Tour Championship Betting Guide

The growth of the world snooker calendar has been immense under the guise of Matchroom Sport, with the £380,000 Cazoo Tour Championship one of the latest additions to the tour.

First announced in April 2018, the inaugural Tour Championship was contested in March the following year, with eight players competing for this exciting new title and a winner’s cheque of £150,000.

In this comprehensive Tour Championship snooker betting guide, we’ll cover everything you should know from the tournament schedule and format to our top betting tips, while asking which player is likely to come out on top in 2022.

The Best Tour Championship Betting Site

Let’s start with the basics; as before you understand the Players’ Tour Championship or its key betting markets, you’ll need to know where to go when placing a bet.

We’ve listed four of the best Cazoo Tour Championship operators below, so that you can make an informed choice and get more bang for your buck!

Best Tour Championship Betting Site – BoyleSports

BoyleSports is first on our list, with this Irish behemoth boasting a sprawling online sportsbook that provides access to at least 41 individual sports and disciplines.

Hundreds of betting markets are included within this number, including both in-play and ante-post wagers on Players’ Tour Championship snooker. This operator is also typically one of the first to publish outright prices on events such as this, so it’s a popular choice for punters who want to achieve the best value for their hard-earned cash.

At present, BoyleSports is running a welcome offer that has a total value of €20. This comprises a single free bet that’s based on your making a €10 deposit, which can be used on the Tour Championship, so long as you select outcomes with odds of at least 2.00.

• www.begambleaware.org

Best Tour Championship Free Bet Offer – Bet 365

If you were going to back a Cazoo Tour Championship sportsbook based solely on the basis of its welcome offer; we’d recommend checking out Bet365.

Currently Bet365 will match a new customer’s deposit by 100% up to a total of €50. This will see Bet365 match your deposit between the values of €5 and €50, while any subsequent bets that you place must include at least one selection with minimum odds of 1.20.

This enables you to place one or multiple Players’ Tour Championship snooker bets, so long as they meet the qualifying criteria.

• www.begambleaware.org

Best Tour Championship In-Play Betting Site – Betway

Micro betting remains one of the biggest markets in sports such as snooker, and Tour Championship wagering offers no exception to this rule.

This also represents a diverse and fast-paced marketplace, whether you want to bet on the next frame winner or the identity of the next century maker. Regardless, Betway has the biggest selection of in-play betting markets at present, while it’s competitive odds enable you to pursue modest but frequent returns over time.

The welcome offer at Betway allows you to earn a single free bet up to €30, based on you making an initial deposit of anywhere between €5 - €30. The free bet you receive will match this deposit, while it can be deployed on a Tour Championship betting market as long as you include at least one selection with odds greater than 1.75.

• www.begambleaware.org

Best Tour Championship Betting Site for Odds –Ladbrokes

Last, but not least, we come to Ladbrokes, which is a popular online sportsbook and one that has earned a deserved reputation for offering not just competitive but also enhanced odds across several sports and tournament such as the Tour Championship.

This is especially true when it comes to outright betting markets, through which you may wager early on the eventual winner of the Players’ Tour Championship in a bid to maximise your potential returns.

You can also leverage Ladbrokes’ generous €20 welcome offer to wager on the Tour Championship, with this compromising 4x €5 free wagers. You can qualify for this simply by initially crediting your account with a minimum of €10, while the bet must include Tour Championship selections with odds higher than 1.50.

• www.begambleaware.org

Tour Championship Betting Odds for 2022

The 2022 Cazoo Tour Championship will commence on March 28th in Llandudno, Wales, before concluding on April 3rd. As usual, just eight players will compete for their share of the £380,000 prize fund, although the exact identity of the participants has yet to be confirmed.

Typically, the eight competitors are determined based on the relevant single year ranking list, meaning that not all of the sport’s biggest and most recognisable names are guaranteed to qualify.

We’ve created a table below with the top eight players according to the most recent one year ranking data, while we’ll update this and include the ante-post odds as soon as they’re released.

