International Championship outright predictions and snooker betting tips: Wonderful Williams a value punt

Where to watch the International Championship

Eurosport 1 7.30am Sunday

Best bet for the International Championship

Mark Williams
1pt each-way 20-1 Hills

International Championship predictions

Judd Trump has been unstoppable recently and he bids to land a fourth successive ranking title in this week's International Championship. 

The Ace won the English, Wuhan and Northern Ireland Opens in October and the Bristolian is the 4-1 market leader for further success in China. 

Trump’s chances have to be respected given his form but the 34-year-old, who was contesting the Belfast final on Sunday, has had a relentless schedule and the draw could have been kinder to him. 

Three-time world champion Mark Williams continues to produce some top-level snooker and the Welshman looks well capable of outrunning odds of 20-1. 

The 48-year-old has already made the final of the Championship League and lifted the British Open title this season, but the Welsh Potting Machine still appears to slip under the radar. 

Williams was beaten in the first round of the recent Northern Ireland Open, but that will have given him valuable time to prepare for the trip to Tianjin and the rich pickings on offer will be high on his list of priorities. 

The draw has been kind to Williams, too. The Cwm cueman is in the opposite half to tournament favourite Trump and the four highest-ranked players in Williams’ quarter are Shaun Murphy, Luca Brecel, Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson. 

Williams can meet only two of that quartet before the quarter-finals and he has been in better form than those rivals this season in any case.

The Welshman's class cannot be questioned and yet the out-of-form Brecel and inconsistent Murphy are both a shorter price to win the tournament. 

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson are contenders from the bottom half of the draw but, at 20-1, Williams looks the bet. 

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