- Home
- Other Sports
- Rookie Joe Earns Dramatic Welsh Open Success
Joe O’Connor, a rookie snooker professional from Leicester, is through to the ManBetX Welsh Open semi-finals after a dramatic victory against John Higgins.
The 23-year-old O’Connor, a former under-18 World and European 8-ball pool champion who turned to snooker at the age of 15, plays Stuart Bingham in the last four at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.
Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhuin and now four-times World Champion John Higgins have fallen to O’Connor, who says: “I’m over the moon. It’s all a bit of a dream.
“To have beaten Kyren, then Ding and now Higgins. I’m speechless.
“I set out to compete in every match. I knew I was capable, but to do it on the big stage is completely different.
“I started playing snooker purely for a career. At the time there wasn’t really the chance of a career in poor so I opted for snooker and it’s starting to come together.
“I’ll focus on the semi-final and take it frame by frame.”
O’Connor secured victory with a break of 131 in the eighth frame, his highest at this level.
The match between O’Connor and Bingham will start at 1pm on Saturday, while the second semi-final features former World senior and junior amateur champion Hossein Vafaei against Neil Robertson (7pm).
"Sorry"@nr147 admits fortune helped him into the last 4 of the @manbetxofficial Welsh Open…
But nerveless breaks of 91, 69, 136 & 67 played their part too! #WelshOpen pic.twitter.com/u8Rirsj8RC
— WST (@WeAreWST) February 15, 2019
After finishing top of the 2017-18 English amateur rankings and winning the English championship, O’Connor started to compete on the professional tour as an amateur top up.
“The experience of being a top up certainly helped me,” he says.”Looking back, that is the best thing that I could have done. Getting the experience without the extra pressure of having to win matches to stay on the tour.”
Iran’s Vafaei won 5-1 against Scott Donaldson and said: “There is a big market for snooker in my country. If I can win one tournament it would open up.
“Hopefully that will happen this season.
“I believe in myself, and support from spectators gives me big energy. I like that support.”
Australian Neil Robertson defeated Norway’s Kurt Maflin 5-4 and then apologised.
“Sorry,” Robertson told Maflin, admitting he had some good fortune in winning.
“I get on really well with Kurt and we’ve spent Christmas together in Norway. I want him to do well.
“He was really brave on a long red and knocked it in, but somehow the black followed through and went in. I had to fight off thoughts that I’d had a lucky break and try to get the job done.”
Robertson scored breaks of 91, 69, 136 and 67 on his way to victory, hitting back from 3-0 and 4-2 down to beat World number 49 Maflin.
The Welsh Open winner will receive the Ray Reardon Trophy and £70,000 prize money.
ManBetX Welsh Open Snooker Championship quarter-final results:
Stuart Bingham 5, Zhao Xintong 2
John Higgins 3, Joe O’Connor 5
Hossein Vafaei 5, Scott Donaldson 1
Neil Robertson 5, Kurt Maflin 4
Semi-finals, Saturday
1pm Joe O’Connor v Stuart Bingham
7pm Hossein Vafaei v Neil Robertson
