The Complete Guide to Betting on Snooker
With snooker becoming increasingly global, the season has expanded to all year round, so there are many opportunities to have a bet on the Green Baize. Each season is divided into a mixture of ranking events, Players Tour Championship Events, and Invitationals.
There are currently eleven ranking events, the largest of these being the World Championship in Sheffield at the end of May, and these events will have the best fields, more ranking points and the most prize money in the game. There are twelve Players Tour Championship events (minor ranking events) and currently two big Invitational events, the Champion of Champions (all event winners from last year) and the Masters (the top 16 ranked players in the World).
We’ll look at the differing events, formats, and main betting opportunities, ending with the variety of individual match markets available.
Players Tour Championship Events
These tournaments take place over four or five days, with the profession players only joining for the final three days, which are a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (qualifiers will take place for a couple of days before). The events have a field of 128, and each match up to and including the final is played over the best of seven frames.
In terms of betting, most bookmakers will offer overall an overall tournament winner market, and individual match markets.
Each match is played over just seven frames. This means there is more possibility for upsets. Which is reflected in the sportsbook’s odds for both matches and the overall markets.
Some books will offer free live streaming of these tournaments (normally just the main table). Being able to watch the match with a financial investment is always a plus.
Due to the roll on/roll on nature of these tournaments, the exact timing of matches is not always clear. Often you must be quick to know who is playing who and at what time. Due to this fact, only some sportsbooks will offer additional markets on these matches. These events will be priced up a day or two before the tournaments start.
Regular Ranking Events
I would include all the events apart from the World Championship, the UK Championship, and the International Championship in China in this category.
These events will feature matches that are best of nine all the way to the quarter final. They then feature a best of eleven semifinal and a longer final (seventeen or nineteen frames). The field size is once again 128, but this includes qualifiers. When we reach the final venue, the field may have been whittled down to 32.
Sportsbooks are more active at these events as the start times are more set in advance. Television coverage is greater and field strength is stronger. You’ll see that most top players enter all the ranking events.
Tournament outright betting will be available, each match will be priced up, as well as bets as to who will win their respective quarter of the draw. You’ll also find individual match markets (see below). Betting on the outright market will be available around a week beforehand.
UK Championship and International Championship
These two events are considered the biggest ranking events outside of the World Championship. They are both contested over slightly longer formats. Each match is a minimum of best of eleven, with the International Championship featuring longer semifinals of best of seventeen.
Because of the longer formats, there is less chance of an upset, and in general you would expect a better player to take the trophy on Sunday night.
On top of the normal ranking events markets, sportsbooks may offer additional markets. For example, will there be a 147 in the whole tournament, or the nationality of the tournament winner.
These will be priced up a week or two beforehand.
The Champion of Champions
This is a new non-ranking event where players who have won in the previous year automatically qualify. The first round is best of seven, quarter finals and finals are best of eleven, and the final is best of nineteen. There is a new format, where each quarter of the draw is decided daily, so each day produces a semi- finalist.
In terms of betting, this will be similar to a standard ranking event.
The Snooker Masters
The Masters is played in January every year. It is considered one of the biggest tournaments of the year with a huge prize fund and a long, rich history. Having an elite field of sixteen means every match is a tough one, and the matches are best of eleven until the final.
At this event there is only one table, so all the focus is on just one game at a time. This will lead to more individual match markets (see below), as well as the usual outright tournament betting, and match winner markets. You may see more special bets offered by sportsbooks here, being such a big event being, and prices will be available two to three weeks beforehand.
The World Championship
Played over seventeen days in Sheffield this is the one that every player dreams of winning. The elite field of 32 play matches starting at best of nineteen, going all the way up to best of 35 in the final. This is a test of both skill and stamina.
You can place a bet on this event all year around, with bookmakers pricing it up for the following year as soon as the final ball goes in the previous year. Being the World Championship, there are many more markets available at this event. These include Nationality of winner, will there be a first-time winner, to reach the final, how many final frame finishes, highest break betting and many more.
Being the World Championship, the qualifiers that take place a week or so beforehand are very popular in terms of betting. Most larger sportsbooks will have these matches priced up as well – once again many of these matches will be streamed.
Individual Match Betting in Snooker
In each match at the bigger events, as well as the general match odds, there will be a variety of markets available.
Correct Score betting is very popular. If you fancy Ronnie O’Sullivan to win easily, but he is a prohibitive price in the match odds, you could back him to win 5-0 or 5-1 at more sizable odds.
Handicap betting will also be available in most matches. The player considered the outsider will be given a start of a certain number of frames. For example, Peter Ebdon may be given a one and a half frame start over Neil Robertson. In this case, you add the 1.5 to Ebdon’s score, so if he were to lose 5-4, you’d still be in the money. A good bet if you think a player has a chance or will make the game a lot closer than many expected.
The Over/Under Frames market is another popular bet. This is where you predict if the total number of frames in the match is under or over a given amount. Once again, if you think it will be a close long-drawn-out affair, you may want to back the overs, or a one-sided breeze, go under.
Session betting is also popular, especially at the World Championship. Before intervals, there will be four frames played, and you can wager on the outcome of these four frames – both in terms of correct score and just to be ahead (or drawing 2-2 of course).
On the biggest events individual frame betting is available, as well as which player will have the highest break in the match, total amount of century breaks in the match, or even for a quickfire bet, which player will pot the first ball, or which color will be potted first.
Snooker Betting: The future?
Snooker is going through a bit of a boom right now, with new tournaments appearing, a huge surge for snooker in Asia (especially in China). And because of Eurosport, there is a growing number of fans in continental Europe. Because of this each season may see new events, more prize money, and of course, more betting opportunities – a good time to get involved!
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