The 2023 UK Snooker Championships are scheduled to take place between November 25th and December 3rd, and will be held at the York Barbican once again
It is arguably the biggest snooker event of the year, with it being broadcast on traditional TV across the UK via the BBC and in other corners of the globe for enthusiasts of the sport to watch.
According to data to have been revealed for the 2022 edition of the competition, a prize of around £250,000 has been available in the past with a total prize fund of over £1.2 million. However, that number is likely to be greater for this year’s competition as sponsorship and global exposure continue to be experienced for the sport.
Format of the UK Snooker Championship
The 2022 edition of the event saw it revert to a familiar format, and this will be the same one that is used in 2023. Last year, organisers decided to go from the flat-128 draw that had been used from 2013 to 2021 to the one that is more familiar with the World Snooker Championship.
The top 16 players in the world rankings at the time of the UK Championship will automatically be seeded and will go immediately through the last 32 stages of the tournament. The remaining 16 spots will be obtained by those who are able to successfully navigate the 128-player qualifying tournament that is played in the days in the lead up to the main event.
The first qualifying round will take place on November18 at Morningside Arena in Leicester. It will be the first of four qualifiers before the final 16 will then be drawn randomly against the top 16 players to compete at the York Barbican.
Each game will be contested over the course of a best-of-11 frames format, and this will only change when the final is played. The showpiece of the event will see the two finalists compete against each other in match that will see the winner crowned in a best-of-19 format.
Who are the favorites to win the 2023 UK Snooker Championship?
Unsurprisingly, an event of the calibre of the 2023 UK Snooker Championships already has plenty of eyes on it, with fans of the sport already able to speculate about who they feel could be the next champion.
Sportsbooks have also provided their early odds for the competition, with punters already able to head to the 32redbet sports section of their platform and consider the prices that have been set. As an indicator of what to expect, the following odds are already available:
- Ronnie O’Sullivan @ 5/1
- Judd Trump @ 6/1
- Neil Robertson @ 6.5/1
- Mark Selby @ 7/1
- Mark Allen @ 14/1
- Luca Brecel @ 14/1
- Shaun Murphy @ 14/1
Ronnie O’Sullivan the favorite
The odds would appear to suggest that Ronnie O’Sullivan is the favorite to win the competition, and it is hardly a surprise to learn the World No. 1 is. He has been incredibly successful in this tournament, having won it on seven occasions. When he does reach the final of this event, he usually wins, having won seven of his eight appearances at this stage.
It is worth noting that he has not had the rub of the green in this event more recently. His last appearance in the final was back in 2018, and since then, he has had exits in the fourth round, second round, and two consecutive defeats in the quarter-finals.
Could anyone else challenge him?
Mark Allen comes into this year’s tournament as the current holder after he defeated Ding Junhui 10-7 in last year’s final, with the Chinese player having been the man to knock O’Sullivan out in the QF last year. However, Allen’s odds suggest retaining his title looks like an outside bet at the moment.
Judd Trump is considered to have as good a chance as ‘The Rocket’, although the World No. 5 has had mixed fortunes in big snooker events this year. He was a finalist in the European Masters (but lost 9-6 to Barry Hawkins), while he was shocked in the recent UK Open after suffering a first-round defeat to world number 113 Hammad Miah 3-4.
Expect quality snooker
Snooker fans will know that anything can happen at the table in a tournament as big as the 2023 UK Snooker Championship. Players will look to up their game in this prestigious tournament, and with so much on the line, there is likely to be some great action to take place at York Barbican across November and December.
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