Snooker is enjoying a massive growth in popularity as punters have latched on to the excitement the new age game brings and have learned what great ‘in-play’ betting options the sport offers.
There are now 20 ranking tournaments staged during a full Snooker season – which runs between July and the following May – and an additional four valuable select-field non-ranking events.
The three biggest tournaments on the calendar are the Masters, UK Championship and, of course, the Betfred World Championship staged in late April and into early may each year.
But China and the whole Far East is now a hotbed for Snooker and some of the most valuable tournaments on the calendar are now staged there. This includes the China Championship, the International Championship, the China Open and also the Shanghai Masters.
Naturally the most prestigious and valuable tournament of all is the Snooker World Championship staged annually every April / May in Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The best online sportsbooks have an ante-post snooker betting market open on this tournament throughout the year.
With every match on every day throughout the tournament broadcast on TV and streamed live amongst the major online bookmakers, there is enormous snooker betting interest in the event and individual games can feature upwards of 70 betting markets. Beyond the first round, when 16 ‘qualifiers’ tackle the top 16 seeded and ranked players, the competition is always fiercely competitive.
But the Betfred World Championship is also a treat for ante-post bettors and bookmakers give punters plenty of betting opportunities with markets on everything from ‘will there be a 147 maximum break recorded’ though to ‘will there be a first time winner’. As well as trying to find the competition winner you can back on individual players to simply reach the final and even with their quarter of the draw (by making the semi-finals).
You can claim Free Bets on our website! All out the major bookmakers will offer them with different requirements and criteria. The likes of Betfair, Paddy Power,, Coral, Ladbrokes, 888 Sport and many others offer them as welcome bonus’ and new customer offers. But this isn’t exclusive, so be sure to be on the lookout for opportunities to win big whether you have an existing account with a bookmaker or not. There will be enhanced offers, too, which suppliers will hope can entice you into betting. Winnings a more often than not paid in free bets.
With so much new interest in Snooker, online bookmakers are now promoting some great offers for both new and existing customers. The new customers can get enhanced odds about high-profile players winning a forthcoming tournament as part of a sign-up bonus. Existing customers can often receive money-back offers about eventualities such as your player losing in a final frame decider or sometimes bonuses if there is Century break in the final frame.
What’s more most ranking snooker tournaments are sponsored a high-profile bookmaker – such as BetVictor, Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfred – and these like to offer the industry best prices on their own competitions and also regularly offer their customers tickets and hospitality at their own events.
There are simply dozens of snooker betting markets from simple win bets, through to handicaps, correct score betting and ante-post markets – where you need to identify the outright competition winner. But Snooker has become known as an ‘in-play’ betting sports and bookmakers have devised some real gems for your betting
enjoyment.
You can bet in play on almost anything in snooker in-play such as the simple winner of the current frame, the current frame winner with handicap starts taken into account, the winning margin of a frame, the colour of the first coloured ball to be potted, even the player to score the first 40 points in a frame.
Additional snooker betting markets include ‘total match century breaks’, ‘a foul in the current frame’, ‘player to register the highest break of the match’, ‘a 147 break in the match’ and ‘winning margin’. Like we say punters and bookmakers alike love snooker betting for the number of different pre-event and in-play betting markets the sport offers.
Odds will change by the day depending on how the results are going, both for the favourites and the outsiders. There will also be the possibilities to bet on individual matches and even the mode of victory. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to win big!
Unquestionably the World Championship is the biggest event in terms of domestic snooker betting. The UK Championship and Masters, the two other ‘triple crown’ events probably follow although it is not clear how much betting turnover the biggest Chinese tournaments generate. An enormous gambling mad Chinese population could potentially gamble a colossal amount of money.
But as all ranking snooker tournaments are broadcast on Eurosport, ITV4 or the BBC along with streaming on leading snooker betting sites such as bet365 and William Hill, there is no such thing as a snooker tournament which is not popular with punters.
Snooker authorities have cleverly joined together a number of their key events meaning the Welsh, Scottish, English and Northern Ireland Opens are known as the ‘Home Nations’ and the Coral Tour Championship which incorporates the Coral World Grand Prix, which is for the leading 32 players on the one year ranking list and the Coral Players Championship which is for the world’s top 16.
