The 2023 Snooker World Championship in Sheffield is just over a month away now, and with that in mind, we're taking an early look ahead at the two favorites to win the 2023 title. This year more than any, there seems to be a feeling that we might finally be about to see a changing of the guard. There is now a real belief that Judd Trump's game is at the level to compete with the great Ronnie O'Sullivan, and the best online sports betting sites seem to agree as they can't separate the pair in the betting to win the tournament.
- The 2023 Snooker World Championship is at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The competition takes place from Saturday, April 15, to Monday, May 1st, 2023
- Ronnie O’Sullivan is the defending Snooker World Champion and has a modern day record seven championships to his name
- Judd Trump has one World Championship win to date. He defeated John Higgins 18-9 in 2019, but has failed to win a title since
- Last season O’Sullivan defeated Trump 18-13 in the final. The match saw O’Sullivan confirm his status as the current best player in the world
2023 World Championship Betting
Despite winning last season’s World Championship, the best online betting sites for snooker aren’t siding with O’Sullivan this year. Well, not totally, that is. Both O’Sullivan and Judd Trump are joint favorites at +450, and after Ronnie’s five frame victory over Trump last year, some might think that the bookmakers are being generous to Trump.
The main reason why Trump is the same price is because of his 2023 Masters win over Mark Williams earlier this year. This was a great win by Trump, one that he really had to graft for.
𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡 🏆
Judd Trump has won the 2023 @CazooUK Masters, beating Mark Williams 10-8 in the final!
The Ace in the Pack picks up his first Triple Crown title for three years and £250,000 👏 #CazooMasters pic.twitter.com/gqBamU5tKL
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) January 15, 2023
Winning Triple Crown events gives players self belief, and Trump was in great need of some. He was long talked about as a great prospect, but he is now 33. Trump knows he needs to be performing now. So winning events like the Masters will ease any doubts he might have been starting to have that he was underachieving in the game.
Following on from O’Sullivan and Trump in the betting is Neil Robertson at +600, Mark Selby at +750, and Mark Allen at +1000. Four of those five players have won the big one before. Only Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen hasn’t lifted the World Championship trophy!
Allen has won two Triple Crowns though. He won the Masters in 2018, and the UK Championship this season. So he’s another player who knows he has the game to win the big events.
He's done it!
Mark Allen wins his first UK Championship after an epic comeback!#bbcsnooker
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) November 20, 2022
More 2023 World Championship betting odds can be found below on our Snooker betting odds table. The odds are taken from the best online sports betting sites. Our top-rated sportsbook reviews page has more details about these bookmakers.
| 2023 World Championship Snooker Winner |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | +450 | +450 | +4500 |
| Judd Trump | +450 | +450 | +425 |
| Neil Robertson | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Mark Selby | +750 | +700 | +800 |
| Mark Allen | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Mark Williams | +1600 | +1700 | +1600 |
| Kyren Wilson | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Jack Lisowski | +2500 | +2200 | +2500 |
| John Higgins | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Luca Brecel | +3000 | +2800 | +3000 |
| Shaun Murphy | +4000 | +3500 | +4000 |
| Barry Hawkins | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| David Gilbert | +4000 | +5000 | +4500 |
| Stuart Bingham | +5000 | +5000 | +4500 |
| Ryan Day | +5000 | +5000 | +7000 |
O’Sullivan’s legacy is not in question
So far in his career, Ronnie O’Sullivan has won 21 Triple Crown events. Triple Crown events in snooker are the UK Championship, the Masters, and the World Championship. Judd Trump has four Triple Crown wins. They are regarded as the three big competitions to win.
No one is doubting Ronnie O’Sullivan’s legacy here. For most observers of snooker, and even amongst his peers, O’Sullivan is regarded as the best player to have ever picked up a cue. Fans of Stephen Hendry may dispute who was the best. But no one else can.
At the moment, the same can’t be said about Judd Trump. Trump has a decent record, but he can’t be compared to O’Sullivan. And neither would the man known as the ‘Ace in the Pack’ expect to be.
But what Trump can do is challenge O’Sullivan’s status as the greatest player in the world at the moment. Trump’s game is now at a similar level to the great man’s, so now has to be his time. Another thing that really goes in the 33-year-old’s favor is he isn’t intimidated by O’Sullivan. And he also knows that Ronnie knows this.
Can Trump defeat O’Sullivan though?
It’s one thing knowing you can beat O’Sullivan, but it’s quite another thing doing it. On his day, Rocket Ronnie can demolish any player. And this applies to Trump.
From Trump’s perspective though, the good thing about the World Championship is that the longer format gives him a chance to get back into the game if he’s on the end of one of Ronnie’s electric sessions, where he blows his opponents away.
In a best of 11 format, O’Sullivan can blow an opponent away in the first session and be out of sight. In the World Championships, he can’t do that. The longer format gives his opponents the chance to come back.
In such a match, only really Mark Selby (in his prime), or Judd Trump are able to live with Ronnie when he’s on fire. Selby is well off the pace at the moment, leaving only Trump to challenge O’Sullivan.
Please check out our BetOnline sportsbook review for more betting information.
If all goes to form, it could be a final between O’Sullivan and Trump. That would be one for the ages. A lot can happen before that though, and either man could lose along the way. Make no mistake, Trump can win the World Championship. But, if the two players do meet in the final, we still believe Ronnie O’Sullivan would come out on top.
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