You can never rule out fans’ favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan but you can never really trust him either. That’s the view from snooker legend John Parrott as he gives his tips for the 2012 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible which kicks off on Saturday.
Three-time champion O’Sullivan has a particularly tricky opener against his old foe Peter Ebdon. If he wins that, O’Sullivan could face two-time champion Mark Williams in the second round.
BBC analyst and pal of Paddy Power punters John Parrott reckons the title will go to again to John Higgins – ahead of Mark Allen, last year’s beaten finalist Judd Trump, or O’Sullivan
Click on our exclusive tip cheat sheet below for Parrott’s Picks on the SWC and why he thinks Higgins will emerge on top.
The 17-day event concludes with a final held over two days on Sunday, May 6 and Monday May 7. Paddy Power will be streaming all 31 matches from the World Championships – see our home page for more.
World championship first-round draw in full
John Higgins (Sco) v Liang Wenbo (Chn)
Mark Selby (Eng) v Barry Hawkins (Eng)
Mark Williams (Wal) v Liu Chuang (Chn)
Judd Trump (Eng) v Dominic Dale (Wal)
Shaun Murphy (Eng) v Jamie Jones (Wal)
Neil Robertson (Aus) v Ken Doherty (Ire)
Ding Junhui (Chn) v Ryan Day (Wal)
Stephen Maguire (Sco) v Luca Brecel (Bel)
Graeme Dott (Sco) v Joe Perry (Eng)
Mark Allen (NI) v Cao Yupeng (Chn)
Martin Gould (Eng) v David Gilbert (Eng)
Stephen Lee (Eng) v Andrew Higginson (Eng)
Ali Carter (Eng) v Mark Davis (Eng)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) v Peter Ebdon (Eng)
Matthew Stevens (Wal) v Marco Fu (HK)
Stuart Bingham (Eng) v Stephen Hendry (Sco)
