The 2024 Northern Ireland Open (officially the 2024 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open) is a professional snooker tournament that is taking place from 20 to 27 October 2024 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the seventh ranking event of the 2024–25 season (following the 2024 Wuhan Open and preceding the 2024 International Championship), the second of four tournaments in the season's Home Nations Series (following the 2024 English Open and preceding the 2024 Scottish Open and the 2025 Welsh Open). The winner will receive £100,000 from a total prize fund of £550,400, the Alex Higgins trophy, and a place in the 2024 Champion of Champions invitational event.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20–27 October 2024 |
| Venue | Waterfront Hall |
| City | Belfast |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £550,400 |
| Winner's share | £100,000 |
| Defending champion |  Judd Trump (ENG) |
← 2023 | |
Judd Trump is the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 9–3 in the 2023 final.[1][2]
Format
edit
The event is taking place from 20 to 27 October 2024 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Qualifying took place on 28 and 29 September 2024 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England.[3]
The WST implemented a new format for the four Home Nations events this season. In qualifying round one, players seeded 65–96 face those seeded 97–128. In qualifying round two, the 32 round one winners play those seeded 33–64. The 32 round two winners then play the top 32 seeds.[4]
All matches are played as best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which are best of nine. The semi-finals are best of 11, and the final is a best-of-17-frame match played over two sessions.[5][6]
The qualifying rounds were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland) and by the CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin and Huya Live in China. They were available from Matchroom Sport in all other territories.[7]
The main event is being broadcast by Eurosport, Discovery+ and DMAX in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland); by the CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin and Huya Live in China; by Now TV in Hong Kong; by Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; by TrueVision in Thailand; by TAP in the Philippines; and by Sportcast in Taiwan. It is available from Matchroom Sport in all other territories.[8]
Prize fund
editThe tournament winner will receive the Alex Higgins trophy.[9] The breakdown of prize money for the event, an increase of £123,400 from the previous event, is shown below:[5]
- Winner: £100,000
- Runner-up: £45,000
- Semi-final: £21,000
- Quarter-final: £13,200
- Last 16: £9,000
- Last 32: £5,400
- Last 64: £3,600
- Last 96: £1,000
- Highest break: £5,000
- Total: £550,400
Summary
editQualifying rounds
editRound 1
editThe first round took place on 28 September as the best of 7 frames.[10] Oliver Lines played in the semi final of the British Open on 28 September, so his match against Joshua Cooper was held over to the main venue in Belfast, where he beat Cooper 4–2.[10] Jimmy White beat Paul Deaville 4–3 and Stan Moody beat Dylan Emery 4–2. Marco Fu withdrew from the event, so reigning women's world champion Bai Yulu was given a walkover to the next round.[11]
Round 2
editThe second round took place on 29 September as the best of 7 frames.[10] Ricky Walden's match against the winner of the match between Lines and Cooper was held over to the main venue in Belfast, where Lines beat Walden 4–2.[10]
Final rounds
editLast 64
editThe last 64 matches are being played from 20 to 22 October as the best of 7 frames.[12] Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the event, giving opponent Long Zehuang a walkover into the last 32.[13]
