Joe O'Connor vs Matthew Stevens Result, Score & Stats

💣 O’Connor heads into the tournament off the back of a narrow 6-5 win over Bai Yulu, and at the English Open he cruised past Florian Nüßle 4-0 before seeing off Sam Craigie 4-2. Stevens, meanwhile, remains highly competitive: in September, the Welshman dispatched Marco Fu 4-1 and pushed Jimmy White all the way before falling 5-6 in a decider. Earlier, he rallied from 3-4 against Fan Zhengyi and overcame Antoni Kowalski 4-2.

O’Connor appear slightly favoured thanks to his more consistent break-building, but Stevens can offset that edge with his tactical nous and precise safety play. The Welshman has repeatedly shown he can hang tough with elite opponents deep into matches. This clash is unlikely to be one-sided: Stevens is adept at capitalising on his rival’s mistakes and should realistically take at least two frames, even if O’Connor ultimately prevails. Prediction: over 5.5 frames.