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All the biggest names in world snooker will be in Edinburgh this week for the 2023 Scottish Open. Judd Trump (+400) leads the betting, but he will have an in-form Ronnie O’Sullivan (+500) to contend with if he wants to add another title to the three ranking events he has already won this season. Here, we look ahead to the competition, bring you the latest odds, and tell you who the best snooker betting picks to win the tournament are.
- What; 2023 Scottish Open Snooker
- Where; Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
- When; Monday, December 11th – Sunday, December 17th
- Defending Champion; Gary Wilson
Red hot competition at the top of world snooker
World Snooker is currently in a ridiculously strong position. At the top of the rankings, there are four players all vying for the top spot. The legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan is still top. The Rocket extended his lead with his sublime win at the UK Championship last weekend. Trying to displace Ronnie O’Sullivan at the top of the snooker world rankings are world No.2 Judd Trump, along with Luca Brecel (No.3) and Mark Allen (No.4).
Luca Brecel is only ranked three, and he is the current world champion. Judd Trump has been the most successful player this season, and he still can’t get past O’Sullivan. And then you also have the likes of Mark Selby at five, who is way behind the Rocket, and Neil Robertson at six, who is a good distance behind Selby, never mind O’Sullivan. The competition is now fierce, and any event that all the top players are competing in is now a must-watch.
Betting to win the 2023 Scottish Open
Some things don’t seem to change at the top of snooker. Ronnie O’Sullivan is 48 years old and is still winning the top tournaments. His win at the UK Championship was the eighth of his career (he was 47 at the time), and came a staggering 30 years after his first title in 1993. Most 48-year-old former snooker champions are a good five to ten years past their best at this age. But not O’Sullivan. He still looks in his prime and is still putting his far younger rivals in their place.
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN IS YOUR MRQ UK CHAMPION FOR THE EIGHTH TIME!!!! #UKChampionship | @mrqbingo pic.twitter.com/fXhjhISpE7
— WST (@WeAreWST) December 3, 2023
But one thing has changed in the world of snooker betting recently. Ronnie O’Sullivan is no longer the automatic favorite for any competition he enters. Judd Trump now seems to be the leading contender with all the best online sportsbooks ahead of any competition. Trump was favored ahead of the UK Championship, he is favored for the Scottish Open, and he is also the betting favorite to win the 2024 Masters snooker, taking place in early January next year.
Trump’s closest betting rival is Ronnie O’Sullivan at +500. Mark Selby is +800, with Mark Allen the fourth favorite at +1000. John Higgins and the in-form Ding Junhui are next at +1400.
The defending champion of the Scottish Open is Gary Wilson. The Englishman defeated Joe O’Connor 9-2 in the final in 2022. Wilson is +6600 to defend his title this week.
More odds are available on our Snooker betting table. Please also check out our free bets and promotions page for the latest offers from the listed bookmakers.
| Outright Winner Betting |  |  |  |
| Judd Trump | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Mark Selby | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Mark Allen | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| John Higgins | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Ding Junhui | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Shaun Murphy | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Luca Brecel | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Jack Lisowski | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Mark Williams | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Kyren Wilson | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Barry Hawkins | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Hossein Vafaei | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Stuart Bingham | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Ali Carter | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Zhang Anda | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Gary Wilson | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
Who are the in-form players?
Mark Allen was the winner of the recent Shoot Out that took place in Swansea last week. The victory was the Northern Irishman’s second-ranking event win in the last three competitions, having won the Champion of Champions in York in November, defeating Judd Trump 10-3 in a blistering display in the final.
The Shoot Out is played over just one frame. This makes it difficult to judge a player’s form as it is a bit of a sideshow of a competition. For example, Cao Yupeng was Allen’s opponent in the final. And we don’t expect to see him in next Sunday’s final (he is +125000). But what the win does do is give Mark Allen extra belief and confidence heading to Scotland.
MARK ALLEN IS THE CHAMPION!! 🏆
The Pistol wins the 2023/24 @BetVictor Shoot Out with a 65-4 victory over China's Cao Yupeng to pick up his 10th career ranking title!#ClockIsTicking | @Pistol147 pic.twitter.com/TYxEvv3atM
— WST (@WeAreWST) December 9, 2023
Also in decent form is obviously Ronnie O’Sullivan. The Rocket looked as good as ever when he defeated Ding Junhui at the UK Championship. And Ding himself played snooker as well as he has done in years in getting to the final, knocking out Judd Trump along the way.
And finally, speaking of Trump. He has got to the final in four of the last six ranking events he has entered.
Our Picks to Win
We’re going to give Trump and O’Sullivan a wide berth for this competition. Trump will be motivated to win the Masters next month and may already have one eye on winning another of the World Snooker Tour’s Triple Crown events. It would be no surprise to see him get to the final, but at +400, we will bypass him this week. As for Ronnie, how motivated will he be for this event after winning the UK Championship? Again, he is worth swerving.
Instead, we are going for two players, Ding Junhui and Shaun Murphy. Ding was in superb form at the UK Championship and looked totally revitalized and back to his best. At +1400, Ding Junhui is well worth a bet.
We’re also backing Shaun Murphy to win. He got knocked out of the Shoot Out in the second round. Okay, that doesn’t sound great, but he knocked in a 147 in the first round, this while under the additional pressure of the shot clock. Murphy must be cueing well to do that. He also has a ranking win to his name this season. So, at +2000, Shaun Murphy is our second betting pick to win the Scottish Open.
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