Home comforts for Allen and Brown as they advance to Belfast last 16

Having whitewashed reigning world champion Zhao Xintong in the opening round on Sunday, Brown registered consecutive clean sweep wins as he dismissed Ashley Hugill 4-0 along with breaks of 73 and 94.

Former Welsh Open champion Brown has endured a frustrating 18 months on the World Snooker Tour, with this run at the Waterfront Hall representing his first last 16 appearance in a ranking event since the International Championship in November 2023.

Brown - who is now the furthest he’s ever been in this competition - will likely have to be at his best for his next assignment as he tackles the in-form Shaun Murphy who booked his berth earlier in the day.

Playing on the main match table next to Brown was his friend and practise partner Allen who once again survived a deciding frame finish to advance and keep alive his latest hopes of a hat-trick of Northern Ireland Open titles after back-to-back glories in 2021 and 2022.

Facing world number 38 Ben Woollaston, Allen hit century breaks of 100 and 135 in successive frames to take a 3-2 lead before his opponent fashioned an 80 break in forcing the contest all the way.

However, former world number one Allen eventually emerged from a nervy deciding frame with the verdict to stretch his 100% record in Home Nations Series events this season after winning the English Open last month. His last seven match wins in the Series have come via a final frame climax.

Allen sets up a blockbuster tie with Aaron Hill on Thursday that pitches together the respective number ones from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The player who Allen ousted in the Brentwood final a few weeks ago, and defeated in the Belfast title showpiece in 2022, Zhou Yuelong is aiming for another deep run in the capital city this week as he crafted runs of 64 and 73 in eliminating David Grace with a 4-2 win.

Kyren Wilson continues with title defence

It was a late start for reigning and defending champion Kyren Wilson at the Waterfront on Wednesday night, but the world number two began very well with breaks of 135 and 93 before later completing a 4-1 win over Ryan Day. Next up for Wilson is He Guoqiang.

Ali Carter will be breathing a sigh of relief as he resisted a comeback from opponent Jimmy Robertson.

The six-time ranking event champion was cruising at 3-0 up having constructed sequences of 64, 132 and 62, but former European Masters champion Robertson battled back, taking the next three frames to level at 3-3.

Carter - who shaded youngster Stan Moody on the colours in a final frame ending on Tuesday - got the job done in style, though, with a 135 in the decider.

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