There are plenty of excellent snooker betting blogs to be found on the leading bookmaker sites. Many are penned by former pros and current commentators, others by form students who diligently comb through previous form and statistics.
If you are not a disciple of other people’s beliefs, opinions and tips our best snooker tip to you is to do your homework. Snooker players clearly come into and go out of form slowly. Catch a player that is starting to simmer and you have identified a lucrative money-maker. Alternatively once a player has boiled over, you can similarly make money out of opposing them.
So keep tabs on all the latest results of all professional tournaments looking out for players that have recently racked-up high breaks (regardless of their opponents) and beaten rivals that are above them in the current rankings.
Despite the UK Snooker Championship coming to a close, the sport is not taking a break. The Snooker calendar is going to be busy right up until Christmas, and all eyes will be heading north of the border from Monday December 10 until December 17. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, will host the event.
Finally after a long week, here's my Scottish Open Snooker preview for @BetfairExchange: Two players to back from each quarter https://t.co/9c74r7pYRq
— Political Gambler (@paulmotty) December 9, 2018
It is quite strange that there is no break between the two competitions, but all of the big names who have been in action in York for the past two weeks or so, will be on show again in Scotland, looking to end the year by celebrating success. If you want to bet on this tournament, you’re in the right place. All the information you need on how to bet, who to bet on and which markets to look at will appear here.
There will be offers from each bookmaker, usually paid in Free Bets and often enhanced odds, too.
Don’t miss out here. You can find all of the Free Bets and offers you need on our home page and our Scottish Open Snooker betting page. The offers will appear there and take you to the respective landing page, where you will find everything you need to know, including terms and conditions.
Most bookmakers have the same odds for each of these players, or at least the same or a very similar order in terms of their favourites. Ronnie O’Sullivan is the natural favourite as he is very much the sport’s talisman. Among the other favourites are Judd Trump (6/1) and John Higgins (10/1). These odds can be found on Betfair but other bookies may differ so you may need to look around for value.
We have just outlined the best odds to bet on the winner, but some bookmakers, namely Betfair, are offering odds on the majority of players with odds going all the way to to 500/1 in the case of Hannad Miah. You can find the odds on the player you want and use our Free Bets to back them and hopefully win big!
1998 – Ronnie O’Sullivan beat John Higgins 9-8
1999 – Stephen Hendry beat Graeme Dott 9-1
2000 – Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Mark Williams 9-1
2001 – Peter Ebdon beat Ken Doherty 9-7
2002 – Stephen Lee beat David Gray 9-2
2003 – David Gray beat Mark Selby 9-7
2004 – Jimmy White beat Paul Hunter 9-7
2012 – Ding Junhui beat Anthony McGill 4-2
2016 – Marco Fu beat Jon Higgins 9-4
2017 – Neil Robertson beat Cao Yupeng 9-8
Absolutely delighted to win my 7th UK title last night. This means more to me than I can put into words. Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since I won my first UK Championship. Thank you to all of my incredible fans around the world, this one is for you 😃🏆 #19 pic.twitter.com/8rYsHqXWhH
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) December 10, 2018
It is hard to look past Ronnie O’Sullivan defending his crown right now. The 42-year-old Englishman can lay claim to being the greatest snooker player of all time and he certainly does not appear to be slowing down after some personal issues in his career. He has five wins of this competition to his name already and, having only lost one final in the last decade, he does seem the safest bet.
After suffering heartbreak in the UK Championship at the hands of Ronnie O’Sullivan last week, Mark Allen got full redemption on Sunday.
What an atmosphere at @EmiratesArena! #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/v7wotwQJSq
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 16, 2018
He beat Shaun Murphy 9-7 in a thrilling Scottish Open final in Glasgow.
After being hotly tipped in both the UK Championship and the Scottish Open, Judd Trump came up short again. This time, in the semi finals, he lost 6-3 to Shaun Murphy.
Wow.
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 15, 2018
From 4-0 down, @pistol147 produces a remarkable comeback to book his place in the final of the @BetVictor Scottish Open! [6-5]
Good luck stopping this man #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/nSYp5mKXeq
Mark Allen, who lost in the final in York to Ronnie O’Sullivan, beat Daniel Wells to progress.
