Mark Selby or Neil Robertson Can Make Snooker History at 2026 Northern Ireland Open

A return to big time snooker action is upon us with the 2026 Northern Ireland Open taking place at the atmospheric Waterfront Hall in Belfast between October 18th to 25th.

Currently ranked fourth and fifth in the world respectively, there’ll be a particular focus on Robertson and Selby in the capital city as they are both the title away from becoming the first player to win all four Home Nations Series events.

Founded during the 2016/17 season, the Home Nations Series consists of four legs - English, Northern Ireland, Scottish, and Welsh Opens. Over the past 10 years, those events have generally been played in that order throughout the season.

When the concept was inaugurated, there was a £1 million bonus prize on offer for anyone who could win all four tournaments during the same term - a jackpot that was dropped only a few years later. However, a decade on and no player has completed the full house throughout their career, yet alone claim all four within the same campaign, although that stat could change later this month.

Robertson and Selby have each won the English, Scottish, and Welsh Open accolades, so require just the Northern Ireland crown to tick off the four-pronged set.

Australian Robertson has four HNS titles to his name: 2 x English (2021, 2024), 1 x Scottish (2017), 1 x Welsh (2019), meanwhile Englishman Selby is the second most decorated player in the Series’ history with five: 2 x Scottish (2019, 2020), 2 x English (2019, 2022), 1 x Welsh (2025).

Judd Trump is top of the list for most Home Nations tournament wins with six, although they have come across two events; 4 x Northern Ireland Open, 2 x English Open.

Mark Allen - who is expected to make his return to competition after a five-month absence, on home soil at the Waterfront - has also won at three of the four HNS stops, although he needs the Welsh Open accolade for the collection, something he achieve later this season.

It would be a cool piece of snooker history to have, but both Robertson and Selby will need to change the tune when it comes to their existing Northern Ireland Open records, with neither having reached the final before.

From his eight previous attempts, Robertson has made the semi-finals only once, in 2022 when he lost to eventual champion Allen after defeating Selby in the round before.

Selby’s best Belfast run came during his first appearance in the competition, in 2018, when he was ousted by Ronnie O’Sullivan, 6-5, on the final black in a memorable semi-final encounter. Since then, the 26-time ranking event winner has yet to star in the last four again.

In what is set to be an all-Leicester derby, Selby begins his latest tilt at The Alex Higgins Trophy with an opening match against world number 67 Louis Heathcote who had to navigate two qualifying round matches a few weeks ago to reach these televised stages.

Selby - who is comfortably top of the seasonal ranking list - is arguably the best player in the world right now. The current UK Champion won a record fourth China Open title in August, and has since been runner-up at the British Open, and a quarter-finalist at the Wuhan and Shenzhen Opens.

Only a few weeks ago in Wuhan, Robertson was a match win away from becoming world number one - over a decade on from his last spell at the top of the global standings. The 2010 World Champion has had an unspectacular start to the season, although he has recently changed back to using a brass ferrule on his cue having experimented with a titanium one. It is over a year since Robertson last featured in a professional event final.

First up for the 44-year-old is a meeting with Ricky Walden. Both Robertson and Selby are in the second quarter of the draw, meaning they could share the baize in the last eight.

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