The 2012 Betfred World Snooker Championship gets under way on Saturday 21^st April and the draw for the first round has now been made. Some intriguing opening encounters have been thrown up and there looks to be some decent betting opportunities available for snooker punters.

World Championship First Round Draw & Odds (Prices from Betfred)

John Higgins (Sco) 1/6 v Liang Wenbo (Chn) 4/1
Mark Selby (Eng) 1/5 v Barry Hawkins (Eng) 10/3
Mark Williams (Wal) 1/12 v Liu Chuang (Chn) 6/1
Judd Trump (Eng) 1/12 v Dominic Dale (Wal) 6/1
Shaun Murphy (Eng) 1/9 v Jamie Jones (Wal) 5/1
Neil Robertson (Aus) 1/6 v Ken Doherty (Ire) 4/1
Ding Junhui (Chn) 1/5 v Ryan Day (Wal) 7/2
Stephen Maguire (Sco) 1/5 v Luca Brecel (Bel) 10/3
Graeme Dott (Sco) 2/7 v Joe Perry (Eng) 5/2
Mark Allen (NI) 1/9 v Cao Yupeng (Chn) 5/1
Martin Gould (Eng) 2/7 v David Gilbert (Eng) 5/2
Stephen Lee (Eng) 1/5 v Andrew Higginson (Eng) 10/3
Ali Carter (Eng) 8/15 v Mark Davis (Eng) 11/8
Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) 2/9 v Peter Ebdon (Eng) 3/1
Matthew Stevens (Wal) 8/11 v Marco Fu (HK) Evs
Stuart Bingham (Eng) 8/11 v Stephen Hendry (Sco) Evs

There are some real mouth watering ties in this first round and they have also thrown up some good looking betting opportunities. The First match that takes my eyes is Stuart Bingham up against Stephen Hendry. While Stuart Bingham is certainly no back number having won his first ranking event in 2011, Hendry’s history with the World Championship as well as his class may just give him the edge in this encounter.

His form has been mixed this season but a victory over Neil Robertson shows that the Scot is still capable at the highest level. Betfred make Bingham the 8/11 favourite for the match but I think the bet has to be Hendry at even money.

Back Stephen Hendry @ Evs with Betfred

The other bet sticks out to me is Matthew Stevens to get through his match with Marco Fu at 8/11. Stevens really struggled for a number of years following the death of his close friend Paul Hunter but has regained his passion and confidence in recent times, getting himself back into the top 16 and claiming some notable victories along the way.

While Fu is an extremely talented player on his day, he hasn’t played the amount of competitive snooker Stevens lately and he’s also a little erratic at times. Two time former finalist Stevens is a value bet at 8/11.

Back Matthew Stevens @ 8/11 with Betfred

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