-finals.
His draw has the potential to open up. He could meet Hawkins in the second round and if he prevailed there then Selby looks the most probable quarter-finalist, although questions over the top seed’s form make that far from certain.
Trump is the likely semi-finalist Williams would face if he got to the last four, but with Robertson and O’Sullivan in the other half of the draw, 28-1 with the each-way option looks very tempting when it comes to Williams adding to the titles he won in 2000, 2003 and 2018.