2026 Northern Ireland Open Snooker: Final 16 line-up complete in Belfast

The remaining round of 32 matches were completed on Wednesday at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, and three-time World Champion Williams joined fellow top 16 star Wilson in the next stage.

Winner of this Alex Higgins Trophy in 2017, Williams led twice early on in his latest assignment, but opponent Zhang restored parity each time along with efforts of 69 and 68.

Former International Championship winner Zhang was in control in frame five after a run of 53, but Williams countered with a 78 before a 58 in the sixth helped him to a 4-2 victory.

Another ‘Class of 92’ member, though, John Higgins had his title challenge ended by Jak Jones.

It has already been a life changing season for Jones having won his maiden ranking crown at the Championship League before a few weeks later doubling up with glory at the British Open.

And now the Welshman is aiming for a hat-trick of trophies after fashioning breaks of 121 and 133 in consecutive frames during a 4-2 win over Higgins.

Home hero Jordan Brown continues Waterfront inspiration

Not all players thrive off a home crowd, but that certainly doesn’t apply to Northern Ireland’s Brown who ousted Michael Holt, 4-3, to progress in the £550,400 world ranking event.

Having defeated close friend, practise partner and fellow Antrim cueist Mark Allen the day before - an emotional and difficult situation that he said he never wanted to experience again - Brown made a 113 in frame two, and runs of 101 and 66 in the final two frames as he came back from 3-2 down.

It has also been a tough few months away from the baize for Brown whose mother passed away in August having been in a care home for three years with dementia.

The former Welsh Open champion arrived at these televised stages as the world number 65, and is battling to preserve his professional status come the end of the season. But his run in this tournament - that began with a qualifying round hurdle held in England several weeks ago - is certainly helping his cause with £9,000 already guaranteed in prize money.

The Waterfront Hall clearly inspires Brown; last year he defeated then reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong, and Shaun Murphy on his way to the quarter-finals where he was stopped by Allen.

Deciding frame drama and late night finishes

There were several deciding frame climaxes on Wednesday, but none closer than David Gilbert clearing from brown to black in the seventh frame to pip Gao Yang (131 break, frame three).

In a quality affair, Pang Junxu (breaks of 112 and 73) countered with an 81 in the deciding frame after in-form youngster Liam Davies (69 and 103) missed a red whilst on 60.

In an all-Welsh derby, Ryan Day made four half-centuries, but Daniel Wells - who scored none - emerged a 4-3 victor as he restricted his opponent to just two points across the final two frames.

Sam Craigie (103, frame one) eventually got the job done after making a 75 in the decider having watched Xu Si recover from 3-0 down.

Conqueror of Ronnie O’Sullivan the round before, Ka Wai Cheung sent another former World Champion packing as he totted up runs of 56, 54 and 111 in a 4-0 whitewash over Stuart Bingham. The Hong Kong cueist is through to the last 16 of a ranking tournament for the first time in his career.

Scott Donaldson is set to make back-to-back last 16 outings on the World Snooker Tour after seeing off Noppon Saengkham, 4-1. Donaldson enjoyed a similar run at the Shenzhen Open a few weeks ago.

In two matches that finished past midnight, Elliot Slessor defeated Jamie Jones, 4-1, whilst Martin O’Donnell’s 4-2 success against Luca Brecel came after 1am local time.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Northern Ireland Open, visit our tournament information centre here.