Northern Ireland Open Snooker: Information and a Potted History

A ranking event, the competition is currently part of the BetVictor European Series and counts towards qualification for Players Series events. One quarter of the Home Nations Series, the Northern Ireland Open is open to all professional tour card holders. 

Except for the 2020 edition when it was held in Milton Keynes behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the tournament has always been played in Belfast. The inaugural installment was hosted at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, with subsequent renewals held at the Waterfront Hall. 

Players compete for The Alex Higgins Trophy. 

This event is different to the Northern Ireland Classic and Northern Ireland Trophy professional competitions held in the past. 

Northern Ireland Open Snooker: Most successful players, stats, stories, best finals 

Judd Trump is the most successful player in Northern Ireland Open snooker history having won four of the eight editions held to date. 

Three of Trump’s triumphs came in consecutive years (2018-2020). Somewhat bizarrely, he faced Ronnie O’Sullivan in each of those finals, defeating him 9-7 on each occasion. At the 2019 event, ‘The Ace in the Pack’ registered 11 century breaks throughout the tournament, including four in the final (O’Sullivan also had two in that match).  

Trump reclaimed the crown in 2023, in the process winning a third successive ranking event that season and joining an exclusive club for that achievement. His victory against Chris Wakelin in the final swelled his match-winning sequence on the circuit to 20. 

The Northern Ireland Open has produced several memorable and close finishes. A professional for 25 years, Mark King won his maiden ranking event at the inaugural event in 2016. King defeated six players from six different countries en route to an enthralling final where he came back from 5-1 down to defeat Barry Hawkins 9-8. 

Twelve months later, the title match went to a deciding frame again, as Mark Williams denied a 17-year-old Yan Bingtao from becoming the youngest-ever winner of a ranking event.

Local hero Mark Allen has lived up to the weight of expectation on home soil with two emotional back-to-back glories. 

In 2021, Allen recovered from 8-6 down in the final, stringing together the final three frames to pip John Higgins and get his hands on the trophy for the first time. Earlier in the same event, Allen compiled a 147 maximum break in the opening round against Si Jiahui, and in the quarter-finals he battled back from 3-0 down against Judd Trump to win 5-3. 

To date, the Northern Ireland Open has only been won by left-handed cueists.

Northern Ireland Open Snooker: Roll of Honour and Winner’s Prize

2016: Mark King 9-8 Barry Hawkins | £70,000

2017: Mark Williams 9-8 Yan Bingtao | £70,000

2018: Judd Trump 9-7 Ronnie O'Sullivan | £70,000

2019: Judd Trump 9-7 Ronnie O'Sullivan | £70,000

2020: Judd Trump 9-7 Ronnie O'Sullivan | £70,000

2021: Mark Allen 9-8 John Higgins | £70,000

2022: Mark Allen 9-4 Zhou Yuelong | £80,000

2023: Judd Trump 9-3 Chris Wakelin | £80,000

Northern Ireland Open Snooker 147 Breaks 

2016: John Higgins 

2019: Stuart Bingham 

2020: Judd Trump 

2021: Mark Allen 

Four maximum 147 breaks have been made at the Northern Ireland Open, all of them at the main venue. 

Both Judd Trump and Mark Allen went on to win the tournament after respectively compiling theirs in 2020 and 2021. 

Stuart Bingham’s effort came in the first frame of his opening round match in 2019.