Tour Championship Betting Markets

Due to the tournament's relatively short nature, it's fair to say there are some popular snooker betting markets that are simply unsuitable for the Cazoo Tour Championship and might be more hassle that what it's worth. However, there's no need to despair as there are still plenty that offer considerable value.

To help you get the most out of your wagers, we’ve outlined a few of these in detail below.

Outright Betting

We’ve already touched on outright betting, which involved predicting the eventual winner of the Players’ Tour Championship.

For tournament such as the Tour Championship, the ante-post outright odds are usually published within two or three weeks of the opening matches, although this will vary slightly from one operator to another.

Ultimately, we’d recommend placing a couple of outright bets to create adequate coverage of this eight-player event, while wagering as early as possible ensures that you’ll access the most competitive prices.

Match Betting

While there are only seven matches contested as part of the Tour Championship, wagering on the outcome of individual games remains a viable market option for punters.

Once again, ante-post match odds will be made available following the initial draw and as specific rounds are completed, and knowledgeable punters should be able to seek out value and accurately predict who will prevail in different contests.

While the nature of Tour Championship games is typically tight, match betting remains a viable tool that can deliver incremental returns throughout the tournament.

Over / Under Betting

There are a couple of viable over / under betting markets associated with the Tour Championship, relating to winning margin and the likely duration of an individual match.

The former is a particularly popular option, as all Tour Championship matches are contested over the best-of-19 frames. So, if you identify a match where one player has a distinct advantage over his rival, you could back him to win by a margin of 2.5 frames or higher at extended odds. Your pick will then have to win by at least three frames for the wager to be successful.

Similarly, you could bet that a match under a predetermined number of frames. This value will have to be relatively higher given the requirement for the winner to triumph in 10 frames, but potential mismatches may be likely to end a little quicker than usual.

Tour Championship Betting Tips

With these markets in mind, our expert BetinIreland team has also collaborated to offer up some insightful betting tips for the Tour Championship.

We’ve outlined these in more detail below, so you can hopefully make the most of your bankroll and make genuinely informed wagering decisions.

Consider the Benefits of Handicap Betting

As all Cazoo Tour Championship matches are played over the best of 19 frames, there may be an opportunity for savvy punters to leverage handicap betting.

With handicap betting, you’ll apply a theoretical advantage to one player over another, and this will have to be overcome for the wager to come in. Typically, handicap betting is best deployed when you identify matches where there’s a clear favourite, with a view to optimising the available odds without overly compromising your chances of winning.

For example, let’s say that defending champion Neil Robertson was playing Mark Allen in the quarter-final and was evens favourite to win. You could apply a handicap of –3.5 to Robertson (so that the Australian would have to win by four frames and a minimum margin of 10-6), lengthening the odds and creating a higher potential return.

Of course, you’ll need to use handicap wagering strategically and as part of a wider match betting strategy, but this can definitely be rewarding when utilised wisely.

Don’t Overlook Form or Historical Performance

Given the small but competitive nature of the Cazoo Tour Championship field, most tournament matches are also likely to be keenly contested and potentially difficult to predict.

So, you’ll need to rely on insight and data to inform your choices as a punter, with form one of the most telling indicators. Of course, the qualifying criteria for the Tour Championship means that the best eight players over the course of the previous 12 months are sure to start, so all participants will have showcased good form since the beginning of the 2021/22 season.

Still, even more recent form can be highly informative, as can the head-to-head record between competing players. We’d also recommend taking a look at which players have performed well during the four-year history of the Tour Championship, with both Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan having reached two finals and won a single title since 2019.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of In-Play Betting

As we touched on earlier in the guide, in-play or micro betting has become incredibly popular among snooker and Tour Championship fans.

In fact, the punchy nature of the Cazoo Tour Championship enables bettors to explore in-play markets without over-extending their bankroll, with wagering on the next frame winner in a particular match offering access to small but potentially recurring returns.

Sure, you’re bankroll management will have to be tight here, while you’ll also need to showcase knowledge of two competing players and ideally be watching the match in question.

If you are watching, you can also target less typical bets such as predicting what the colour of the next ball to be potted will be, opening new and exciting markets that may prove fruitful over time.

