Champion of Champions Betting Guide

Many think the prestigious ‘Champion of Champions’ snooker tournament is a relatively new event, however, the tournament was actually created way back in 1978. It was originally contested by just four players at the Wembley Conference Centre in London. 10 players competed in the 1980 iteration and the event experienced a 23-year hiatus before being revived by Matchroom Sport in 2013.

In this snooker betting guide, we’ll take a closer look at the history of the Champion of Champions event, whilst exploring some of the tournament’s most popular betting markets.

Best Champion of Champions Snooker Betting Sites

Before we look at the most popular Champion of Champions betting markets, it’s important to identify the betting sites that provide the most extensive coverage. We’ve outlined four of the most relevant operators below, while asking what sets them apart from some of their rivals.

Best Betting Site – BoyleSports

As the leading sportsbook and betting brand in Ireland, BoyleSports remains a dominant force both on and offline. It also provides what’s arguably the best Champion of Champions betting experience, particularly in terms of choice and odds.

Not only is snooker one of 42 different disciplines covered by BoyleSports, but the operator also offers a deceptively large and diverse selection of ante-post and micro betting markets. BoyleSports also occasionally runs enhanced odds promotions relating to specific tournaments, creating more value in outright and match prices.

Players who are new to BoyleSports can also qualify for a €20 Free Bet when they credit their account with the minimum amount of €10 or above. You’re then free to use this on your choice of Champion of Champions markets, so long as you prioritise outcomes with odds of 2.00 or above.

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Best Free Bet Offer – Bet365

Let’s face facts; most punters make their choice of sportsbook based on the real-time Welcome Bonus, which can translate into Free Bets and capital up to a predetermined value.

In this respect, Bet365 may be your best port of call, with the operator running a 100% deposit match up to the value of €50. This requires a minimum deposit of €10, while any subsequent Champion of Champions bets must be placed on outcomes priced at 1.20 or above.

This offer can comprise one of several bets on the Champion of Champions, depending on the value of your deposit and the total bonus amount.

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Best In-Play Betting Site – Betway

Micro betting represents huge business in 2022, with the typical snooker audience particularly inclined to wager in-play and as tournaments such as the Champion of Champions unfold .

Snooker betting is home to a particularly wide range of in-play betting markets, from the identity of the next century maker to which player will win the next frame. Regardless, it’s Betway that offers the biggest choice of live betting markets in relation to events like the Champion of Champions, while the site also live streams a large number of snooker tournaments every year.

With Betway, you can also claim a Free Bet offer up to the value of €30 as a new customer. Simply credit your new account with between €5 and €30 and you’ll receive a Free Bet in the same amount, which can subsequently be deployed on Champion of Champions wagers with minimum odds of 1.75.

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Best Betting Site for Odds – Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes is a true behemoth of an online gambling brand, and one of the few that’s capable or rivalling BoyleSports from the perspective of snooker betting.

Ladbrokes also combines enhanced odds promotions with genuinely competitive prices across the board, including the Champion of Champions event. The site also tends to publish its ante-post prices relatively early, enabling you to capitalise on extended odds, even when backing the highest-ranked players.

The Ladbrokes Welcome Bonus is worth €20 in total, while it comprises 4x Free Bets worth €5 each that must be placed on outcomes with odds of 1.50 or above. To qualify, you’ll simply need to credit your new account with a minimum deposit of €5.

• www.begambleaware.org

Champion of Champions Snooker Betting Odds for 2022

Usually, the Champion of Champions event takes place towards the beginning of every new season in November or December. The last iteration was certainly contested during the penultimate month of 2021, as Judd Trump overcame John Higgins 10-4 at the Bolton Whites Hotel.

Because of this, however, the full tournament main draw has yet to be confirmed, so our leading sportsbooks have yet to publish outright odds for the event. Rest assured, we’ll update this page just as soon as the ante-post prices are published, so that you can compare the market and achieve the best value for money!

Champion of Champions Snooker Betting Markets

The Champion of Champions is a relatively small and selective event, but there remain a large and broad range of betting markets available to punters. We’ll explore three of the most popular below, while offering a brief explanation of how they work in the marketplace.

Outright Betting

We’ll start with outright betting, which is one of the most straightforward wager types among snooker fans nationwide. As we’ve already touched on, outright betting requires you to back the winner of a particular tournament, in this case the Champion of Champions. Prices are usually published between four and six weeks prior to the start of the tournament, while some sportsbooks will run enhanced or guaranteed odds promotions pertaining to the event. Not only is outright betting relatively simple, but it also offers access to high-value odds that can trigger inflated payouts in the best-case scenario.

Match Betting

Next up is a similarly simple and easy-to-understand betting market, in the form of match wagering. Here, you’ll have to speculate on the winner of a match between two players, creating an even-money wager that has a 50% probability of winning (in statistical terms at least).

Several factors can be used to help inform your match betting activity, from the form of the competing players to their head-to-head record and real-time ranking. In tournaments such as the Champion of Champions (which feature a straight knockout format), the draw option is also eliminated. This improves your odds of placing a successful match bet considerably, making it ideal for both casual and serious punters alike.

In-Play Betting and the Winner of the Next Frame

We’ve already touched on the rising popularity of in-play betting in the sport of snooker and events like the Champion of Champions, with a growing number of such markets now available. Perhaps the most popular micro bet requires you to bet in the winner of the next frame, with this offering numerous opportunities to wager during a single match. This is certainly a viable and potentially profitable market when watching the action live, especially if you existing knowledge of the sport and the two players who are competing at any given time.

Champion of Champions Snooker Betting Tips

While these markets may be incredibly popular, you’ll still require knowledge and understanding if you’re to leverage them to your advantage. Fortunately, our team here at BetinIreland.ie have created some expert betting tips, so that you make informed wagering decisions and ultimately make the most of your bankroll.

