Northern Ireland Open draw, schedule, qualifiers, prize money and TV channel

17/10/2023 16:02

The Northern Ireland Open has developed into one of the highlights of the snooker calendar and it is back, with qualifiers in Sheffield this week before the main event in Belfast from Sunday.

Mark Allen, the local hero, has lifted the trophy in each of the last two years, beating Zhou Yuelong last year and John Higgins in the 2021 final.

‘I have great memories of the last two years, playing in front of the home fans is something special,’ said the world number four.

‘It will just nice to be there and enjoy it rather than hating it as I did in the first few years I played in this event. I felt the pressure too much and I was playing for the wrong reasons. I have nothing more to prove now and I have repaid the fans now for all the heartbreak I caused them for a few years!’

He will be back to try and make it a hat-trick, but there is no shortage of quality trying to stop him.

However, there will be no Higgins, Mark Selby, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh after the fallout of the exhibition in Macau that was scheduled for during the Northern Ireland Open, but has now been moved to December, but the ‘Macau Five’ had already withdrawn from the Belfast draw.

There might be some big names missing, but the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy are all in attendance.

The qualifiers run from 17-20 October at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, with the main stages beginning on Sunday 22 October in Belfast.