World Snooker Championship 2010

The 2010 World Snooker Championships will take place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield from 17th April until 3rd May 2010. The Crucible has been the home of the World Snooker Championship since 1977 and despite holding being less than a thousand spectators, its proximity to the players and excellent atmosphere make it synonymous with the World Championships.

The current holder of the trophy is John Higgins of Scotland. The Wizard of Wishaw as he is affectionately known beat Sean Murphy 18-9 in the final to claim his third championship title. Higgins is currently second favourite to win this year with bookmakers offering best odds of 11/2.

Another Scot is the most successful player in World Championship history. Steven Hendry has won seven titles, including a remarkable five in a row between 1992 and 1996. Despite being 40 years old and without a World Championship title since 1999, Hendry remains convinced that he can win at the highest level and take another championship. He is currently an outsider with odds of 50/1 against him taking the crown.

The biggest name in snooker currently is Ronnie O’Sullivan. The Englishman has won the World Championships three times and is favourite this year at best odds of 4/1. He is considered by many, including the two players who have won more titles than anyone else, Steve Davis and Steven Hendry to be the most naturally gifted player in the history of snooker. His ability to play right and left handed has made him very entertaining to watch. He achieved the fastest recorded 147 break in 1997 in a time of 5 minutes 20 seconds.

The World Snooker  Championship is competed for between 32 players. The top sixteen ranked players qualify automatically and are seeded for the draw, meaning they won’t play each other in the first round of matches. Qualifying for the remaining sixteen places is a long affair with two Preliminary Qualifying Rounds followed by five Qualifying rounds. The sixteen players ranked between 17th and 32nd position automatically qualify for the final Qualifying round.

All UK bookmakers offer odds on the winner of  World Snooker Championship 2010.

Betting odds on World Snooker Championship 2010 at The Crucible