Rotherham United vs Port Vale Prediction Betting Tips & Preview
Date: 02/08/25Kick-off time: 15:00Venue: AESSEAL New York StadiumThis League One encounter pits Rotherham United against newly-promoted Port Vale at the AESSEAL New York Stadium on…
After 14 days of play, Championship League Snooker will finally reach its climax on Wednesday at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
What began with 128 runners in the draw has been whittled down to the last eight, with the 2025/26 snooker season’s opening ranking title now on the line.
Most of the marquee names opted for a longer summer break and skipped this unpredictable tournament with short formats and a relatively small prize fund.
There are no top 16 players left, but there is a mix of proven champions and wannabe winners still in contention.
Indeed, four out of the eight remaining cueists already know the feeling of etching his name onto silverware on the main tour.
Among those, Stephen Maguire has been the most prolific with the Scot on course to snap a five-year drought and claim a seventh career ranking crown.
The Scot, with outright odds of 11/2, is a safe bet to challenge and will probably be the favourite to win his final group in Stage Three.
Maguire is up against former Indian Open champion Matthew Selt, China’s Pang Junxu, and Belgium’s Ben Mertens.
In the other group, Ricky Walden will bid for a fourth ranking title alongside Tom Ford, who broke his duck at the Snooker Shoot Out toward the end of last year.
The English pair have tough company in the form of Xu Si and Joe O’Connor – the latter having not lost a single game from his six outings in the competition so far.
That impressive run, in fact, has made O’Connor the favourite in the outright betting market with odds of 9/2.
The 29 year-old has twice come close in ranking events in the past, losing in the finals of both the 2022 Scottish Open and the World Open earlier this year.
The two players who top each table with subsequently play each other in the Championship League Snooker final over a short best-of-five frames sprint.
Any one of the eight could find form at just the right time to emerge with the trophy in his hands.
It’s hard to ignore O’Connor’s form in the event so far, but he’s in a difficult looking group on paper.
If Maguire can get off to a strong start in his group by beating Selt, the Scot could use his vast experience at this phase of a tournament to at the very least reach the final and, potentially, come home with another title.
Recommended bet: Stephen Maguire to win Championship League Snooker is 6/1 with 888sport.
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Looking for free snooker betting tips?
Snooker expert, David Caulfield, joined the WhichBookie team in August 2022 and brings his wealth of knowledge around snooker to our visitors in the form of his snooker tips and analysis.
David will be covering all of the major snooker tournaments and competitions thoughout the year so check back regularly and follow us on Twitter (@whichbookieuk) to never miss a tip.
View our latest snooker betting tips above.
Here at WhichBookie, we don’t charge readers for any of our sports betting tips. This includes tips for horse racing tips, football tips, boxing tips and of course, our snooker tips.
Yes. All of our snooker tips are recorded in a database and are openly available to all WhichBookie visitors.
We will always recommend a bookmaker to place the snooker tips with. This can be for various reasons. Most likely, the bookie that we recommend will be offering the best odds at the time of publishing but it may be that there is a specific betting offer available with a certain bookie or one bookmaker is offering a betting market that isn’t available elsewhere.
However, if you have a preferred bookie that you like to bet with, or would like to use one of our recommendations from our best snooker betting sites page, feel free to use them. We recommend checking the odds to see how they compare with the prices we list for the tips here on WhichBookie as our tips are based on value at the time of publishing.
Although we recommend a bookmaker and odds, we do note advise what stakes to use. Always use stakes that are within your means and never bet more than you can afford to lose.
We aim to publish around 10 snooker betting tips per month. However, this number may be greater during the major tournaments and less when there are fewer matches taking place.
Yes. Online bookmaker Bet365 have one of the best streaming services available. Bet365 snooker streams do not cost anything and all you need it to have a registered account with the bookmaker.
Snooker expert David Caulfield will be looking to provide tips over the coming months for the following events.