The quarter finals took place on Friday after a mammoth Thursday session. There wasn’t much competition to be had, though, with all four matches being won comfortably.
REVENGE!@Magician147 whitewashes Sam Baird [5-0] to become the first semi finalist of this year's @BetVictor Scottish Open.
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 14, 2018
The former world champ rounded off an immaculate performance with a break of 122 #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/f42zINI8wP
Shaun Murphy beat Sam Baird 5-0, with Mark Allen winning by the same scoreline against Alfie Burden. Judd Trump and Daniel Wells also reached the semis.
With the competition still at an early stage, surprises have been kept to a minimum. In Ronnie O’Sullivan’s absence, the top players on show are all stepping up.
Judd Trump beat Zhang Jiankang, John Higgins dispatched Yan Bingtao and Shaun Murphy won againsr Nigel Bond. Neil Robertson’s conqueror Ross Muir saw his journey ended by Sam Baird.
What a steal!
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 13, 2018
From 3-1 down to Joe Perry, @KyrenWilson produces breaks of 63, 57 & 82 to clinch a 4-3 victory in the last 32 of the @BetVictor Scottish Open.
The Warrior can certainly battle #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/v6jqIb0EWn
The biggest result was arguably Kyren Wilson’s 4-3 comeback win over Joe Perry.
The shock of day three at the Scottish Open came when home favourite Neil Robertson was beaten by Ross Muir 4-2.
"I have the utmost respect for Nigel Bond and what he's achieved. That'll all go out the window when we shake hands tomorrow!"
— BetVictor (@BetVictor) December 12, 2018
Shaun Murphy is in the last 32 of the #ScottishOpen and he's "thrilled" to be there after the season he's had. pic.twitter.com/hsgnfwrN87
But the likes of Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui and Kyren Wilson all progressed as the competition swiftly began to hot up.
Daniel Wells is the beneficiary from Ronnie O’Sullivan’s decision not to compete and he has gone through to the next round already. He has been joined by UK Championship finalist Mark Allen, Judd Trump and Joe Perry.
https://twitter.com/WorldSnooker/status/1072475040321556482
David Lilley beat semi finalist in York Tom Ford. Anthony Hamilton, Mark Davis and Mark Joyce are also through.
In the wake of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s withdrawal from the Open, many players will sense an opportunity to win. Neil Robertson will be hoping to go all the way, and he got off to a great start by beating Peter Lines 4-1.
Defending champ @nr147 is LIVE on @Eurosport_UK right now! 🌱
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) December 10, 2018
He's 1-0 up on Peter Lines #ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/RC3UZtuTei
Ding Junhui was also among those to go through on day one, beating Niu Zhuang. But Stephen Maguire saw his journey end before it really began, falling 4-1 Billy Joe Castle.
Ahead of the Scottish Open Snooker this week, favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the competition after winning the UK Championship.
Absolutely delighted to win my 7th UK title last night. This means more to me than I can put into words. Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since I won my first UK Championship. Thank you to all of my incredible fans around the world, this one is for you 😃🏆 #19 pic.twitter.com/8rYsHqXWhH
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) December 10, 2018
Now the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Allen and John Higgins will really fancy their chances of a win,
Many people expected it, and Ronnie O’Sullivan has delivered. The Snooker legend has won six times at the UK Championship now.
Ronnie O'Sullivan wins UK Championship by beating Mark Allen 10-6 in the final https://t.co/felx0AGN6a
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) December 9, 2018
On Sunday, he beat Mark Allen 10-6, and now he is getting ready to make it a double at the Scottish Open this week.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen will battle it out in the final of the UK Snooker Championship in York after wins over Tom Ford and Stuart Bingham respectively.
https://twitter.com/worldsnooker/status/1071539275475369985?s=21
Allen had a tougher time, beating Bingham 6-5, while defending champion O’Sullivan continued to put controversies away from the table to one side with 6-1 demolition of Tom Ford.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is edging closer to success at the UK Snooker Championship in York. Though he is having some issues West from play, his focus isn’t wavering. He beat Martin O’Donnell rather comfortably to progress to the semi finals.
