Can Mark Williams Defend his World Snooker Championship Crown in Sheffield?

Last year, on the eve of the tournament, the then two-time former World Snooker Champion Mark Williams joked on his Twitter feed that if he won the title this year in Sheffield, then he would conduct his post-match press conference in the nude.

Fast-forward two weeks later and after securing his third World title, his first in 15 years, Williams duly entered the press conference in the buff to answer the press’s questions about his fantastic return to form on snooker’s biggest stage and to try and discover just how he had produced some of the best snooker of his life to become the World Champion once again.

So it is with great interest that we saw Williams get the 2019 World Championship underway on Saturday against Martin Gould. Can Williams do it again this year, or will another top player be the one celebrating in style in a fortnight’s time?

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Williams Potential Route to the Final

To achieve a second victory in a row this year, Williams needs to overcome his first round opponent Martin Gould. He then faces a second round tie against either David Gilbert (the 16^th seed) or Joe Perry. It is likely that either Kyren Wilson or Barry Hawkins, both of whom have excellent recent records at The Crucible, will await him in the quarterfinal while a semifinal could see him face the likes of Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham or John Higgins, all of whom are former World Champions themselves.

Then in the final, it could be any of the star names from the bottom half of the draw including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, Mark Allen or Ding Junhui. What is certain is that it looks like being a real test for Williams if he is to land a repeat success.

World Championships 2019 – Round 1 Report

The action for the First Round of this year’s World Championships began on Saturday with the defending champion in action and Mark Williams produced another good display to defeat the tricky Martin Gould 10-7 to move into the second round. There he will face either sixteenth seed David Gilbert or the experience Joe Perry.

Neil Robertson thrashed Michael Georgiou 10-1 to make swift progress and there was real drama in two other games where Stephen Magure came back from 9-7 down to defeat Tian Pengfei 10-9, while the final frame between Gary Wilson and 14^th seed Luca Brecel was the longest in Crucible history before Wilson produced a fine clearance to claim a 10-9 win over the Belgian.

Results & Schedule for Round 1

• Martin Gould 7-10 Mark Williams
• Stephen Maguire 10-9 Tian Pengfei
• Michael Georgiou 1-10 Neil Robertson
• Ding Junhui 10-7 Anthony McGill
• Gary Wilson 10-9 Luca Brecel
• Mark Selby v Zhao Xintong (Mon 22^nd April – 10am)
• Shaun Murphy 9 v 0 Luo Honghao (Resumes Mon 22^nd April – 10am)
• Ronnie O’Sullivan v James Cahill (Mon 22^nd April – 2.30pm)
• John Higgins 6 v 3 Mark Davis (Resumes Mon 22^nd April – 2.30pm)
• David Gilbert v Joe Perry (Mon 22^nd April – 7pm)
• Stuart Bingham v Graeme Dott (Tue 23^rd April – 10am)
• Judd Trump v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tue 23^rd April – 2.30pm)
• Mark Allen v Zhou Yuelong (Tue 23^rd April – 7pm)
• Barry Hawkins v Li Hang (Wed 24^th April – 10am)
• Kyren Wilson v Scott Donaldson (Wed 24^th April – 2.30pm)
• Jack Lisowski v Ali Carter (Wed 24^th April – 7pm)

Current World Championship Odds

Insert Odds

*Odds were correct as of 7.30am on Monday 22^nd April 2019

Our Tip – Ronnie O’Sullivan – 11/5

It’s no surprise that we’re backing Ronnie O’Sullivan. The Englishman is not only the greatest player in terms of sheer talent to ever pick up a snooker cue, he is also a five-time former World Champion and his form this year has been so good that he has risen to the top of the World Rankings once again. The last of his five World Titles came back in 2013 and he is long overdue a sixth win that would elevate him into elite company. For my money, 2019 is the year that O’Sullivan will finally achieve that and have Hendry’s seven World Titles firmly in view.

Each Way Tip- Barry Hawkins (20/1)

O’Sullivan is the second seed in the tournament, and he has been drawn in the bottom half of the draw so I think a solid each way bet for the top half is the languid style of Barry Hawkins (20/1). The Englishman has a great record at the Crucible where the longer format suits his style of play and he has proven time and again he has the stamina to go deep in this tournament. He does have a tricky route to the final, but he has done so in the past and he is a great value each way punt in my view.

Where will Mark Williams falter?

Having come through his first-round game already, I expect Mark Williams to beat either David Gilbert or Joe Perry in the second round but then I think he could find himself up against either Hawkins or Kyren Wilson. Both of these players are very solid performers and I think both have the game to get the better of the Welshman if he is not on his top form. As such, I feel the quarterfinals may be as far as Williams gets in defending his crown this year.