Month/Date | Event |
---|---|
September | |
5-10 | 6 Red World Championship |
24-25 | World Mixed Doubles Championship |
26-2 Oct | British Open |
October | |
6-9 | Hone Kong Masters |
16-23 | Northern Ireland Open |
31-6 Nov | Champion of Champions |
November | |
5-20 | UK Championship (including qualifiers) |
28-4 Dec | Scottish Open |
December | |
6-22 | Championship League (Groups 1-4) |
12-18 | English Open |
January | |
3-6 | Championship League (Groups 5-6) |
8-15 | The Masters |
16-22 | World Grand Prix |
25-28 | Snooker Shoot Out |
February | |
1-5 | German Masters |
13-19 | Welsh Open |
20-26 | Players Championship |
March | |
6-9 | Championship League (Group 7 and Final Winners Group) |
13-19 | Turkish Masters |
27-2 Apr | Tour Championship |
April | |
3-1 May | World Championship (including qualifiers) |
Snooker is a really interesting sport to bet on, particularly when betting in-play and with games taking place throughout the year, there is rarely a shortage of matches to bet on. Top players compete in several major tournaments such as the World Championship, which is held at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in April and is watched by millions around the world.
In the past, snooker has been dominated by British players. However, new players emerging from China has brought more competition to the game as well as awareness which has resulted in more betting options for punters. However, not all online bookmakers give the sport the coverage it deserves.
Today, we’ll show you which are the best bookies for snooker betting, and what you should look for when choosing where to bet. There are several criteria which you might consider when choosing a bookmaker for snooker. So we’ll begin by identifying the most popular features that people look for.
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As a punter, obviously you always want to make as much profit as you can on your winning bets. So it stands to reason that the first question you would ask is which bookie offer the best snooker odds?
With traditional bookmakers, the prices usually vary depending on what their odds compilers feel about each individual event. So you need to take a broad view when it comes to getting the best odds. We’ve found that bet365 are usually very competitive, and they offer a large selection of markets on snooker matches, along with live streams of many of them.
If you only want to place a one off bet, it may also be worth looking at the bookies sign up offers. Some sites offer to double your odds on your first bet, or boost the profit on your first winner.
These days most major snooker tournaments are shown on free to air TV. But what about those times when you can’t be near your television? That’s when the best snooker bookies should be able to step in and help you out.
You might already be aware that some bookies offer live streaming on a variety of sports. Mostly it’s only horse racing, but some sites stream other sports as well, including snooker. For example, Betfair stream some snooker events, and William Hill have been known to show a few as well. But not all bookies live streaming services are the same. Here’s what to look for:
The only site that can answer yes to all three of these questions is bet365. They are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to live streaming.
Watch Live Streaming at Bet365
T&Cs and country restrictions apply to their streaming service, so be sure to check these first. But as long you are in a country that qualifies, you certainly won’t find a better place to watch live snooker online than bet365.
They show more matches than any other bookie, and the picture quality and speed is second to none. So if you want to watch the game while you bet, and can’t get to a TV, bet365 come very highly recommended.
Betting on sports in-play is massive these days, because it gives you so many more opportunities to profit. We’ll discuss some strategies you can use later. But for now, let’s concentrate on which is the best place to bet in-play on snooker.
When deciding where to bet, there are three questions you should always ask.
Betfred have a choice of in-play betting options, with up to date live odds. Bet placement is fast and easy compared to some other bookies, and they have that all important cash out option to let you lock in your profit at any time. There is no better choice for in-play betting on snooker.
This is one area where it’s hard to pick an overall winner. You’ll certainly find that some sites are much better than others in terms of event coverage, and the range of markets they offer. However, there are several bookies that offer an equally good selection.
The following sites can all be classed as the best bookies for snooker in terms of the choice of markets and range of events they cover. Click on any one and you’ll get access to a comprehensive service.
Get the best choice of snooker markets at Betfred, Bet365 & William Hill.
We’ll discuss some of the most popular markets later in this article, and explain how each one works. But you can be sure that they will be available at all of the bookies listed above.
New UK customers only. Register using the promo code BETFRED60, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+). First bet must be on Sports. £20 in Free Bets to be used on Sports, £10 in Free Bets to be used on Lotto and 50 Free Spins (20p per spin) credited within 48 hours of bet settlement. Further £20 in Free Bets credited 5 days after settlement. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply.
If you’re either a high roller or somebody who likes to back longshots at high odds, then you may want to know which bookies have the highest maximum payouts on snooker. Usually the best option for punters who win large amounts, or who win regularly, is the Betfair exchange. This is because they do not limit your account if you win.
Of those bookies we have recommended above, the maximum payouts on snooker betting markets are as follows:
As we mentioned earlier, there are many ways to bet on snooker. So let’s take a look at some of the markets which are available at the betting sites listed above. As you’ll see, these give you many different opportunities to profit, especially if you watch the match and bet in-play.
Like other sports, outright bets can be placed on the overall winner of a snooker tournament. These bets can also be placed each way, meaning you would also get a payout (usually at 1/2 odds) if your selection finished second.