In the afternoon session on 20 October Judd Trump whitewashed Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Matthew Selt beat Lyu Haotian 4–1, and Moody recovered from 0–2 down to beat Ryan Day 4–3.[14] In the evening session Louis Heathcote beat 5th seed Mark Selby 4–3, Shaun Murphy recovered from 0–2 down to beat Jiang Jun 4–2, and Mark Davis beat 9th seed Gary Wilson 4–1.[15] In the afternoon session on 21 October Neil Robertson defeated Graeme Dott 4–3, Jimmy Robertson beat Xiao Guodong 4–2, and Martin O'Donnell beat 11th seed Zhang Anda 4–3. Tian Pengfei defeated 12th seed Si Jiahui 4–2, and White beat Hossein Vafaei also by 4–2.[16]
Last 32
editThe last 32 matches will be played on 22 and 23 October as the best of 7 frames.[12]
Last 16
editThe last 16 matches will be played on 24 October as the best of 7 frames.[12]
Quarter finals
editThe quarter-finals will be played on 25 October as the best of 9 frames.[12]
Semi finals
editThe semi-finals will be played on 26 October as the best of 11 frames.[12]
Final
editThe final will be played on 27 October as the best of 17 frames, played over two sessions.[12]
Final rounds
editThe draw for the final rounds is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding. Players in bold denote match winners.[17][12]
Top half
edit- Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover
Bottom half
edit| Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 7 frames | Last 16 Best of 7 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | ||||||||||||||
 Mark Allen (NIR) (3)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
 Liu Hongyu (CHN)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Wu Yize (CHN) (30)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Oliver Lines (ENG)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Neil Robertson (AUS) (14)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
 Graeme Dott (SCO)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Neil Robertson (14)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Jack Lisowski (ENG) (19)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Wang Yuchen (HKG)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Hossein Vafaei (IRN) (22)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy White (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy White
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Zhang Anda (CHN) (11)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Martin O'Donnell (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pang Junxu (CHN) (27)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Yuan Sijun (CHN)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pang Junxu (27)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Luca Brecel (6)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Luca Brecel (BEL) (6)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| He Guoqiang (CHN)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
 Mark Williams (WAL) (7)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Jamie Clarke (WAL)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Noppon Saengkham (THA) (26)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Ali Carter (ENG) (10)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Ma Hailong (CHN)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Wakelin (ENG) (23)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Bulcsú Révész (HUN)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Day (WAL) (18)
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stan Moody (ENG)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stan Moody
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Jak Jones (15)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Jak Jones (WAL) (15)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
 Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI)
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Stephen Maguire (SCO) (31)
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony McGill (SCO)
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony McGill
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Kyren Wilson (ENG) (2)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| David Grace (ENG)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Qualifying rounds
