Williams and Trump to continue Crucible progress

Mark Williams is on course to be the provisional world number one and he should have a fairly comfortable passage through the quarter finals of the Snooker World Championships against Jamie Cope.

The two-time Crucible winner is the clear form pick of the duo and has won four of his six career meetings with Cope.

Williams is 1/6 in the snooker betting and his dominance in the safety department should be the catalyst towards victory.

Cope came close to upsetting another Crucible great in his last appearance in the second round in 2009 when narrowly falling short 13-12 to John Higgins.

He can take confidence from this performance but will need to play far better than he did in the opening round against Andrew Pagett if he is to run Williams close.

Cope is 4/1 to beat Williams, but the best bet may be that the Welshman triumphs by between four and six frames, which is priced at 15/8.

Confidence should be no problem for Judd Trump at the Crucible after he claimed his first ranking title at the recent China Open and then dumped defending world champion Neil Robertson out in the first round in Sheffield.

Trump’s reward for this victory is a second-round showdown with fellow qualifier Martin Gould and is 4/11 to progress to the quarter finals for the first time.

He said: “I am confident I can go far in this tournament, but I have only won one match, even if it is the world champion.

“I am playing well. I really do believe this is my time, it’s about time I picked up the mantle and started winning tournaments. I’ve always had that belief in my ability.”

Gould should not be underestimated following his opening round comeback against Marco Fu and is 9/4 in the snooker odds to secure victory.

A £30 stake on Williams beating Cope 13-9 would return £210. New customers can sign up here for a free £30 bet.