Because picking the overall tournament winner is usually harder than picking the winner of an individual match, the outright market tends to offer higher odds. It is usually possible to cash out on this market. So a popular strategy is to back a player at the start of a tournament, and then cash out for a guaranteed profit when he/she reaches the later rounds.
You can also bet on the winner of each individual match in the tournament. This is probably the most popular snooker betting market.
Match bets are particularly suited to people who can watch the match and bet in play. By identifying key moments in a frame, you can often predict a change of momentum in the match. You can also tell if a player is starting to make mistakes, or is losing composure.
It’s also worth considering the effect that an interval can have on the match. Often a player who has been playing very well before the interval can come back and struggle to replicate that performance in the next session. The opponent can frequently use the interval to regain his composure and will conversely improve afterwards.
Learn to read the game and spot common patterns, and you will find many opportunities to profit.
Snooker matches are broken down into frames. A match is won by the player who gets to a certain number of frames first, for example “Best of 11” means first player to get to 6 frames. Matches tend to be longer in the later stages of a tournament.
A session usually consists of 5 frames, before the players take a short break. You can bet on the winner of each individual frame, or on who will win the most frames in a particular session.
If you have a good understanding of snooker, then frame betting is particularly interesting. By judging the position of the balls on the table, you can often get a good idea of which player is most likely to win the frame from the current cue ball position. A little expertise and experience can go a long way in this market.
Breaks are obviously a massive part of the game, and most of the best bookies for snooker have markets on which player will score the highest break in any particular match, session or frame. You can also bet on who will score the most century breaks or maximum breaks, and also on how many of each there will be in the entire tournament.
Correct Score: Bet on the correct score based on the number of frames each player will win in the match.
Handicap Betting: If there is a strong favourite in a match, a handicap bet can give the underdog a head start with a number of frames advantage.
Total Number Of Frames: Bet on the cumulative total of frames from both players in a match.
Frame Points: Bet on the total number of points in any given frame. You usually have the option to bet on ranges for frame points such as 100-120 etc.
First ball: Bet on which player will pot the first ball in a frame.
In-Play: There are a number of in-play markets available for snooker matches. Punters can bet on a player to win the next or current frame, to pot the next ball and many others.
147: Bet on whether or not a 147 will be scored in a match or tournament.
147’s are relatively uncommon but they are a popular bet. You can generally get very attractive odds on either player scoring a 147 and if it comes in, you not only get to enjoy watching it but also pocket some money.
Value can be found in many snooker betting markets if you know the players and the game. Here at WhichBookie, we provide many betting tips for snooker and other sports which are well researched by individuals who have an in-depth knowledge of the sport. All of the betting tips available on WhichBookie are 100% free and cover a range of markets including the match winner and overall tournament winner.
One great thing about snooker as a sport is that there are tournaments taking place around the world all year long. Below, we have listed some of the most popular snooker tournaments.
The World Championship is held annually in April at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK. It is the most prestigious tournament on the snooker calendar similar to how Wimbledon is for tennis.
The World Snooker Championship has been running since 1927 when Joe Davis won the first ever title. Impressively, this was to be his first in 15 consecutive world titles from that point onwards.
It was only from 1969 when the World Championship format changed to a knockout style tournament and only from 1977 when it was first held at the Crucible. Since then, Stephen Hendry holds the most titles with seven victories.
As well the World Championship and the Masters, the UK Championship is considered one of the three Triple Crown events.
First held in 1977 at Tower Circus, Blackpool and was won by Patsy Fagan, the UK Championship is a sought after title which is made even more attractive by the £200,000 prize for the winner (2019).
Only behind the World Championship, The Masters is the second longest-running tournament in snooker having been established back in 1975.
Legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan is the player to have won The Masters the most number of times with 7 titles to his name after reaching the final a record 12 times.
The China Open is one of the more recent prestigious snooker tournaments having been established in 1997. The tournament is extremely well-known due to the increased popularity of the sport in China.
In 2019, the tournament had a total prize fund of £1,000,000 with the tournament winner pocketing £225,000.
New UK customers only. Register using the promo code BETFRED60, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+). First bet must be on Sports. £20 in Free Bets to be used on Sports, £10 in Free Bets to be used on Lotto and 50 Free Spins (20p per spin) credited within 48 hours of bet settlement. Further £20 in Free Bets credited 5 days after settlement. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply.