Jackson Page bluntly confessed that potting a record-breaking two maximum breaks in a single World Championship qualifier felt ‘routine’. The 23-year-old is into the final round of qualifying after a remarkable display of snooker in his 10-2 win over Allan Taylor.

It marked the first time that any snooker player hit two maximum breaks in the same match of a tournament on record. Prior to his stunning effort, Page had never registered a 147 in his snooker career, with the Welshman set to bank at least £147,000 as a result. 

When asked about his historic achievement, a rather relaxed Page issued a candid response. He said: "It felt routine out there in the end." Quite the reaction to such an unprecedented feat. 

Continuing his debrief, Page stated: "I've made a lot of 147s leading up to this event in the club... I'm over the moon to have got it done. I never ever go for them in matches. I do when I'm practising. When I'm at the club I could be on the first black and think that the maximum is on. Here you try and win the frame. After I made the first one yesterday, I had to have a go for thie second. It paid off, maybe I'll start going for more."

While Page's two 147 breaks did come in the same match, they were separated by a day. The snooker ace hit the first one during the eighth frame on Sunday evening and later returned on Monday to record another in the final frame of the day's play. 

However, Page still has work to do in order to qualify for next week's main draw, with the 23-year-old set to face Joe O'Connor in the fourth and final qualification match. If he progresses beyond the Englishman, Page will have qualified for back-to-back World Championship main draws for the first time in his career. 

Page competed in last year's main draw but was knocked out in the first round by Ronnie O'Sullivan, losing 10-1 against the seven-time champion. His only other World Championship appearance at the Crucible came in 2022 when he upset the odds to beat ninth seed Barry Hawkins in round one, before being knocked out of the competition by eventual semi-finalist Mark Williams in round two. 

The action from Sheffield gets underway on Saturday, with reigning champion Kyren Wilson set to open the competition. Elsewhere, it could be the first appearance in a snooker competition since early January for O'Sullivan, having missed several events since due to 'medical reasons'.