Welsh Open Snooker 2025 Predictions: Allen the best big-name pick

Next up on the snooker calendar is the final home nations event of the season as the players head to Llandudno for the 2025 Welsh Open.

As always we have our snooker expert Dean Strand (@DSSnookerTips) on hand, with his comprehensive preview and Welsh Open Snooker 2025 Predictions.

The Welsh Open is currently the third longest-running ranking event on the tour behind the World Championship and UK Championship having been held every year since its first edition back in 1992, making this year the 34th edition.

There will be a lot to play for this week as on top of the £100k prize for the winner, there are still 16 players hoping to land the Bet Victor series bonus of £150k with Neil Robertson currently leading the way in those standings.

This will also be the last chance for players to earn ranking points to qualify for the World Grand Prix, an event featuring the top-32 players on the one-year list taking place in Hong Kong next month.

The most notable absentee this week is world number one Judd Trump who opted not to enter the event making Ronnie O’Sullivan the pre-tournament favourite, although with six late withdrawals already this season, there’s always doubts about whether ‘The Rocket’ will turn up for these events.

0.5pts Each Way - Pang Junxu to win Outright @ 33/1

Quarter number one sees defending champion Gary Wilson as the number one seed, but after a disappointing season and struggling for form, it’s not surprising to see Wilson not amongst the favourites here.

Robertson is the shortest price out of players from this quarter but he’s still been far from his best this season; outside of his English Open win back in September, he’s failed to reach any semi-finals and 7/1 looks too short for me.

Pang Junxu is my pick once again - he's been consistently playing well all season with the majority of his defeats being very narrow ones and he already reached one home nation semi-final in Northern Ireland.

He’ll also have good memories of this venue, as the last time he played here - two years ago - he beat Kyren Wilson, Jak Jones and Joe O’Connor on his way to a first ranking semi-final.

The draw definitely looks favourable for him this week as the only three top-16 players in this quarter are Zhang Anda, Luca Brecel and Wilson, and none of those three have been in good form this season.

1pt - Mark Allen to win Outright @ 9/1

Mark Allen had a slow start to this season but with seven trophies in the last two-and-a-half seasons, he’s still one of the best players in the world and he’s been looking in good form in recent weeks.

In his last six events excluding the Shootout, he’s made five semi-finals, with his only early exit in this run coming at the Tempodrom, a venue he’s never liked playing at.

He made the semis at some of the biggest events this season, including the Champion of Champions, UK Championship and Masters, and went on to win the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship just before Christmas, beating Mark Selby, O’Sullivan and Brecel to lift the trophy.

His record in these short format events isn’t bad either, twice winning the Northern Ireland Open and once the Scottish Open.

He’s had back-to-back quarter-finals at this event since it moved to Llandudno two years ago and on current form, he looks the best pick out of the big names to lift the trophy this week.

0.25pts Each Way - Michael Holt to win Outright @ 125/1

O’Sullivan is the favourite in quarter number three and the tournament favourite overall but given the number of withdrawals he’s had this season it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pull out again and there could be a chance for an outsider to have a run this week if he does.

O’Sullivan has only entered three events in the UK this season and lost in the first round in all of them.

Michael Holt dropped off the tour a couple of years ago but after a very good year on the amateur circuit last season, he made his return at the start of this season.

His form in recent weeks has been good with eight wins in his last 10 including a very good run to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, beating Joe O’Connor, Wilson and Jak Jones along the way.

Holt faces Chris Wakelin first up but Wakelin hasn’t made a great start to 2025, with a string of poor results in the Championship League followed by heavy defeats in the first round of the Masters and German Masters to Brecel and Hammad Miah.

With a bit of luck and the draw potentially opening up for Holt, odds of 125/1 look worth a small each-way punt.

Check out the rest of our Snooker Betting Tips over at Betfred Insights.