The World Championship in Sheffield kicks off tomorrow, with the defending world champion and provisional number one John Higgins playing Barry Hawkins in the opening match.
There are two men who are the heavy favourites to win the tournament. Higgins is one of them, and the other is The Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Higgins is the current world champion, and has been the player of the season by a long distance. He has won the Welsh Open already this season, and has reached a semi-final or better in all but two tournaments.
He lost to Ding Junhui in the UK Championship final, and lost on the final black in a thriller to Neil Robertson in Glasgow in the Grand Prix in October. He had an early exit from The Masters as well, and lost to Mark Williams at the China Open.
Despite the defeats, he has raised the bar for snooker. His overall game play has made him one of the best all-rounders in the modern era, taking the mantle from Steve Davis. He has been consistently constructing match-winning breaks, and has called upon all his years of experience to claw himself back into matches and win tournaments.
Defending champion Higgins has won at The Crucible twice in the last three years, and is one of the firm favourites win this year’s title.
O’Sullivan has had an indifferent season despite an early tournament win at the Shanghai Masters. Higgins was responsible for beating him in the Grand Prix, UK Championship and Welsh Open. O’Sullivan also lost to Mark Selby at The Masters, losing after having a seemingly unassailable lead. He also lost to Shaun Murphy in the Premier League. O’Sullivan has not won the World Championship since 2008, and will want to make it four triumphs at Sheffield and resurrect a disappointing season.
Outsiders for the title
Other than Higgins and O’Sullivan, there are a few players who will want to do well in the 17 days, and will have an outside chance of lifting the world crown.
Ding Junhui has appeared in three finals this season. He won the UK Championship in December, and has lost in the Grand Prix final and the China Open final to Neil Robertson and Mark Williams respectively.
Along with Higgins, Ding has been very consistent so far this season. He seems to have recovered from his Masters nightmare in 2006 against O’Sullivan, and has shown that he could be a future world champion.
Shaun Murphy will also be looking to end the season on a high. Since his victory in the UK Championship in 2008, he has not hit the highs that saw him win at The Crucible back in 2005.
Despite winning the Premier League at the back end of 2009, by his own standards he admits he has not had a consistent season. He lost in the final to Higgins here last season, and will be hoping to go one better and win his second world crown. His style is suited to the longer formats of the game, so he will be a danger in this tournament.
The China Open precedes the World Championships, and usually it allows players to pick up good form going into Sheffield as Higgins demonstrated last season. Mark Williams, who has been back to his very best this season, won the title against Ding, is looking sharp to have an impact at The Crucible. He is a holder of 17 ranking titles, and has won at Sheffield twice, the last title coming in 2003.
His form has been solid, and he looks as fresh as anybody after having a tortuous four seasons without winning a ranking title.
The Jester from Leicester, Mark Selby, has been somewhat anonymous so far this season. Although he won The Masters for the second time in three years at the start of the year, he has been inconsistent in the ranking events. Since his first ranking title back in 2008, he has not taken the next step to be a world champion. He lost to Higgins back in 2007 in the final, but since then he has not shown glimpses of winning the world crown. A poor season might be a blessing in disguise for Selby, and he could have a good tournament.
One man who will be looking to do better than last season is the current Grand Prix champion Neil Robertson. He lost narrowly to Shaun Murphy in the semis at Sheffield last season. Many believe he has a style suited to the shorter formats, but he proved his critics wrong by nearly reaching the final and having a decent tournament.
Anyone’s title?
This year’s World Championship could be the one of the closest for many years, if Higgins or O’Sullivan fail to do well. There have been different winners of each of the five different ranking tournaments so far this season, making Sheffield the place for someone to either win another ranking event or produce a new winner.
Winning at Sheffield is the pinnacle point for a snooker player’s career, and historically has proved to be a tournament where all can be forgotten if you win the world crown. There are several players hoping to put a disappointing campaign behind them, while there are a few players who will want to extend the number of world crowns they have.
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