editThe results of the early rounds are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[18][10]
| Round 1 (Last 128) Best of 7 frames | Round 2 (Last 96) Best of 7 frames | |||||
 Ishpreet Singh Chadha (IND) (65) | 4 | Ashley Carty (ENG) (64) | 1 | |||
 Florian Nüßle (AUT) (a) | 1 | Ishpreet Singh Chadha (IND) (65) | 4 | |||
| Michael Holt (ENG) (96) | 4 | Matthew Selt (ENG) (33) | 4 | |||
| Reanne Evans (ENG) (108) | 0 | Michael Holt (ENG) (96) | 1 | |||
| Liam Pullen (ENG) (80) | 4 | Fan Zhengyi (CHN) (49) | 4 | |||
| Mink Nutcharut (THA) (105) | 1 | Liam Pullen (ENG) (80) | 2 | |||
| Gong Chenzhi (CHN) (81) | 4 | Matthew Stevens (WAL) (48) | 4 | |||
 Ahmed Aly Elsayed (USA) (112) | 0 | Gong Chenzhi (CHN) (81) | 1 | |||
 Artemijs Žižins (LAT) (88) | 2 | Scott Donaldson (SCO) (41) | 4 | |||
| Duane Jones (WAL) (98) | 4 | Duane Jones (WAL) (98) | 0 | |||
| Alfie Burden (ENG) (73) | 4 | Mark Davis (ENG) (56) | 4 | |||
| Mitchell Mann (ENG) (109) | 3 | Alfie Burden (ENG) (73) | 2 | |||
| Zak Surety (ENG) (89) | 3 | Dominic Dale (WAL) (40) | 4 | |||
 Haris Tahir (PAK) (115) | 4 | Haris Tahir (PAK) (115) | 2 | |||
| Jiang Jun (CHN) (72) | 4 | David Lilley (ENG) (57) | 3 | |||
| Huang Jiahao (CHN) (107) | 3 | Jiang Jun (CHN) (72) | 4 | |||
| Louis Heathcote (ENG) (69) | 4 |  Aaron Hill (IRL) (60) | 3 | |||
 Anton Kazakov (UKR) (a) | 3 | Louis Heathcote (ENG) (69) | 4 | |||
| Amir Sarkhosh (IRN) (92) | 4 | Jimmy Robertson (ENG) (37) | 4 | |||
| Cheung Ka Wai (HKG) (100) | 2 | Amir Sarkhosh (IRN) (92) | 0 | |||
| Hammad Miah (ENG) (76) | 3 | Tian Pengfei (CHN) (53) | 4 | |||
 Antoni Kowalski (POL) (99) | 4 | Antoni Kowalski (POL) (99) | 0 | |||
| Dean Young (SCO) (85) | 2 | Jordan Brown (NIR) (44) | 4 | |||
| Liam Davies (WAL) (101) | 4 | Liam Davies (WAL) (101) | 1 | |||
| Lei Peifan (CHN) (84) | 4 | Jamie Jones (WAL) (45) | 3 | |||
| Jamie Gardiner (NIR) (a) | 3 | Lei Peifan (CHN) (84) | 4 | |||
 Rory Thor (MAS) (77) | 4 | Daniel Wells (WAL) (52) | 2 | |||
| Mark Joyce (ENG) (a) | 3 | Rory Thor (MAS) (77) | 4 | |||
| Robbie McGuigan (NIR) (93) | 3 | Elliot Slessor (ENG) (36) | 4 | |||
| Chris Totten (SCO) (104) | 4 | Chris Totten (SCO) (104) | 2 | |||
| Long Zehuang (CHN) (68) | 4 | Sanderson Lam (ENG) (61) | 0 | |||
| Haydon Pinhey (ENG) (102) | 3 | Long Zehuang (CHN) (68) | 4 | |||
| Stuart Carrington (ENG) (67) | 3 | Liu Hongyu (CHN) (62) | 4 | |||
| Simon Blackwell (ENG) (a) | 4 | Simon Blackwell (ENG) (a) | 1 | |||
| Oliver Lines (ENG) (94)[b] | 4 | Ricky Walden (ENG) (35)[b] | 2 | |||
| Joshua Cooper (ENG) (a)[b] | 2 | Oliver Lines (ENG) (94)[b] | 4 | |||
| Andrew Higginson (ENG) (78) | 1 | Graeme Dott (SCO) (51) | 4 | |||
| Kreishh Gurbaxani (IND) (113) | 4 | Kreishh Gurbaxani (IND) (113) | 2 | |||
| Andrew Pagett (WAL) (83) | 1 | Joe Perry (ENG) (46) | 2 | |||
| Wang Yuchen (HKG) (111) | 4 | Wang Yuchen (HKG) (111) | 4 | |||
| Jimmy White (ENG) (86) | 4 | Jackson Page (WAL) (43) | 3 | |||
| Paul Deaville (ENG) (a) | 3 | Jimmy White (ENG) (86) | 4 | |||
| Ian Burns (ENG) (75) | 3 | Martin O'Donnell (ENG) (54) | 4 | |||
| Joel Connolly (NIR) (a) | 4 | Joel Connolly (NIR) (a) | 0 | |||
| Liam Graham (SCO) (91) | 4 | Yuan Sijun (CHN) (38) | 4 | |||
| Baipat Siripaporn (THA) (116) | 3 | Liam Graham (SCO) (91) | 0 | |||
| Ross Muir (SCO) (70) | 3 | He Guoqiang (CHN) (59) | 4 | |||
| Manasawin Phetmalaikul (THA) (110) | 4 | Manasawin Phetmalaikul (THA) (110) | 0 | |||
| Xing Zihao (CHN) (71) | w/o | Jamie Clarke (WAL) (58) | 4 | |||
| Ken Doherty (IRL) (117)[c] | w/d | Xing Zihao (CHN) (71) | 2 | |||
| Ben Mertens (BEL) (90) | 1 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) (39) | 4 | |||
| Daniel Womersley (ENG) (a) | 4 | Daniel Womersley (ENG) (a) | 0 | |||
| Ma Hailong (CHN) (74) | 4 | Anthony Hamilton (ENG) (55) | 3 | |||
| Allan Taylor (ENG) (97) | 0 | Ma Hailong (CHN) (74) | 4 | |||
| Bulcsú Révész (HUN) (87) | 4 | Robbie Williams (ENG) (42) | 0 | |||
| Iulian Boiko (UKR) (a) | 3 | Bulcsú Révész (HUN) (87) | 4 | |||
| Stan Moody (ENG) (82) | 4 | Ben Woollaston (ENG) (47) | 3 | |||
| Dylan Emery (WAL) (a) | 2 | Stan Moody (ENG) (82) | 4 | |||
| Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) (79) | 4 | Xu Si (CHN) (50) | 3 | |||
 Mostafa Dorgham (EGY) (103) | 1 | Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) (79) | 4 | |||
| Julien Leclercq (BEL) (95) | 3 | Anthony McGill (SCO) (34) | 4 | |||
| Farakh Ajaib (PAK) (106) | 4 | Farakh Ajaib (PAK) (106) | 2 | |||
| Marco Fu (HKG) (66)[d] | w/d | David Grace (ENG) (63) | 4 | |||
| Bai Yulu (CHN) (114) | w/o | Bai Yulu (CHN) (120) | 0 | |||
- Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover
Century breaks
editMain stage centuries
editA total of 10 century breaks have been made during the main stage of the tournament in Belfast.[19]
- 129 – Pang Junxu
- 118 – Shaun Murphy
- 117 – He Guoqiang
- 113 – David Gilbert
- 112 – Rory Thor
- 112 – Judd Trump
- 111 – Zhou Yuelong
- 108, 105 – Stan Moody
- 103 – Martin O'Donnell
Qualifying stage centuries
editA total of 22 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Sheffield.[20]
- 142 – Yuan Sijun
- 134 – Louis Heathcote
- 133 – Ben Woollaston
- 130 – David Lilley
- 128 – Long Zehuang
- 127 – David Grace
- 117, 114 – Fan Zhengyi
- 113, 109 – Rory Thor
- 113 – Jordan Brown
- 108 – Antoni Kowalski
- 107 – Stuart Carrington
- 105 – Jiang Jun
- 104 – Alfie Burden
- 104 – Liam Davies
- 102 – Duane Jones
- 101 – Lei Peifan
- 101 – Bulcsú Révész
- 101 – Matthew Stevens
- 100 – Wang Yuchen
- 100 – Daniel Womersley
Notes
edit- ^ Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew and so Long Zehuang was given a walkover to the last 32.[13]
- ^ a b c d Match held-over to be played in Belfast.
- ^ Ken Doherty withdrew and so Xing Zihao was given a walkover.[10]
- ^ Marco Fu withdrew and so Bai Yulu was given a walkover.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Northern Ireland Open: Judd Trump wins Alex Higgins trophy with victory against Chris Wakelin". BBC Sport. 29 October 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Snooker superstars set for Belfast". World Snooker Tour. 1 October 2024. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and International Championship qualifiers draw". World Snooker Tour. 24 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Tiered format for Home Nations and German Masters in 2024/25". World Snooker Tour. 5 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Petrie, Richard (17 October 2024). "Northern Ireland Open 2024 - all you need to know". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 18 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ "How to watch the qualifiers". World Snooker Tour. 25 September 2024. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "How to Watch the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker Tour. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Open trophy to be named after Alex Higgins". World Snooker Tour. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Northern Ireland Open Qualifiers 2024". snooker.org. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Winning start for White in Belfast qualifiers". World Snooker Tour. 28 September 2024. Archived from the original on 30 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". snooker.org. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ a b "O'Sullivan withdraws from BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker Tour. 20 October 2024. Archived from the original on 21 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open day one afternoon". World Snooker Tour. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open day one evening". World Snooker Tour. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open day two afternoon". World Snooker Tour. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2024 matches". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2024 qualifiers matches". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Tournament centuries". snookerinfo.co.uk. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Centuries: Northern Ireland Open qualifiers - 22". snookerinfo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.