Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
Joe Johnson (born 29 July 1952) is an English former professional snooker player and commentator, best known for winning the 1986 World Championship after starting the tournament as a 150–1 outsider.
A former English Amateur Championship and World Amateur Championship finalist, Johnson turned professional in 1979, and after several years as an unranked player, reached the final of the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, where he narrowly lost 8–9 to Tony Knowles. In 1986, as a massive underdog, he defeated Steve Davis 18–12 to win the 1986 World Snooker Championship. The following year, he reached the final again, losing 14–18 to Davis; as a result coming closer to breaking the Crucible curse than any other player.
At the 1987 UK Championship, Joe came agonisingly close to a maximum 147 break, when missing the pink ball with his score on 134. The maximum would have secured him a £50,000 bonus. Joe also won the 1987 Scottish Masters and the 1989 Norwich Union Grand Prix before retiring from professional play due to injury in 2004. He has also won two seniors titles, winning the 1997 Seniors Pot Black and the 2019 Seniors Masters, and provides regular snooker match commentary on Eurosport.