2022 World Snooker Championship: Why Williams is a dangerous outsider

The 2022 World Snooker Championship begins on Saturday, with 32 contenders battling it out at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The first-round draw, which was made on Thursday morning after the conclusion of the preliminary stages, paired the top 16 in the world rankings with the 16 qualifiers.

The opening round will be played across 19 frames, with best-of-25 matches required for the second round and the quarter-finals.

The format increases to 33 frames for the semi-finals, before the traditional best-of-35 final takes place on the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Rampaging Robertson in form of his career

Neil Robertson is the 5 favourite, with the 'Thunder from Down Under' bidding to add to his sole World Championship success from 12 years ago.

The Australian has been the unquestionable player of the 2021/22 season, winning the prestigious Masters invitational and three ranking trophies.

Robertson has typically struggled to produce his best snooker in Sheffield, frequently letting the tight conditions at a cramped Crucible Theatre get the better of him.

However, in round one the 40-year-old faces Ashley Hugill - one of three players making their debut in the championship this year - and on current form, Robertson will fancy his chances of a first semi-final appearance since 2014, at least.

All eyes, meanwhile, will again be on Ronnie O'Sullivan (6.8), who enters this year's edition of the World Snooker Championship as the World No.1

After losing in the second round 12 months ago, the 'Rocket' will be making his second attempt to seal a record-equalling seventh world title.

O'Sullivan encounters World No.19 David Gilbert in the first round and is in one of the trickier sections in general - with Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire and Zhao Xintong all in the same quarter.

Judd Trump, the world champion from 2019, splits Robertson and O'Sullivan as the 6.6 second favourite, but the Englishman's form has been patchy this season and Iran's Hossein Vafaei represents a tricky initial opponent to overcome.

Meanwhile, defending champion Mark Selby (9.8) has endured a difficult season during which he revealed his ongoing battle with depression, albeit the 'Jester' has proven his mental resolve in Sheffield on countless occasions over the course of the last decade.

Like Selby, John Higgins (14.5) is a four-time world champion, but the Scot's confidence may be in tatters after a series of narrow defeats in finals during this campaign.

A maiden winner from China?

In a season packed full of shock tournament triumphs, could one of the outsiders manage to get his hands on the trophy?

China's Zhao stunned many by capturing the UK Championship last December and is a decent 24 chance for glory.

Zhao's esteemed countryman Ding Junhui was forced to qualify after plummeting down the rankings but has shown more form of late, including a run to the semi-final of last month's Turkish Masters.

Ding, still searching for that elusive world crown, is at 30 but faces fellow former World Championship finalist Kyren Wilson (19.5) in the first round.

Few are tipping three-time champion Mark Williams (29) this year, but his quarter of the draw appears quite open and a run to at least the semi-final could be on the cards for the Welshman.

Recommended bets

Neil Robertson @ 5
Mark Williams @ 29