2007 World Snooker Championship Preview
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by user Alex Holowczak
The 2007 World Snooker Championship once again marks the start of British springtime as the top 32 snooker players in the world descend on The Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield.
It is the oldest professional snooker tournament still in existence and it marks the conclusion of one of the most interesting snooker seasons for some time.
9 players are in with a chance of becoming World Number 1, from Graeme Dott, currently in the lead after his victory in the 2007 China Open, down to Ding Junhui, who would need to rely on other results to gain the status. But the title of World Champion is what they’ll all be fighting for.
Last year, I previewed the tournament extensively elsewhere, predicting over 10 winners. All of whom failed to win, which is a bit rubbish on my part. Once again, there is no clear favourite this time, as the snooker world has become evenly matched.
This year, I shall simply provide the betting odds given on each player, as that should help you deduce the consensus at the moment. I will then take a look at each players odds and tell you how right or wrong they are.
This is the rough price of each player.
Ronnie O'Sullivan – 7/2
Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy – 9
Peter Ebdon, Stephen Hendry – 10
Graeme Dott – 12
Neil Robertson – 14
Matthew Stevens – 16
Ken Doherty – 20
Stephen Maguire – 25
Mark Williams, Mark Selby – 33
33 bar
Ronnie O'Sullivan being favourite is misleading, as probably the most popular player in the tournament, his odds have been skewed, and his form does not necessarily back up his price. That said, he can be good whenever he likes. It depends which Ronnie shows up. The trio on 9s are all decent, but considering Ding is playing O’Sullivan in Round 1, one of them will be eliminated straight away. Ebdon, Hendry and Dott are also good. Ebdon and Hendry have been good this season, Ebdon has become UK Champion. Hendry, a 7 time World Champion, is probably a bit undersold. Dott will have to overcome The Crucible Curse in which no first time winner of the championship has ever gone on to repeat the following year. Indeed, many go out in the First Round. Neil Robertson will look to end the Australian wait for a World Champion, which technically goes back to 1952, but considered opinion would make him the first true Australian World Champion. He is in good form with two ranking events wins this season. Stevens has been in poor form, and needs a good tournament simply to get into next years top 16 – that said, he always does well at The Crucible. Doherty and Maguire are in with an outside chance, and Williams is a two times World Champion so could easily pull it off again. As for Selby, well, I think that’s too low for him.
The draw for the tournament can be found on the 2007 World Snooker Championship page, which looks a lot nicer in the new skin, I must say. Looking at the draw, Graeme Dott should get through to the Quarter Finals at a canter, and even then, the World Number 1 in waiting should win his Quarter. The second quarter sees O’Sullivan having a nightmare draw. He needs to beat a top 8 player from next season in Ding Junhui, followed by another top 8 player next season Neil Robertson (if results go to plan). Then a possible Quarter Final against perennial top 4 player in John Higgins. Then maybe a Semi against Dott. A final is always going to be against a top player. O’Sullivan can consider himself unlucky, but if he progresses to the Semis, he’ll be match sharp and that could take him the whole way. Doherty-Stevens is a potential Second Round match in the third quarter. The Round 1 match between 6 times Champion in the 80s and 1991 Champion (Davis and Parrott) will be a battle of the BBC Studio as the two premier TV pundits play their first competitive game for seven years. Shaun Murphy will play a star of the future in Judd Trump. In the bottom quarter, Peter Ebdon and Stephen Hendry should advance to a Quarter Final against each other.
All in all, this is going to be one of the most competitive World Championships there has ever been. Any one of 10 could win it, and there look set to be some high profile matches throughout the competition. I’m most looking forward to the Ding-O’Sullivan match and the Davis-Parrott match out of the opening matches, but all will provide ample entertainment.
I’ll post an article soon about The Crucible Curse too, knowing some users like that sort of thing.
