Luca Brecel vs Joe O'Connor Prediction: An exciting opener to be witnessed

The 2022 Northern Ireland Masters opening qualification round will feature 34 pro-snooker players all around the world. In this exciting competition, each player will be competing for the Alex Higgins’ trophy. With the 2022 competition being the 7th prior to the inaugural in 2016, Judd Trump has the most wins in the previous years, having won the competition for three consecutive years from 2018-2022. In this matchup between Luca Brecel and Joe O'Connor, we give a detailed analysis of how the match will go and who is expected to make it to the next round. Available also are different betting options. 

Luca Brecel - favorite to win

Belgian professional snooker player, Luca Brecel will come into this match hoping to kickstart it with a win. The pro snooker player is ranked tenth in the world having won a lot of duels over his career and become one of the big names in the snooker world. The Belgian made his debut at the 2012 World Championship aged 17 years and 45 days and since then has gone on to win a number of trophies to his cabinet. In 2017, Brecel became the first player from mainland Europe to win a ranking event when he defeated Shaun Murphy in the final of the China Championship. In the course of his career, Luca Brecel already has three trophies to his cabinet, with two coming from the Scottish Championship in 2021, and also the 2022 Champions League, after defeating Lu Ning. We expect the Belgian pro to come into this match prepared as he hopes to make it to the main competition.

Joe O'Connor - a revenge match for O’Connor

O'Connor will surely be very focused on getting a win in this match after a humiliating defeat to Brecel in 2018. However, with the fact that the Englishman had developed a lot of skills and tactics over the years, making him the 52nd-best snooker player. In his last five matches in all competitions, O’Connor has not been doing well, though he has a fair performance, winning two matches, losing two and drawing one. In this match, we hope he will step up and will not stoop too low to a more experienced and strong Luca Brecel. However, he will expect a tough match. 

Expert Betting Tips

The only time Luca Brecel faced Joe O'Connor was in 2018 in the China Championship qualification final. In that match, Luca Brecel won 5-1. In this match, we still expect Luca Brecel to come on top once more because O’Conor does not seem strong for this contest, considering his recent performances. Also, looking at how good the Belgian star, Luca Brecel has been, betting on him will be profitable.