Dean Etheridge
Ronnie O’Sullivan leads a stellar cast of star names heading to China for the 2023 Shanghai Masters. The Rocket is the bookmaker’s +500 betting favorite and also the defending champion. Will he win again? Read on, and we will tell you if he’s worth betting on in our latest snooker betting picks.
- What; 2023 Shanghai Masters
- Where; Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China
- When; Monday, September 11th – Sunday, September 17th
- Prize Fund; $1,035.000
- Defending Champion; Ronnie O’Sullivan
Below, we cover the event in more detail, bringing you the latest betting odds and picks to win the competition. But first, here is a bit of background to the tournament.
This is the first time the Shanghai Masters has been held since 2019. Snooker in this part of the world has been restricted, following the global pandemic, and this is the first competition held here since the pandemic began. Regrettably, it’s not an official ranking event, but with a winner’s check of more than a quarter of a million dollars up for grabs, the world’s top snooker stars are all in town.
The top eight seeds are Ronnie O’Sullivan (1), Luca Brecel (2), Mark Allen (3), Judd Trump (4), Mark Selby (5), Neil Robertson (6), Shaun Murphy (7), and Kyren Wilson (8), and they have all received a bye to the second round.
The players seeded 9-16 will play in the first round – starting on Monday – against eight invited Chinese players made up of the top four ranked Chinese players (outside of the top 16), Deng Haohui, Dong Zihao, Bai Yulu, and Gong Chenzhi, along with four wild cards.
Betting to win the 2023 Shanghai Masters
With the best players in town for the Shanghai Masters, the betting market to win this event is very open.
As has been the case in recent months and years, Ronnie O’Sullivan is the favorite with the top betting sites. And as is usually the case, he is closely followed by Judd Trump. The Rocket leads the betting on +500, with Trump just behind him on +550.
Trump probably justifies his place as second favorite having reached the final of the 2023 European Masters in Nuremberg at the end of August. The opposition Trump faced wasn’t the strongest, and we feel he isn’t a good value bet at +550.
Behind Trump is Mark Allen and Neil Roberston at +800 and then Mark Selby at +850. The trio are often priced up at similar odds by the bookmakers these days.
Of the remaining top eight seeds, Shaun Murphy is +1000, Luca Brecel is +1100, and Kyren Wilson is +1200.
A dangerous floater outside the top eight is John Higgins. The Scot made it to the semi-final of the European Masters, defeating Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy along the way. Eventually, he lost 6-5 to Trump in the semi-final. But at +1400, he could be a good outside bet to win.
More odds are available on our Snooker betting table. Also please check out our free bets and promotions page for the latest offers from the listed bookmakers.
| 2023 Shanghai Masters Snooker Betting |  |  |  |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Judd Trump | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Mark Allen | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Neil Robertson | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Mark Selby | +850 | +850 | +850 |
| Shaun Murphy | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Luca Brecel | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Kyren Wilson | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| John Higgins | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Mark Williams | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Ali Carter | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Jack Lisowski | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Robert Milkins | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Hossein Vafaei | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Ding Junhi | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Gary Wilson | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 |
Our Picks
As the top 16 players in the world are all in attendance, this tournament is very open from a betting perspective. What this also means is we have the chance to hedge our winner picks and improve our chances of profiting.
Ronnie O’Sullivan +500
First up, it’s Ronnie O’Sullivan. Yes, he’s been a bit flakey lately, pulling out of the European Masters last month, but the Rocket looks set to line up in Shanghai next week.
EUROPEAN MASTERS 2023
⚡️For unknown reasons world N1 Ronnie O'Sullivan has withdrawn from the tournament. 🙁
Andy Hicks recieves a bye to Last 64. pic.twitter.com/4efooscQ2C— Snooker (@SnookerSuper) August 22, 2023
Snooker is a massive business in China. O’Sullivan knows this and has a huge following in the country that he won’t want to upset.
Does this make Ronnie a good betting pick? Maybe it does. He will want to impress his Chinese fans, and who knows, the decision to withdraw from the European Masters may have been taken to enable the Rocket to give his all in Shanghai instead.
We feel this week he is worth a wager, and we make Ronnie O’Sullivan our first pick to win the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
Mark Selby +850
It always seems funny to us how the name of Mark Selby continues to go under the radar.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby hits a maximum 147 break in the World Snooker Championship final 🎱
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 30, 2023
The four-time World Champion got to the final at the Crucible earlier this year, losing to eventual winner Luca Brecel, and he also reached the semi-final of the recent European Masters, where he lost 6-4 to an inspired Barry Hawkins, who went on to beat Judd Trump and win the competition.
Selby has been in decent form this year. He doesn’t get the attention the likes of O’Sullivan, Trump, and now Mark Allen get. But he is no less talented. We feel a tournament win for Selby is just around the corner, so why not here in China?
At odds of +850, Mark Selby is our second pick to win the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
John Higgins +1400
Finally, John Higgins. As mentioned above, the Scot has recently defeated Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy. He is in good form, and he is the sort of gritty player to go and win an event like this. At +1400, John Higgins is well worth a small wager.
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