- Defending Champion: Jack Lisowski returns to defend his title after securing his maiden ranking event victory against Judd Trump (9-8) in last year’s final.
- Prize Fund: The winner will receive £100,000 alongside the prestigious Alex Higgins Trophy as part of the total £550,400 prize purse.
- Mark Allen Returns: Local favourite Mark Allen is set for his first appearance in almost six months, facing fellow Antrim player Jordan Brown.
- Ronnie O’Sullivan Status: Ronnie O’Sullivan remains in the draw to face Hong Kong’s Ka Wai Cheung, though potential late withdrawal remains a talking point.
- Key Withdrawals: Newly crowned Shenzhen Open winner Wu Yize and fellow Chinese contender He Guoqiang have withdrawn due to health reasons.
- Grand Slam Chasers: Mark Selby and Neil Robertson enter the event with the opportunity to become the first players in snooker history to win all four Home Nations titles.
Ireland Now News (INN) October 17, 2026 – The Northern Ireland Open 2026 is set to get under way at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, serving as the seventh ranking tournament of the current professional snooker season and the second leg of the Home Nations series. Players will be competing for a winner’s check of £100,000 and the Alex Higgins Trophy. The field includes top-tier contenders, returning past champions, and players pursuing historic milestones across the eight-day competition.
As reported by BBC Sport, last year’s final concluded in dramatic fashion when Jack Lisowski captured his first career ranking event title by defeating four-time Northern Ireland Open champion Judd Trump by a scoreline of 9-8. Lisowski enters this year’s event as the defending champion. The tournament follows the English Open, which was claimed by Ali Carter in September, and precedes upcoming Home Nations fixtures in Scotland and Wales.
Will Mark Allen and Ronnie O’Sullivan Be Playing in Belfast?
According to reporting by BBC Sport, former world number one Mark Allen is scheduled to return to competitive play on Tuesday afternoon for his first match in nearly six months. The 40-year-old Antrim cueist has been absent from the professional tour during the early months of the season due to personal reasons. Allen’s last competitive match occurred in early May at the World Championship semi-finals in Sheffield, where he was defeated by Wu Yize. Allen previously won back-to-back Northern Ireland Open titles in 2021 and 2022. His first-round opponent is fellow Antrim player Jordan Brown, who reached the quarter-finals of this tournament 12 months ago before losing 5-2 to Allen.
As detailed in the BBC Sport coverage, seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan remains in the draw as of Saturday morning. O’Sullivan is scheduled to play Ka Wai Cheung of China on Monday afternoon. The 50-year-old did not participate in Belfast 12 months ago and recorded late withdrawals from the event in both 2023 and 2024. O’Sullivan’s last appearance at the Waterfront Hall came in 2022, when he was eliminated in the last-64 stage by David Grace.
Which Contenders and Champions Are Competing in the 2026 Field?
As highlighted by BBC Sport, Judd Trump holds the record for the most Northern Ireland Open titles, having won the event four times. Trump completed three consecutive victories from 2018 to 2020 and claimed his fourth title in 2023. Earlier this season, Trump won the elite non-ranking Shanghai Masters.
Chinese cueists Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize have claimed the last two World Championship titles and currently hold the top two positions in the world rankings ahead of Trump. Wu secured victory at the most recent ranking event, the Shenzhen Open, but BBC Sport notes that both Wu and He Guoqiang have withdrawn from the Northern Ireland Open due to health reasons.
BBC Sport further reported that Jak Jones is the only player to claim two titles this season, having won the Championship League and the British Open. Other tournament winners from the current campaign in the field include Mark Selby (China Open), Chang Bingyu (Wuhan Open), and Ali Carter (English Open). Previous Northern Ireland Open winners Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams are also competing, alongside established figures Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, John Higgins, and defending champion Jack Lisowski. Both Selby and Robertson enter the tournament with the opportunity to become the first players to complete a career sweep of all four Home Nations events.
What Is the Tournament Format and History of the Event?
As reported by BBC Sport, the tournament features a main field of 64 players, comprising top seeded players and qualifiers. The match lengths increase as the event progresses:
- Rounds 1 to 3: Best of 7 frames
- Quarter-finals: Best of 9 frames
- Semi-finals: Best of 11 frames
- Final: Best of 17 frames
BBC Sport notes that the Waterfront Hall in Belfast has hosted eight of the ten previous editions of the Northern Ireland Open. The only exceptions were the inaugural tournament held at the Titanic Exhibition Centre and the 2020 staging at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes under COVID-19 restrictions. In 2024, Kyren Wilson became the first non-left-handed player to capture the title. Maximum 147 breaks have been achieved on four occasions in tournament history: John Higgins (2016), Stuart Bingham (2019), Judd Trump (2020), and Mark Allen (2021).
Background of the Northern Ireland Open
The Northern Ireland Open was established in 2016 as part of World Snooker Tour’s Home Nations Series alongside the English Open, Scottish Open, and Welsh Open. Named in honour of Belfast snooker legend Alex Higgins, the winner’s trophy represents one of the signature titles on the annual calendar. The tournament has traditionally featured a standard flat draw or tiered qualification system to provide opportunities for local wildcard players and rising professional talent alongside world top-16 stars. Over its ten-year history, the event has built a reputation for high-level scoring and dramatic finishes, highlighted by iconic rivalries—such as the three consecutive finals played between Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan from 2018 to 2020—and historical maximum breaks recorded by leading figures in the sport.
Prediction: How This Development Can Affect Professional Cueists and Snooker Fans
The 2026 Northern Ireland Open carries significant implications for professional snooker players, broadcast audiences, and match-going fans in Belfast.
For the professional players on tour, the outcome at the Waterfront Hall will directly influence seeding positions ahead of the upcoming UK Championship and subsequent Home Nations fixtures. For Mark Selby and Neil Robertson, the tournament presents a rare opportunity to accomplish an unprecedented career Home Nations Grand Slam. Furthermore, the absence of high-ranked players like world number two Wu Yize creates a draw path advantage for mid-ranking professionals looking to secure vital ranking points and deeper prize money runs.
