2024 World Snooker Championship day one predictions and snooker betting tips: Seeded stars in for a tough time

Ladbrokes are offering £40 in free bets when you bet £10 on the World Snooker Championship. You can grab your free bets here. 

We’ve included instructions on how to grab your offer later on in this article.

Where to watch the World Snooker Championship

Live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer & Eurosport, from 10am Saturday

Best bets for day one of the World Snooker Championship

Jak Jones to beat Zhang Anda
3pts 13-8 bet365

Stephen Maguire to beat Ali Carter
1pt 13-8 bet365

Ricky Walden to beat Tom Ford
1pt 11-10 general

You can bet on the World Snooker Championship here and get £40 in free bets with Ladbrokes

Saturday's World Snooker Championship predictions

The World Championship gets underway in its usual fashion with reigning champion Luca Brecel raising the curtain and the Belgian will be hoping to avoid the dreaded Crucible curse and do what no first-time winner has done by retaining the title.

Brecel faces a tricky opener against Dave Gilbert while one of the tournament favourites, 2019 champion Judd Trump, puts his title credentials on the line against Hossein Vafaei.

Luca Brecel vs Dave Gilbert predictions

Gilbert has put a dismal campaign behind him to secure a sixth straight trip to the Crucible, showing renewed focus to record qualifying wins over David Lilley and Xiao Guodong.

The 2019 semi-finalist had three centuries against Lilley and raced into a 5-0 lead over Guodong, so he may fancy his chances against Brecel, who had failed to win a game in five visits to Sheffield prior to last season’s heroics.

The Belgian raises himself for big events, highlighted by this season’s runner-up efforts to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Shanghai Masters and the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh, all of which suggests he may put his best foot forward in Sheffield.

Zhang Anda vs Jak Jones predictions

Only four qualifiers won in the opening round of last season’s tournament but one of those victors was Jak Jones and he looks excellent value to repeat the trick against Zhang Anda.

The Welshman created a huge impression on his way to the quarter-final last season, beating Ali Carter and Neil Robertson before running out of steam in a 13-10 defeat to Mark Allen.

That highlights his capabilities and there is every chance of a repeat run in the manner of his qualifying wins over Jamie Clarke and Zhou Yuelong.

Anda has had a stellar season, claiming the International Championship and finishing runner-up at the Players Championship and English Open, but this is his first Crucible appearance since 2016.

The Chinese player has lost in the opening round in all three Sheffield starts and, while he is clearly a better proposition now, Jones is sharp from qualifying and won 4-1 when they met at the Welsh Open in February.

Ali Carter vs Stephen Maguire predictions

Ali Carter has looked back to his best this season, and his runner-up efforts at the Masters and the Wuhan Open make him a lively outsider in Sheffield.

However, the Captain lost in the first round to Jak Jones last season and looks to have drawn another dangerous qualifier in Stephen Maguire.

Maguire beat Pang Junxu and Luca Brecel at the World Open last month and he scored exceptionally well when overcoming Ashley Hugill and Yuan Sijun in qualifying, registering five centuries.

The Glaswegian has won his last four encounters with Carter and he is a player who regularly raises his game on the big stage.

Judd Trump vs Hossein Vafaei predictions

All eyes will be on Trump in this one and he will be hoping he fares better than last year when he crashed out 10-6 to Anthony McGill at the first hurdle.

It was a convincing 10-4 win to Trump when these two met in the first round two years ago and, although Hossein Vafaei has undoubtedly become more consistent since then, it is still difficult to envisage an upset.

Tom Ford vs Ricky Walden predictions

Tom Ford has won only three of his 13 matches since the beginning of February and, having suffered first-round exits on all four of his Crucible appearances, he may be a vulnerable favourite against Ricky Walden.

Walden has won three of his last four meetings with Ford, is a former World Championship semi-finalist and looked in decent touch in recording qualifying victories over Ian Burns and Mark Davis.

Grab £40 in Ladbrokes free bets when you bet £10 on the World Snooker Championship

We’ve already mentioned that Ladbrokes are offering £40 in free bets when you bet on the World Snooker Championship.

Here is how you can claim this £40 Ladbrokes free bet offer when you place a qualifying bet on the tournament.

• Head over to Ladbrokes through this link to sign up
• Click the sign-up button and follow the process to fill in your details
• Place a £10 qualifying bet at minimum odds of 1.5 (1-2)
• Once your qualifying bet settles, 4x £10 free bets will be automatically credited to your account
• Note that your 4x £10 free bets apply to different markets, so ensure you read full T&Cs

Ladbrokes betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this Ladbrokes betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

The promotion from Ladbrokes gives you 4x £10 free bets to place across racing, football and other relevant markets. Some free bets are only applicable to certain sports, so it’s worth taking a minute to read through the T&Cs of this offer.

• 18+. New UK & ROI customers. 
• Offer ends 30/04/24. 
• Min first deposit £10 and place win or each-way bet within 14 days of account registration at min odds 1.5 to get 4 x £10 free bets. 
• Restrictions & T&Cs apply. 
• 18+. For more info visit www.begambleaware.org

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