Snooker is back for the 2023-24 season, and fans of the cue sport are already rubbing their hands in anticipation for another cracking campaign. With all the usual big tournaments to look forward to, as well as the return of a handful of high-profile events in China, it’s set to be an intriguing season, with plenty to play for as always.
As fans analyse the Paddy Power website to try and predict which players will triumph in which tournament, we thought we’d catch up with the snooker scene by running through some of the main talking points ahead of the new campaign.
Luca Brecel’s world champion status
It still hasn’t quite sunk in that Luca Brecel is the world champion. Having never won a match at the Crucible before he arrived in Sheffield in April, Brecel took the World Championship by storm, defeating Ricky Walden, Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Si Jiahui and then Mark Selby in the final to seal a euphoric maiden world title.
Brecel now faces the excitement of being introduced as the world champion at every tournament this season, and it will be interesting to see how he handles this. The Belgian is a distinctly relaxed character, and so you can expect him to take things in his usual laid-back style, and don’t be surprised if he adds another couple of titles this season. After all, confidence must be coursing through his veins.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s quest to get back to the top
While O’Sullivan won two big invitational events last season in the form of the Hong Kong Masters and the Champion of Champions, his performances in ranking tournaments left quite a bit to be desired. That means he will have a lot of ranking points to defend this season, as the points from his 2022 World Championship triumph will drop off come April.
O’Sullivan perhaps realised towards the end of last season that he will need to really devote himself to the sport if he is to have ambitions of staying at the very top, such is the standard throughout the game now. While he might often come across as someone who doesn’t particularly care for his status in snooker, there’s no denying that O’Sullivan still has that fire in his belly, and you can expect him to come out all guns blazing this season.
Judd Trump seeking attacking freedom once again
The 2022-23 snooker season was a difficult one for Judd Trump. Yes, he got his hands on his second Masters title, but apart from that there was little to write home about.
Perhaps the most worrying sign for Trump was that he seemed to be playing within himself a lot of the time, not taking on the same risky shots he used to, and generally adopting a cagier style of play.
The suggestions are that Trump is ready to get back to his roots this season and start reproducing some of the ‘naughty snooker’ that he made his name for. Victory in a CBSA event in China, beating John Higgins in the final, suggests that his game is coming together nicely.
Trump is a 7/1 shot for the next World Championship currently, or 8.0 in decimal using the odds converter, so he could represent good value as he seeks his second world title.