Tom Ford is through to appear in the final four of a Triple Crown event for the first time, downing Joe Perry 6-2 in the @betway UK Championship.
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 7, 2018
Next up, Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semis! #baizeofglory pic.twitter.com/NGVgMqkAK9
Judd Trump was looking strong, not only winning in every match he played, but winning convincingly. But he was sent packing from the UK Snooker Championship in York after defeat to Joe Perry.
[embedhttps://twitter.com/worldsnooker/status/1071059409680375808?s=21[/embed]
Ronnie O’Sullivan continues to grab the biggest headlines at the UK Snooker Championship in York this week. He again won, this time beating Jack Lisowski 6-1.
How good was THAT from Robertson?! 👏#baizeofglory @betway pic.twitter.com/VL2c0AYzHv
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) December 5, 2018
Two-time UK Champion Ding Junhui is through to the Last 16 in York for the first time since 2013, beating compatriot Xiao Guodong 6-4#baizeofglory @betway pic.twitter.com/9pdJ0WRcfm
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 4, 2018
Stephen Maguire is fast becoming a player to watch at the UK Snooker Championship, and he was one of a cluster of players to ease through to the next round in York with a 6-3 win over Ali Carter.
Kyren Wilson is through to make his first ever appearance in the Last 16 of the @betway UK Championship, wiping out Yan Bingtao with a high break of 115 #baizeofglory @betway pic.twitter.com/2adthkbLDE
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 3, 2018
After the shock of Selby’s exit and a day’s rest, the UK Snooker Championship got back to action on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/WorldSnooker/status/1069348285595283456
Among the winners were Judd Trump, who beat Dominic Dale 6-5, and Ronnie O’Sullivan, who came ou on top against Ken Doherty by the same scoreline. There were also wins for Mark Allen and Yan Bingtao.
It didn’t take long for the first major upset in the UK Snooker Championship, and world number one Mark Selby will not be crowned in just over a week’s time. He was beaten in the first round by amateur James Cahill. There was one shot in particular which summed up just how much Selby was caught off the guard.
Amateur Blackpool potter James Cahill, who doesn't have a world ranking or a Tour card, has knocked out the World No.1 Mark Selby 6-3 in the first round of the @Betway UK Championship in York. Arguably the tournament's biggest upset for 20 years
— Rob Maul (@Rob_Maul) November 30, 2018
O
But normal service was resumed when record winner and current holder Ronnie O’Sullivan made it through safely.
John Higgins was widely regarded as one of those worth backing to go all the way in the UK Snooker Championship in York, and he got himself off to a great start with a 6-5 victory over Dechawat Poomjaeng on Wednesday night.
RESULT
— Iain – #StillGame: The Final Series – 85 Days!! (@IainAGrahamRFC) November 29, 2018
Stephen Maguire is through to the last 64 after a 6-3 win over Simon Lichtenberg.#UKChampionship2018 pic.twitter.com/HSJmLNlj1M
There were also victories for another former champion, 2004’s Stephen Maguire, Chris Wakelin and Peter Ebdon.
Judd Trump is among the favourites to go all the way in the UK Snooker championship, booked his place in round two on the first day of competition with a comprehensive 6-0 win over English amateur David Lilley. Trump, though, knows he has more to offer wasn’t 100% happy with his performance.
Former champions take centre stage at the @betway UK Championship! 💪🏆
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) November 28, 2018
📺 Watch LIVE: https://t.co/aLa3VnEpD5 #baizeofglory pic.twitter.com/pGHJ1ChJH7
Another of the hotly tipped players, Neil Robertson, also made it through, as did another former champion Ding Junhui.
Excitement is building for today’s start of the UK Snooker Championship in York. The big names are ready to take part in the action.
Here’s how we line up for tonight’s matches in the first round of the UK Championship at the York Barbican.#bbcsnooker pic.twitter.com/CE8MZgHfPB
— BBC Snooker (@BBCSnooker) November 27, 2018
Favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan is expected to go all the way, while Judd Trump, in action against fellow Brit David Lilley, is also hotly tipped.