The 2024 Snooker World Championship battle: O’Sullivan expected to reclaim his crown

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Snooker is one of the more obscure sports that attracts participation from all over the globe. It is a game that requires immense patience and thoughtful strategy for players to succeed.

The professional snooker season sees players from Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania converge for the biggest events. In the 2023/24 schedule, the only remaining competition is the biggest of all – the snooker world championship.

Many people may not follow the season-long action but the annual contest which determines the world champion usually rakes in millions of viewers. All corners of the world will be watching on in May and the competition at the peak level of the game is greater than ever.

Here we will look at the players expected to truly fight for success at the Crucible Theatre in the United Kingdom this year.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the favorite to secure an eighth success

Ronnie O’Sullivan is viewed by many as the greatest snooker player ever and he is strongly tipped to further his legacy in 2024. In World Snooker Championship betting he is the marginal leading favorite at +300.

World number two Judd Trump is unsurprisingly his closest competitor in the snooker odds offered at +400 to deny O’Sullivan’s legacy-polishing success.

Home time with some extra luggage #riyadhseason pic.twitter.com/5vdupliTnx
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) March 7, 2024

O’Sullivan has entered most of the World Championships of the last 15 years as a big favorite although the lengthy tournament is incredibly tough even for the most gifted players to win.

The final leg of the Triple Crown demands the highest level of endurance and consistency from the top-level players. The 17-day event requires that the experienced veterans maintain a high level for much longer than the other week-long events on the calendar.

The group system is set up so that the top players have the greatest chance of facing off in the latter stages and so players must avoid becoming burned out by that stage.

O’Sullivan will be aware of what it takes mentally and physically to win the tournament though and it is difficult to see him not managing to win his eighth title on the 20th anniversary of his maiden honour.

Trump has a strong chance of winning his first world title

If O’Sullivan does not win the headline snooker event of the year then it will almost certainly be Trump that takes advantage.

Delighted to get my second title of the season and to win back to back 😁 pic.twitter.com/sqUVFmzfts
— Judd Trump (@juddtrump) October 15, 2023

Ahead of the competition, his prize earnings for the year were just £38,000 shy of the world number one which is indicative of how evenly matched they have been across the 2023/24 season.

He is also one of the rare few active players that have winning experience having won the 2019 World Championships. Trump also appeared in the final of 2022 where he lost to O’Sullivan meaning revenge could be on the cards this time around.

Besides Trump, the vastly experienced Mark Selby could also have an outside chance of success although beyond him any other potential winner would present a massive shock.

Regardless of how it pans out the greatest 17 days of snooker on the calendar will arrive across April and May this year. Some of the most tense and thrilling contests of the season are likely to culminate with a former champion adding to their existing title hauls.