2025 World Snooker Championship Last 16: Players, Betting Tips, & Best Odds
The 2025 World Snooker Championship is entering its final stages with a mixed bevy of favourites and rising stars. The last 16 matchups are booked, but the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield has already seen its fair share of excitement in Round 1.
Against all World Championship Snooker odds, the defending champ Kyren Wilson lost out in a nervy 10-9 first-round thriller. Wilson succumbed to the debutant Lei Peifan to become the latest victim of the Crucible curse, leaving the path to glory wide open. Last year's runner-up Jak Jones also failed in round 1 against Zhao Xintong.
On the different side of the expectation spectrum, the seven-time champ Ronnie O'Sullivan is rolling back the years and steamrolls through what is his first competitive Snooker since January. The Rocket has defeated his frenemy Ali Carter in a cracking All-Essex grudge match that, in the end, was anything but competitive.
With the last 16 round stage set, let's look at the key players remaining in the tour and their chances of winning the 2025 World Snooker Championship's final frame.
2025 World Snooker Championship Last 16 Schedule
But before we look at the World Championship Snooker odds, betting tips, and remaining players, let’s check out the Crucible schedule as it currently stands:
- Lei Peifan vs Zhao Xintong
- Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Pang Junxu
- John Higgins vs Xiao Guodong
- Ding Junhui vs Luca Brecel/Ryan Day
- Chris Wakelin vs Mark Allen
- Si Jiahui vs Mark Selby/Ben Woollaston
- Hossein Vafaei vs Mark Williams
- Shaun Murphy vs Judd Trump
Ronnie O'Sullivan
The seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has overcome his bitter adversary Ali Carter in Round 1 to book a best-of-25 clash against Pang Junxu. The friends-turned-foes met for the third time at the Crucible, the first time since that infamous expletive-ridden interview where O'Sullivan didn't hold back and called Carter a “f***ing nightmare”.
The champ scored three centuries in five frames to secure a comfortable first-round win. This might be the last Crucible that we see O'Sullivan in action, as he admits to losing his instinctiveness. Speaking of the end-game scenario, O'Sullivan is Playbet's second favourite to win the chip. The path to the semis looks quite open, while the odds of Rocket winning his eighth World Snooker Championship are 5.00.
Judd Trump
Speaking of favourites, with Wilson out, everyone seems to have jumped on the Trump bandwagon and proclaimed him the favourite to take home the £500,000 award. Playbet has Trump at 3.75.
The one-time world champion scored a comprehensive 10-4 victory against Zhou Yuelong. Impressively so, too, becoming only the fourth player in Crucible history to make five centuries in the first round—joining Ronnie O'Sullivan, Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen in the feat. That clocks him at 98 centuries this season and just 2 shy of the £100,000 bonus and breaking Robertson's record of 103.
Trump will first have to overcome seeded Shaun Murphy (15) in Round 2. For that particular feat, Stake has him at 1.35.
Zhao Xintong
Zhao Xintong is the first amateur to reach round 2 of Snooker World Championship and the joint third Playbet favourite at 6.00, having defeated last year's runner-up Jak Jones. The Welshman has some nice words to say about his opponent, proclaiming in the post-match interview that “I don't see anyone who is playing better than him—” meaning Xintong, and that “If he wins it, I wouldn't be surprised—” meaning Jones.
Instead of seeing last year's final repeat in round 2, we have an all-Chinese matchup between Xintong and Lei Peifan, who defeated the 2024 champion and the bookie's favourite, Kyren Wilson. Xintong is a huge fav in this clash, though, with Stake offering odds of 1.16.
The 28-year-old sees 2025 Crucible as a perfect opportunity to come clean after going through a 20-month ban for match-fixing. He’ll be buzzing.
John Higgins
The 49-year-old veteran Scot was tearful after his hard-fought comeback Round 1 victory against Joe O'Connor. It was an impressive fixture, by all accounts. Higgins trailed 5-4 going into this evening's session but managed to even it out at 7-7. The 15th frame proved pivotal, lasting 37 minutes and coming down to colours. After the exhausting 15th, the Scot won the last two frames comfortably.
Battling some personal demons, as he later admitted in an interview, Higgins is on course to win his fifth Snooker World Championship. On his way is Xiao Guodong, whose round 1 victory over Matthew Selt was only his second at the Crucible. Stake pays 1.39 on Higgins.
Mark Selby
Mark Shelby is the joint-third favourite to win the 2025 Crucible. The Englishman still has a job to do in the first round against Ben Woollaston, entering the second session with a narrow 5-4 lead. Incredibly so, he missed the simplest of reds he'll have all season.
But could the lapse of concentration signal an upset in Round 1? Unlikely, although I'd be inclined to jump on those 7.00 odds at Stake. However, Shelby ended the session with a lovely break of 135 to regain the lead and will probably come out of the opening round.
At the other end is the rising star of Chinese snooker, Si Jiahui, who pulled off a moment of brilliance against David Gilbert that left the Englishmen in disbelief.
Mark Williams
Mark Williams is the 6th seed in 2025 World Snooker Championship and, according to many a punter, a (very) dark horse in this race. He is at 21.00 at Playbet, having come from behind against Chinese star Wu Yize to win 10-8.
Williams proved that he still had a penchant for the game's important shots when he played perfect final frames to clinch the victory. He also had to battle last year's demons when 21-year-old sensation Si Jiahui beat him to the 10th.
The 50-year-old Welshman thus booked his 22nd round 2 bout, with Hossein Vafaei now standing between him and the quarter-finals. If there’s one Snooker World Championship betting tip to take away from this, go Williams. He's 1.51 at Stake.
Milos Antic
Sports Betting Expert
Milos is a sports betting professional whose special skill involves sitting through countless hours of football fixtures. He entered the sports betting arena in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. He is that guy who gets stopped and asked for a handy betting tip or two. As an in-house betting expert for CryptoGamba, Milos takes much pride when results go the way he called them while always finding a fitting excuse when they don't.