Avoid Acca and Handicap Betting

Although accumulator (or combination) betting may be relatively popular in snooker wagering, it’s not necessarily recommended in the case of the highly competitive Champion of Champions. After all, just 16 tournament winners from the previous calendar year will compete for this coveted title, creating an evenly matched and talented playing field that’s incredibly hard to separate. This makes individual matches incredibly hard to call, particularly with the early matches contested over the best-of-seven and best-of-nine frames.

This also makes handicap betting less than ideal when wagering on the Champion of Champions, as there are few matches that feature obvious or short-price favourites.

Place Your Outright Bets Early

Remember, most of our listed operators will publish their outright odds for the Champion of Champions event around four weeks prior to the start of the tournament.

At this stage, the available prices are likely to be at their highest, creating an opportunity to achieve added value for money among punters. This rule may even apply to the favourites, as sportsbooks look to incentivise bettors through competitive prices and the introduction of enhanced odds promotions. Over time, such prices tend to narrow as the favourites receive heavy backing, creating significantly less value to punters across the board.

Make Form Your Key Watchword

Given the highly competitive and selective nature of the Champion of Champions event, it can be incredibly hard to seek out value when placing match or outright bets. However, it’s not impossible, with even seemingly small details potentially helping to separate players and inform your choices.

Form is perhaps the best way of informing match and similar betting at the Champion of Champions tournament, as players who enter the event in full flow may have a distinct competitive edge over their rivals. This is particularly true if they’ve won one or more recent events, so you should keep your eyes on past performance before placing individual bets.

Champion of Champions Snooker Format

As the name suggests, qualifiers earn their place in the Champion of Champions event by winning a selection of both ranking and invitational tournaments throughout the previous year. The winners from 21 different tournaments earned qualification for the 2021 iteration, for example, although qualification is complicated by the fact that several players often win multiple events. Ultimately, 16 players qualify for the initial round of 16, and any gaps in qualification are filled by the highest-ranked performers who have failed to lift a trophy during the previous 12 months. In cases where more than 16 players win qualifying titles during the calendar year, participation is determined according to the weighting of each event and its status.

As for the main draw, this largely follows a straight knockout format, although the round-of-16 see players separated into four groups of four. Each group features two straight knockout matches and one of the event’s four seeded players, with the winners progressing to four group final games (or the de facto quarterfinals). Four players then progress to compete in the semi-finals, before the last two standing do battle in a best-of-19 showpiece final. The group stage semis or round-of-16 matches are contested over best-of-seven frame matches, while the quarterfinals are played out as best-of-11 frame encounters. The semi-finals are also decided when one player wins six frames, with such matches typically taking place over a single session.

The total prize fund for the Champion of Champions event is £440,000, with this marginally higher than some ranking tournaments on the tour. The winner will earn an impressive £150,000, while the runner-up walks away with £60,000 in total. Losing semi-finalists and group stage runners-up will earn £30,000 and £17,500, while players eliminated in the first round take home £12,500. There’s no additional prize awarded for the player who makes the highest break.

The 2022 Tournament Schedule

While we know that the 2022 Champion of Champions iteration will take place at some point in November, the confirmed dates and venue have yet to be announced. Similarly, we have yet to see the full line-up, so for now there’s no accurate information pertaining to the 2022 schedule. However, once this information is available, we’ll update this page for your attention.

Champion of Champions Snooker Top Players

As you can imagine, many of the sport’s top players compete in the Champion of Champions event year-on-year. So, although we have yet to see which players will officially compete in the 2022 iteration, here’s a sneak peek of our picks for the most likely winners.

1. Judd Trump

We’ll start with Judd Trump, who will look to defend his Champion of Champions crown in 2022. Trump’s 10-4 win over John Higgins in 2021 added a much-needed boost to a slightly disappointing year for Trump, who struggled to add to his 22 ranking title haul and often cut a frustrating figure at events across the globe. However, Trump remains the world number two and an outstanding break builder (he’s made 830 centuries in his relatively short year to date), while his game is tailor-made for the short and punchy nature of the Champion of Champions format.

2. Ronnie O’Sullivan

Fittingly, Ronnie O’Sullivan is the single most successful Champion of Champions competitor, having won three titles since the event was rebooted in 2013. His last such triumph came in 2018, while the ‘Rocket’ has since gone on to increase his incredible and record-breaking haul of 38 major ranking titles. Interestingly, O’Sullivan’s 38th ranking title at the 2021 World Grand Prix ended an unusual 16-month trophy drought, while he’s known to raise is game to new heights during the most prestigious and well-paid tournaments.

3. Neil Robertson

World number four and two-time Champion of Champions Neil Robertson has already booked his place at the 2022 iteration, having won the coveted Masters at the beginning of January. His two previous triumphs came in 2015 and 2019, while Robertson also lost the 2020 final to Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen by a 10-6 margin. Robertson has certainly showcased consistently excellent form during the 2021/22 season, and he’ll be confident of carrying this forward as he looks to add to his haul of 21 ranking titles.

The Previous Winners

Ray Reardon won the inaugural, four-man Champion of Champions title in 1978, beating the mercurial Alex Higgins 11-9 at Wembley. The tournament only took place twice between 1978 and 1980, however, before being rebooted by Matchroom Sport in time for the 2013/14 season. Below, we’ve listed the winners and finals dating back to the re-emergence of the event in 2013, while also tipping our hats to the players who finished as runners-up.

Your FAQs Answered

If you’re new to the Champion of Champions tournament or snooker betting as a whole, the chances are that you still have some questions to ask our team. We’ve attempted to answer some of the most frequently asked questions below, so you can hopefully make more informed selections going forward!