Monday's World Championship first-round predictions & snooker betting tips

Free snooker tips, best bets and analysis for day three of the Betfred World Championship on Monday.

Where to watch

BBC & Eurosport, from 10am Monday

Best bets

Mark Allen -2.5 frames v Scott Donaldson
10am
1pt 4-6 Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes

Ashley Hugill +6.5 frames v Neil Robertson
2.30pm
2pts 4-7 Betfred

Over 15 frames in Stuart Bingham v Lyu Haotian
7pm
2pts 4-7Betfred

Mark Allen v Scott Donaldson

Mark Allen's Betfred World Championship curtain-raiser against Scott Donaldson is a tough one to call, principally due to the steady improvement the Scottish qualifier is making.

Northern Ireland ace Allen used to defeat Donaldson with little fuss, but the outsider is making strides and could make the favourite work hard for victory.

It's difficult to tell which side of the handicap to go with a mark of 3.5 frames. It's not easy with 4.5 too, so it may pay to place some faith in Allen crossing the line before his opponent wins eight frames.

Donaldson, making only his second appearance at the Crucible, was in excellent touch in the qualifiers, defeating Allan Taylor 10-1 after edging out Li Hang and humbling Allen's stepson Robbie McGuigan in his opener.

Neil Robertson v Ashley Hugill

Ashley Hugill is an impressive young player, both in his ability and the way he is conducting himself on the main tour, and he should enjoy plenty of future success.

His reward for qualifying for the Crucible for the first time is a crack at this year's title favourite Neil Robertson. But while the Australian is no stranger to leaving many opponents trailing in his wake, it's just possible that the canny, focused Hugill could put up more resolute defence than many oddsmakers anticipate.

A 10-3 loss would probably go down as a disappointing result for Hugill, who defeated Robbo 5-1 in their only previous encounter in the 2016 German Masters. So back the outsider, who thwarted Martin Gould and Joe O'Connor to earn this big-stage debut, to win at least four frames.

Stuart Bingham v Lyu Haotian

Stuart Bingham made more century breaks than anyone in just four rounds at the Crucible last year and there's no reason why the Essex ace can't shine in Sheffield this year.

He's a quality operator, although he's also been a bit quiet on the baize of late, so it could pay to afford his opponent Lyu Haotian some respect in their first career meeting.

There are handicap lines of 2.5 and 3.5 about Lyu, but it's probably better to take a slightly shorter price and back the match to last for 16 frames or more.

Lyu beat Xu Si, Lu Ning and Dominic Dale to qualify for a third trip to the Crucible and he looks in better nick than when he succumbed 10-2 to Allen in last year's opening round.

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