Monday's World Championship predictions and snooker betting tips: Milkins can deliver

Where to watch the World Snooker Championship

BBC and Eurosport, 10am, 2.30pm & 7pm Monday

Best bets

David Grace +4.5 frames v John Higgins
2pts 5-6 Betfair

Robert Milkins to beat Joe Perry
2pts 4-5 Hills

World Championship day three predictions
Mark Allen v Fan Zhengyi (10am)

Mark Allen begins his World Championship campaign against Fan Zhengyi and quotes of 1-4 about the Antrim Ace progressing accurately reflect his chances of reaching the second round. 

Allen is in the bottom half of the draw, away from ante-post favourites Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, and the 37-year-old will have designs on lifting the Crucible crown after a productive season in which he has won the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix. 

The concern for Allen is his pretty ordinary Crucible record. He made the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship but the Pistol has made a number of early exits in Sheffield since.

Allen has been past the second round just once in his last 11 visits to the Crucible, but the 37-year-old arrives in Sheffield in good physical and mental shape this year and Zhengyi is unlikely to stop the Northern Irishman. 

Zhengyi, who is making his Crucible debut after an excellent win over Stephen Maguire in qualifying, won the European Masters last season and defeated Neil Robertson and Ryan Day to reach the semi-finals of this term’s Champion of Champions, so he is clearly talented. 

The 22-year-old looks certain to have a bright future but his first appearance in the Sheffield showpiece seems unlikely to be a winning one. 

John Higgins v David Grace (2.30pm)

Four-time world champion John Higgins is a short-priced favourite to beat David Grace in their first-round encounter but the Wizard of Wishaw could be given a tough time. 

A run to the quarter-finals of the recent low-key WST Classic is Higgins' best effort in a ranking event this season and he has been performing way below his best this term. 

Of course, a player of Higgins’ class and Crucible pedigree could easily bounce back but Grace looks well up to staying in touch of the Scot with a 4.5-frame start on the handicap. 

Grace looked in good touch in qualifying, beating Sean O'Sullivan, Sam Craigie and Andrew Higginson to make it through to the Crucible. Amazing made breaks of 71, 74, 82, 94, 120 and 121 against Higginson in his final contest at the English Institute of Sport. 

The Bradford cueman is a former UK Championship semi-finalist and ticks a lot of boxes as a worthwhile handicap punt.

Robert Milkins v Joe Perry (7pm)

Robert Milkins has regained his spot in the top 16 of the world rankings courtesy of landing the Welsh Open title in February. 

The Bristol potter returns to the Crucible after a four-year hiatus this year and takes on the man he succeeded as Welsh Open champion, Joe Perry, in the first round. 

Milkins is a talented cueman who arrives at the World Championship in good form. And two excellent Crucible victories over Neil Robertson in 2013 and 2018 show that the Milkman can deliver under pressure.

Perry is a classy operator but the 48-year-old’s powers appear to be on the wane and there hasn’t been any real consistency to his performances in ranking events this season.

He was fortunate to get past Mark Davis in the qualifiers - the Gentleman made only five breaks of over 50 in 19 gruelling frames - and the Fen Tiger looks vulnerable to the superior scoring power of Milkins. 

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