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

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

Where to watch

BBC & Eurosport, from 10am Wednesday

Best bets

Kyren Wilson to beat Ding Junhui 10am
2pts 4-6 general

Hossein Vafaei +3.5 frames on handicap v Judd Trump 2.30pm
1pt 11-10 general

Luca Brecel -2.5 frames on handicap 7pm
1pt 11-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Kyren Wilson v Ding Junhui

Kyren Wilson's clash with Ding Junhui is the pick of the first-round matches at this year’s Betfred World Championship and the Warrior is fancied to show why he is the fifth seed at the Crucible.

Ding is a previous world championship finalist and has been to the last four twice but all the recent course-and-distance form is with Wilson, who has transformed himself into a Sheffield specialist.

The Warrior has learned to peak for this event and has reached at least the quarter-final stage in each of the last six years, finishing as runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2020 and making the semis last year.

Ding is not the force of old and is no longer considered China’s number one, with Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong having both surpassed him in recent seasons.

Recent signs have been more encouraging but, even so, Ding idn't impress when beating David Lilley 10-7 in his final qualifier for this event.

Wilson scores heavily and has an excellent temperament, but he is also an adept safety player, suggesting Ding could struggle to keep tabs on him over a best-of-19 format.

Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei

Hossein Vafaei is one of three players making their Crucible debuts this year but the Iranian is a tough competitor and shouldn’t be overawed by the occasion.

Vafaei made hard work of seeing off Lei Peifan 10-9 in his final qualifying clash but the Chinese teenager was operating at the peak of his powers and there must be some concerns as to what form Vafei's first-round opponent Judd Trump is currently in.

The Juddernaut was thoroughly outplayed in a 10-6 defeat to Luca Brecel at the Tour Championship last month, so quotes of 1-6 about him are a touch flattering.

Vafaei is a solid break-builder and is also competent in the safety department, so he can be expected to keep this contest competitive.

The Iranian lost 6-5 to Trump in the Welsh Open semi-final last month and may give the world number four another scare.

Luca Brecel v Noppon Saengkham

Luca Brecel is one player who has made huge strides this season, and on the back of a successful campaign the Belgian should fancy his chances against Noppon Saengkham.

Having made the UK Championship final in December, Brecel went one better later that month with victory over John Higgins in the Scottish Open final.

The Belgian’s 10-6 win over Trump at the Tour Championship last month shows he heads to Sheffield in decent nick and he ought to have the measure of his Thai challenger.

Saengkham is making his third visit to the Crucible and he impressed with two centuries in a 10-8 win over Robert Milkins in qualifying.

However, beating Brecel, who has taken his game to a new level this season, is a different proposition entirely and he is taken to record a cosy success.

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