2016 World Snooker Championship day one: Bingham faces Carter, Maguire meets McManus

Lee Gormley | April 15, 2016

2016 World Snooker Championship

Bingham begins defence against Carter

The wait is finally over as the 2016 World Snooker Championship breaks off this weekend, with Stuart Bingham returning to Sheffield’s prestigious Crucible Theatre as the reigning champion, 12 months after his incredible maiden victory.

As the holder, Bingham gets the ball rolling so to speak, as he begins his defence against Ali Carter, who is making his 14th consecutive Crucible appearance, and the Captain is 27/20 with Coral to prevail having amazingly lost just once to his opponent since 2006.

Ball Run Bingham’s only win since then was a Champions League fixture victory last year but, despite this, he enters as the odds-on 4/7 favourite to progress, having overcome all of Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Shaun Murphy during last season’s success.

The returning champion will look to end the long-standing Crucible curse, with no first-time winner having ever retained their crown in Sheffield, though Bungham is 9/1 to earn a deciding frame victory (10-9) in this best-of-19 opening encounter.

Fu faces former world champion Ebdon

Hong Kong cueist Marco Fu takes on 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon, as the latter returns to the biggest snooker stage in Sheffield after a two-year absence.

The nine-time ranking event winner is 2/1 to topple Fu in the other morning opener, with his Chinese competitor an odds-on 2/5 favourite to progress.

It’s Ebdon who has prevailed in the potting pair’s two most recent meetings, winning both by three frames, and he is 14/1 to do so again here with by securing a 10-7 result on his comeback to the World Championship. Though, in what could be a close clash, you can back a deciding frame to occur at 11/2.

Maguire meets McManus in all Scottish clash

The later session will witness an all Celtic affair as Glaswegians Stephen Maguire and Alan McManus collide, with the two close friends meeting for a 15th time competitively, and it’s the latter who has won three of their last four clashes.

Five-time ranking event winner Maguire has reached the semi-finals twice in Sheffield and is 15/2 to dispatch his compatriot 10-5, while Angles McManus is 2/1 to stun the world number 16.

Now at 45 years of age, McManus is making his 20th outing at the World Championship since a Crucible debut way back in 1991, and the remerging Scot is 15/8 to win the race to eight frames in his latest campaign opener.

2015 finalist Murphy collides with McGill

The Magician Murphy opens his 2016 World Championship campaign in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final against talented Scotsman Anthony McGill, with the 2005 Crucible kingpin having prevailed from all four of their previous competitive match-ups.

McGill’s incredible run to the quarters was thwarted by a five-frame defeat to Murphy, having overcome Maguire and Mark Selby along the way, and he is 13/2 to face a 10-5 loss this time out, though he is 3/1 to gain revenge in Sheffield.

Former Triple Crown winner Murphy will be out to add to his world win over a decade ago this year, after a sickening defeat to Bingham in last season’s final, and the 33-year-old is 12/1 for a second success at the Crucible.

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Coral’s top tip: Back Ali Carter to add to the Crucible curse by defeating reigning champion Stuart Bingham in their tournament opener at 27/20.