Tuesday's World Snooker Championship predictions and snooker betting tips: Slessor won't go quietly

Where to watch the World Snooker Championship

BBC & Eurosport, 10am, 2.30pm & 7pm Tuesday

Best bets

Over 16.5 frames in Jack Lisowski v Noppon Saengkham
1pt 10-11 Betfair, Paddy Power

Elliot Slessor +3.5 frames v Gary Wilson
2pts 6-10 BoyleSports

Over 16.5 frames in Judd Trump v Anthony McGill
1pt 11-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

World Snooker Championship day four first-round predictions

Jack Lisowski v Noppon Saengkham (10am)

Noppon Saengkham has been nibbled at to win his first main-tour meeting with Jack Lisowski, but with the Thai possibly not at his absolute best this is a chance for last year's World Championship quarter-finalist to make a positive start on his return to the Crucible Theatre.

Lisowski is still without a title of note after another fallow season, but he ousted Neil Robertson and then nearly beat John Higgins in Sheffield last year.

We could see a renewed spark from Lisowski against Saengkham, who did well to pip Zhang Anda 10-9 in the qualifiers but may have also been a shade fortunate to survive that outing.

Saengkham, who also defeated Martin O'Donnell 10-6 in qualifying, can be a dangerous opponent but if Lisowski is on top of his game he should have enough ammunition to progress.

A close clash looks likely so getting long on a total frame line of 16.5 looks the way to go.

Gary Wilson v Elliot Slessor (10am)

Gary Wilson pipped Elliot Slessor 4-3 in their only previous professional meeting in the 2021 British Open when both cuemen posted century breaks.

It could be another tense Tyneside tussle in Sheffield and while Wilson has been touted as a live title outsider this year, Slessor was in impressive touch in the qualifiers.

Slessor defeated Ian Martin 10-3, Liam Highfield 10-9 and Zhou Yuelong 10-5, compiling two tons against Martin and another two against Zhou.

The Gateshead cueman is a feisty performer who possesses plenty of spirit, as advertised in his 10-7 defeat to Yan Bingtao on his only previous trip to the Crucible in 2020.

Wilson, 37, reached the World Championship semi-finals in 2019 after victories over Luca Brecel, Mark Selby and Ali Carter, eventually falling to Judd Trump in the last four.

The Wallsend potter won his first title of note in the Scottish Open in December. Wilson is capable of posting decent sequences of frame wins, but Slessor may not be an easy opponent to overcome and looks the bet with a handicap start of 3.5 frames.

Judd Trump v Anthony McGill (2.30pm)

Former world number one Judd Trump starts his quest for a second world title with a clash against ex-top 16 player Anthony McGill.

McGill compiled tons in each of his two qualifying wins but may still not be scoring as heavily as he could. However, the Scot can still make this match competitive.

He trailed Cao Yupeng 3-0 in qualifying but won eight of the next nine frames on his way to a 10-6 victory.

McGill is hoping for another long Crucible run, but Trump has won nine of their previous ten meetings and recorded a number of comfortable wins in their early clashes.

The Scot has fared better against the 2019 Crucible king in their recent rumbles, though, and Trump, who was victorious in the Masters in January, edged their only previous Sheffield encounter 13-11.

McGill, a world semi-finalist in 2020, is a dangerous opponent for Trump so it would be no surprise to see this clash lasting 17 frames or longer.

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