Anthony McGill takes on Jack Lisowski in the 2nd Round of the 2023 World Snooker Championship on Saturday. Who will win this tight looking contest and take their place in the quarter-finals? Here we attempt to answer that question with our latest free snooker betting picks.
- What; 2023 World Snooker Championship, 2nd Round
- Who; Anthony McGill vs Jack Lisowski
- Where; Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England
- Format; Best of 25 Frames (first to 13)
- Start; Saturday, April, 22nd, 2023
The two men had conflicting opponents in the 1st Round. Anthony McGill defeated Judd Trump 10-6, while Jack Lisowski overcame Noppon Saengkham 10-7.
Obviously, the win for McGill was exceptional. Judd Trump went into the competition as the second favorite with the best online sportsbooks. As for McGill, he had to go through the qualifying process.
As you would expect, the defeat for Trump has had a massive impact on the betting to win the 2023 World Championship. In the latest sports betting odds the favorite is still Ronnie O’Sullivan, the Rocket is now +333 to win a record eight World Championship.
But the big mover in the betting is Mark Selby. The four-times winner started the competition at +800.
𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗕𝗬 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛!
Mark Selby makes a century to complete a 10-8 win over Matthew Selt!
The four-time world champion will face Gary Wilson in the Crucible second round. #CazooWorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/sDiYyF20p5
— WST (@WeAreWST) April 20, 2023
And after defeating Matthew Selt 10-8 (in a match that was closer than it needed to be), Selby now finds himself cut to +450, which also happens to be the same odds as Neil Robertson.
Elsewhere in the betting, there was another huge shock on Thursday, when the No.4 seed and one of the betting favorites, Shaun Murphy also went out in the 1st Round. One of the in-form players on the circuit, Murphy went down 10-9 to Chinese qualifier, Si Jiahui. The draw really is opening up now, and this is making the betting even more intriguing.
Our 2023 World Snooker Championship odds table has full betting with odds taken from the best online betting sites. You can read more about these top-rated bookmakers on our online sportsbook reviews page.
| 2023 Snooker World Championship Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | +333 | +333 | +333 |
| Mark Selby | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Neil Robertson | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Mark Allen | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Kyren Wilson | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Mark Williams | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Jack Lisowski | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| John Higgins | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Anthony McGill | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Stuart Bingham | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Hossein Vafaei | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Luca Brecel | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
Two evenly matched players
At a first glance, this looks like the experience of McGill versus the up and coming talent that is Lisowski. But on closer inspection you will see that Anthony McGill is only just turned 32, and Lisowski is only a few months behind at 31. Both players turned pro in 2010, but to most snooker observers, it feels like McGill has been around for longer.
Anthony McGill has two ranking event wins to his name, Lisowski has none, but has lost in six finals. These days it’s Lisowski who has the higher world ranking (13), and he entered this year’s World Championship as a seed. Whereas McGill (ranked 21) had to qualify to gain his place at the Crucible.
The rankings show that McGill hasn’t been at his best lately, while Lisowski has been gradually improving, and working his way into the top 16. This is possibly what leads casual followers to believe that Lisowski is the new kid on the block, when the two players are in fact very similar in age and experience.
McGill vs Lisowski Match Betting
On the moneyline to win the match, Jack Lisowski is -138, and Anthony McGill is +110. Based on recent form and current world rankings, that sounds about right.
On the handicap spread, it’s McGill getting the start, but it’s only 1.5 frames. With his 1.5 frames in the bag already, McGill is favored in this market at -125. Lisowski is at -105. The total frames 2-way spread sees over 22.5 frames at +100, with under 22.5 at -130.
Our Pick
Despite the fact that Jack Lisowski is higher ranked and has been in better form than his opponent over the past 12-24 months, we think Anthony McGill is being slightly undervalued here.
McGill is a qualifier who has just dumped Judd Trump out in the 1st Round. And although it sounds like a shock on paper, that’s doing the world number 21 a disservice.
"If you can win a two-session match at the Crucible, then you're world-class!" 🌍
Anthony McGill thinks the #CazooWorldChampionship is wide open after his victory over Judd Trump.@CazooUK pic.twitter.com/PT9dezMqA5
— WST (@WeAreWST) April 19, 2023
In the 2021 competition, McGill qualified as a top 16 player, and was seeded 16. He made it as far as the last eight, knocking out the then defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan (13-12) in the 2nd Round. The quarter-finals was where the Scotsman’s run came to an end. In another deciding frame shootout, McGill came out on the wrong side against Stuart Bingham.
Then 12 months ago, McGill was seeded 13th, and here he lost 13-11 to Judd Trump in a closely fought 2nd Round match. Trump would eventually go on to lose the final to Ronnie O’Sullivan, so there was no disgrace in McGill losing to Trump at this stage last year.
Just because McGill isn’t a household name, doesn’t mean he should be underestimated.
In fairness to Jack Lisowski, he made it to the 2nd Round in 2021, where he lost 13-9 to Neil Robertson. And in 2022, he had a great run to the last eight, only losing (13-12) to John Higgins in a final frame decider.
But all-in-all, we feel that Anthony McGill has more Crucible Theater experience, and that counts for a lot in the World Championship. And it’s because of this that we are making McGill our pick to beat Jack Lisowski in the 2nd Round match this weekend.
