World Snooker Championship 2025: Round one analysis and betting tips

The World Snooker Championship first round draw has been set and we now know exactly what we can look forward to across the first six days at the Crucible.

Adam Drury (@Adam_Drury1) is on hand to pick out his best bets from the opening action, including a 6/5 NAP and a 16/1 accumulator.

Betting selections for 2025 World Snooker Championship round one

Adam's NAP - Over 16.5 frames in Neil Robertson v Chris Wakelin – 6/5

In a total frames bet, we’re effectively backing both players to reach a certain number of frames each – in this case, seven.

It comes out as a better price than backing the underdog in the handicap market because we’re relying on the favourite to also reach the golden number, which shouldn’t be much of a concern here.

Despite a poor record that hasn’t seen him past the quarter-final since 2014, Robertson hasn’t lost any of his last five first-round matches at the Crucible, so he should perform well enough.

Wakelin is a top-16 player in all but name, though. He lost 6-5 to John Higgins at the Players Championship in March, qualified for the Masters in January and has reached four quarter-finals this season.

This could be one of the closest matches of the round so I really like the odds-against on neither player winning by four or more.

Over 16.5 frames in John Higgins v Joe O’Connor – 21/20

This is another that has all the makings of a long match.

O’Connor showed his mettle by beating Mark Selby at this stage last season and – perhaps just as significantly – practises with the Jester from Leicester regularly, developing a game that should serve him well at the Crucible.

The 29-year-old was also impressive in qualifying, seeing off Jackson Page 10-7 in what was expected to be a tight Judgement Day affair, so he can certainly reach seven in this match.

As I outlined in my outright picks, Higgins has committed the cardinal sin of playing brilliantly to win the tournament before this one, which doesn’t usually bode well.

His game is in good order, though, and it would be a surprise if he wasn’t able to at least do his bit here.

Ali Carter (+3.5) v Ronnie O’Sullivan – 10/11

This is the one match where I’m taking the handicap instead of the total frames, on the off chance that O’Sullivan’s game is nowhere near the required standard.

The Rocket hasn’t played professionally since January and, while this grudge match should get him going, there’s a slim possibility he is beaten easily.

The last meeting between these two in a Triple Crown event saw O’Sullivan win 10-7, which would do us here, while Carter won out at the Crucible in a testy affair in 2018.

The Captain cruised through Judgement Day, seeing off He Quoqiang 10-5, and these prices just seem off considering the difference in match sharpness between them.

Over 15.5 frames in Judd Trump v Zhou Yuelong – 21/20

The final leg sees us return to the total frames market, with a very generous line on offer for Judd Trump vs Zhou Yuelong.

This bet requires both players to reach just six frames in the match, something Trump will almost certainly do but that we can be confident Yuelong will match.

The Chinese player stormed from 5-5 to a 10-5 win over Yuan Sijun on Judgement Day to reach the Crucible and beat Mark Allen in the first round last time he was here in 2019.

While that absence from this stage is a surprisingly long one, he reached the final four of the UK Championship in 2021 and final eight in 2023, beating Robertson and Higgins on that occasion.

Trump is historically a slow starter in this competition, too.

He was beaten by Anthony McGill at this stage in 2023 and has seen this bet win in eight of his last 11 first-round matches.

Adam Drury's best R1 Crucible bets

1pt - Over 16.5 frames in Neil Robertson v Chris Wakelin - 6/5 (BetVictor)

0.5pt - Four-fold accumulator - 16/1 (BetVictor)