Alexander Gordon Higgins was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was World Champion in 1972 and 1982, and runner-up in 1976 and 1980. He became the first qualifier to win the world title in 1972, a feat only two players have achieved since – Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005. He won the UK Championship in 1983 and the Masters in 1978 and 1981, making him one of eleven players to have completed snooker's Triple Crown. He was also World Doubles champion with Jimmy White in 1984, and won the World Cup three times with the All-Ireland team.
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has won a record seven Masters and a record seven UK Championship titles for a total of 21 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 39, and has been world number one on multiple occasions.
A maximum break is the highest possible break in a single frame of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points, followed by all six colours for a further 27 points. Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a particularly significant achievement in the game of snooker, and may be compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling.
The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.
The Northern Ireland Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament held in Belfast as part of the four-event Home Nations Series. The players compete for the Alex Higgins Trophy, named for the late two-time world champion who was born and raised in Belfast.
The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, following on from the successful Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament. The final champion of the tournament was Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The Scottish Open is a ranking professional snooker tournament held in the United Kingdom. The tournament had many name changes in its history, as the tournament was formerly called International Open, Matchroom Trophy and Players Championship. Apart from a hiatus in the 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 seasons, the tournament remained a ranking event until 2003/2004. In the 2012/2013 season the tournament was added back to the calendar as part of the Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series. The most recent champion is Luca Brecel.
Patsy Fagan is an Irish former professional snooker player. Having been runner-up in the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he turned professional in October 1976. He experienced early success with victories at the 1977 UK Championship and the 1977 Dry Blackthorn Cup but following a car accident, developed a psychological block when using the rest which affected his playing and he did not win another title. He lost his professional status in 1989 following a 2–9 playoff defeat by Brady Gollan and now works as a snooker coach. His highest career ranking was 11, in 1978/79.
Mark Allen is a Northern Irish professional snooker player from Antrim. He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004, turned professional the following year, and took only three seasons to reach the top 16. In his fourth professional season, he beat the defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship, where he lost to the eventual winner John Higgins.
The 2012 williamhill.com UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 1–9 December 2012 at the Barbican Centre in York, England. It was the fifth ranking event of the 2012/2013 season.
The 2016 BetVictor Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff from 15 to 21 February 2016. It was the sixth ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.
The 2016–17 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 5 May 2016 and 1 May 2017.
The 2016 International Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 23 and 30 October 2016 at the Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre in Daqing, China. It was the eighth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2016 Coral English Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 10 and 16 October 2016 at the EventCity in Manchester, England. It was the seventh ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2016 China Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 1–5 November 2016 in Guangzhou, China.
The 2017 Coral Welsh Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 19 February 2017 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. It was the fourteenth ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2017 Dafabet Northern Ireland Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 20 and 26 November 2017 in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was the tenth ranking event of the 2017/2018 season and a part of the Home Nations Series. It was the second edition of the Northern Ireland Open.
The 2016 Coral Scottish Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that began on 12 December and ended on 18 December 2016 at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the eleventh ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The 2019 Northern Ireland Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 11 to 17 November 2019 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The fourth edition of the Northern Ireland Open, it was the sixth ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, the second tournament of the Home Nations Series. Featuring a prize fund of £405,000, the winner received £70,000. The event was broadcast on Eurosport and Quest domestically and was sponsored by betting company 19.com.
The 2021 Northern Ireland Open, referred to as the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open for sponsorship purposes, was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 9 to 17 October 2021 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was the third ranking event of the 2021–22 season and the first tournament in both the Home Nations Series and the European Series. It was the sixth edition of the Northern Ireland Open.
John Higgins (SCO) (147)
Mark King (ENG)
