Sean O'Neill (snooker player)

Sean O'Neill

Born	(1981-01-20) January 20, 1981
Sport country	Northern Ireland
Professional	2004/2005
Highest ranking	86 (2004/2005)
Career winnings	£2,925[1]
Highest break	130 (2003 Challenge Tour - Event 3)
Century breaks	7
Best ranking finish	Last 48 (2005 China Open)

Sean O'Neill (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player.

Career

Born in 1981, O'Neill first played competitive snooker in the European Championship in 1998, where he was eliminated without progressing from his group. He entered qualifying for the World Championship over the next five years, reaching the third qualifying round in 2002, where he lost 5–3 to Tony Chappel.

During the 2002/2003 season, O'Neill played on the Challenge Tour, without success; however, in the following season, he reached the quarter-finals at Event 1 - losing 2–5 to Stefan Mazrocis - and the semi-finals at Event 3, where he notably defeated Lee Spick 5–0 before losing 2–5 to Steve James.

His performances were sufficient for O'Neill to turn professional for the 2004/2005 season. Playing his first match on the main tour in the 2004 Grand Prix, he lost 1–5 to Rod Lawler, following this with losses in the British Open and the UK Championship - 4–5 and 1–9 to Tom Ford and Simon Bedford respectively - but beat Leo Fernandez in the Welsh Open to record his first professional victory. In the next round, Lawler whitewashed him 5–0, but progress came at the China Open, where he beat Mazrocis, Mike Dunn and Patrick Wallace to reach the last 48; there, Michael Holt eliminated O'Neill 5–1.

Requiring a good performance in the World Championship to retain his professional status, he lost 1–10 to Paul Davies in the first qualifying round; finishing the season ranked 86th, he dropped off the main tour, and did not play competitive snooker thereafter.

References