Underdog Davis could claim massive Higgins scalp at Crucible

As the World Snooker Championship rolls on, another entertaining round of fixtures is scheduled for Sunday, with three previous winners of the tournament set to feature.

But it is the one player never to have won the prestigious accolade who may represent the best value in match betting, with Mark Davis 3/1 to overcome John Higgins.

In a match slated to begin at 2.30pm, four-time world champion Higgins enjoys heavy 1/4 favouritism over ‘The Battler From Hastings’, but it should be noted that the Scot has suffered defeat in his last two matches opposing Davis.

Most recently, ‘Dark Mavis’, whose three best tournament finishes all came in 2012, recorded a 3-0 success over his Scottish counterpart, a victory which represented his third in the past four encounters of the pair.

And so, despite Higgins’ vastly superior experience in the latter stages of this competition, it could pay to side with an underdog riding the crest of a wave into the Crucible in the form of Davis.

Meanwhile, investment in the unfancied Englishman racking up a century during the match at 15/8 may prove prudent, given that the 40-year-old has achieved the feat on well over 100 occasions throughout his career.

Elsewhere, familiar foes Graeme Dott and Peter Ebdon are set to lock horns, in what will be a repeat of the 2006 final of this tournament.

Dott is afforded 4/9 favouritism for the bout, perhaps unsurprisingly in light of the Scot winning the past three encounters between the pair, and four of the last five.

However, their last meeting came two years ago, and with Ebdon triumphing in a majority seven of their 11 total clashes, he has a squeak of a chance at 7/4 here.

In Ebdon’s 22nd consecutive appearance at the Crucible showpiece though, he appears likeliest to crash out at the last-32 stage for the fifth year in succession.

With his slow playing style having failed to faze Dott in the past, the 2006 champion can follow up an earlier-season run to the Masters semi-final to reach the last 16 here.

At 8/13, ‘Dott The Pot’ should make light of a 1.5 frame handicap en route to his disposal of the Islington cueman.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.