29 February 2024 was quite an extraordinary for Joe O’Connor … read the report by WST here:

O’CONNOR REACHES WINNERS’ GROUP

Joe O’Connor stormed his way to the winners’ group of Championship League Snooker, beating Jak Jones 3-0 in the group seven final at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.

O’Connor opened his day with a solid 3-2 win over Pang Junxu. The world number 30 then came up against Jones in a match that also went all the way. It was Welshman Jones who won the decider with a break of 52 to emerge with a 3-2 victory.

Leicester’s home star O’Connor took on Elliot Slessor in their final group match, creating his own bit of snooker history with the 200th professional maximum break ever recorded, coming in the third frame of a 3-2 win.

The pair faced each other again in the group semi-finals and once more it was O’Connor who came through, beating Slessor 3-1 with breaks of 41 and 65.

That set up a group final against the unbeaten Jones, who had only dropped five frames across the entire group. However, it was O’Connor who dominated proceedings. He won 3-0 with breaks of 43 and 95.

Speaking afterwards O’Connor said: “These last two days have been unbelievable, first time playing Ronnie, I know he pulled out but it was nice to get a win over him.

“To get my first maximum break today, I think that’s the first time I’ve been past 70 or 80 this season, I’m so pleased. I was really nervous especially after getting perfect on the blue. I wanted to play it confidentially and I ended up hitting it like a fairy and didn’t land on the pink. Somehow I managed to get on the black and knock it in.

“Against Jak, who had won 7 matches in a row, it was probably exhausting for him, it just looked like he run out of steam and luckily I was able to get over the line.

“I’m over the moon to reach the winners’ group in my debut, I’m really looking forward to it.”

BetVictor Championship League Snooker returns for the winners’ group on March 12th, made up by John Higgins, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson, Chris Wakelin, and O’Connor.

JOE O’CONNOR MAKES SNOOKER’S 200TH 147

Joe O’Connor made the 200th official 147 in snooker history – and first of his career – during his BetVictor Championship League match against Elliot Slessor on Thursday.

O’Connor’s perfect break came in the third frame of his group match against Slessor in Leicester, putting him 2-1 ahead. He went on to win the mach 3-2, making further breaks of 132, 72 and 85.

147 Milestones
First: Steve Davis, 1982 Lada Classic
50th: David Gray, 2004 UK Championship
100th: Mark Selby, 2013 UK Championship
150th: Zhou Yuelong, 2019 Indian Open
200th: Joe O’Connor, 2024 Championship League

It’s the 11th maximum of the 2023/24 season, and a new landmark for world number 30 O’Connor, whose previous top break was 143.

Here it is…