The Tour Championship Snooker Format

The 2022 Tour Championship commences boasts an incredibly simplistic format, with just seven matches and eight participants competing in a straight knockout tournament.

There’s no qualifying matches either, with participation determined solely according to the most recent one-year ranking data prior to the start of the tournament on March 28th.

Once the eight competitors have been confirmed, they’ll be seeded and drawn into four quarter-final matches. The draw will be structured as follows:

• Quarter-Final 1: Seed 1 vs Seed 8
• Quarter-Final 2: Seed 4 vs Seed 5
• Quarter-Final 3: Seed 3 vs Seed 6
• Quarter-Final 4: Seed 2 vs Seed 7

The winners of the first two matches will then compete in the first semi-final, while those who prevail in the third and fourth quarter-finals will contest the second.

The last two players standing will then do battle in the showpiece final, aiming to win both the fourth iteration of the tournament and a cheque for £150,000.

This is part of a total prize fund of £380,000, with the runner-up banking £60,000. The semi-finalists to get knocked out both pocket £40,000, while those defeated in the opening quarter-final stage will take home £20,000 for their troubles (although this won’t count towards the season’s prize money rankings).

There’s also a highest break prize of £10,000 in play, although no additional cash is on offer in instances where player makes a coveted 147.

The 2022 Tour Championship Schedule

As we’re still waiting for the final draw to be confirmed, we don’t yet know who will compete against one another in the quarter-finals. However, we have prepared a general schedule to help you look ahead to the 2022 event.

Quarter-Finals (Best-of-19 Frames)

Semi-Finals (Best-of-19 Frames)

Finals (Best-of-19 Frames)

Players’ Tour Championship Top Players

While we may not know the exact identity of everyone who will line up for the 2022 Cazoo Tour Championship, the one-year rankings suggest that a couple of the sport’s best-known names are likely to take their place in Llandudno.

These will form part of an incredibly competitive field, including the players who have showcased the best form and results through the 2021/22 season.

We’ve identified three of the most likely participants and winners below, based on both recent form and their historical performance at the event.

Neil Robertson

It’s the current world number four and defending champion Neil Robertson who will likely start as Tour Championship favourite, with the Australian presently ranked second according to the last 12 months’ data. He has certainly enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 season to date, adding the English Open and the Players Championship to create a total haul of 22 career ranking titles. Robertson also won the coveted and invitational Masters crown in January, while he has reached two of the three Tour Championship finals contested so far.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

The ‘Rocket’ Ronnie O’Sullivan is another who is likely to compete at the 2022 Tour Championships, with a current 12-month ranking of fourth. He has also performed well in the three Tour Championship events so far, winning the inaugural title in 2019 before being defeated 10-4 in the last year’s Newport final by Robertson. While O’Sullivan may have only recently ended an unusual 16-month trophy hiatus by winning the World Grand Prix in December 2021, it should be remembered that he has won a record 38 ranking titles and 20 Triple Crowns during an incredible career.

Mark Allen

Aside from Robertson and O’Sullivan, only two other players have reached a Tour Championship final: namely Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen. While it was Maguire who won their final 10-6 in 2020, Allen is currently positioned sixth in the one-year rankings and far more likely to take his place in the 2022 lineup. Allen did well in winning the Northern Ireland Open at the beginning of the 2021/22 season, claiming a sixth ranking title reinforcing his status as one of the tour’s most consistent players. He’ll definitely be a player to watch as the 2022 Tour Championship gets underway.

The Previous Winners

There have been just three Tour Championships contested to date, with 2022 witnessing the fourth iteration of the event.

This makes it hard to discuss any kind of tangible or long-lasting history, although as we’ve already touched on, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan have dominated the event since its inception in 2019.

We’ve listed the previous winners so far below, while looking at who they defeated in the final and the eventual score.

Your FAQs Answered

So, there you have it; our comprehensive guide to Cazoo Tour Championship snooker, its core betting markets and the players most likely to compete in 2022.

With the 2022 event drawing nearer, we finish by answering some frequently asked questions: