World Championship qualifying predictions and snooker betting tips: Craigie can dethrone Prince of Persia

Where to watch the World Championship qualifiers 

Discovery+, from 10am Monday

Best bets for the World Championship qualifiers 

Sam Craigie to qualify for the World Championship
3pts 4-1 general 

Elliot Slessor to qualify for the World Championship
3pts 15-8 general

Xiao Guodong to qualify for the World Championship 
2pts 7-4 general

Snooker World Championship qualifiers 2024 predictions

Ronnie O’Sullivan bids to land a record eighth World Championship title when the Sheffield showpiece begins at the Crucible Theatre on April 20. 

The Rocket is the 11-4 favourite as he sets his sights on making history, but there are four qualifying rounds before the Crucible action starts. 

It’s an interesting betting heat because defending champion Luca Brecel has shown little or no form this season, established World Championship performers Mark Selby and John Higgins, who have lifted the Sheffield showpiece a combined eight times, have cast doubt over their futures in the sport and Neil Robertson, who is fifth in the market at 14-1, faces a qualification battle to even reach the Crucible. 

Robertson is 2-9 to win qualification section four, where Xu Si and Jamie Jones are rated the biggest dangers to the Australian.

There are a number of short-priced jollies in the 16 qualifying sections and three of them look opposable. 

Hossein Vafaei flew under the radar in the early stages of his career but the Prince of Persia now looks to have been seriously overrated by the market. 

The Iranian made the semi-finals of the UK Championship this season but his campaign has been littered with early exits from ranking events.

The 29-year-old beat Andrew Pagett and Jackson Page to qualify for last year’s World Championship but his path looks more difficult this season. 

Marco Fu is a lively potential third-round opponent but the biggest threat could come from Sam Craigie. The pair can’t meet before the fourth and final round of qualifiers and Craigie looks overpriced at 4-1. 

The Newcastle cueman made the semi-finals of the German Masters in February and has enough ability to reach the Crucible for a second time. 

The 30-year-old beat Vafaei 6-0 in the 2021 World Championship qualifiers and there is enough in the price to take a chance on Craigie in section nine. 

Stuart Bingham, world champion in 2015, has barely even qualified for an event in the second half of the season and at 5-6 there’s a lot of faith required to support the Essex potter. 

Elliot Slessor is a progressive and talented performer and the Gateshead cueman played extremely well when reaching the semi-finals of February’s Welsh Open. 

The 29-year-old got the better of Liam Highfield and Zhou Yuelong to qualify for the Sheffield showpiece last year before putting up an excellent performance in a 10-8 round-one defeat to Gary Wilson at the Crucible. 

Bingham looks to have a tougher task to reach the final qualification contest and Slessor looks a great value 15-8 chance in section seven. 

Section 15 looks a straight shootout between David Gilbert and Xiao Guodong and it’s hard to see Guodong being a 7-4 chance should they meet in the final round of qualifiers. 

Gilbert’s game has disappeared and has suffered a string of early exits from ranking events this term. The Tamworth man has won only three matches in the last six ranking competitions he has entered and it’s a worrying time for the 42-year-old. 

Guodong hasn’t been flying but at 7-4 the Chinese cueman looks a value alternative to the struggling Gilbert. 

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.