Judd Trump was the defending champion, having defeated Chris Wakelin 9–3 in the previous year's final.[1] Trump lost 3–9 to Kyren Wilson in the final. Wilson claimed his first Northern Ireland Open title and the eighth ranking title of his professional career.[2]
The event produced 60 century breaks, 22 during the qualifying rounds and 38 at the main stage. Trump and Mark Williams both made breaks of 143, the highest of the tournament.[3][4]
The WST implemented a new format for the four Home Nations events this season. In qualifying round one, players seeded 65–96 face those seeded 97–128. In qualifying round two, the 32 round one winners play those seeded 33–64. The 32 round two winners then play the top 32 seeds.[7]
All matches were played as the best of 7 frames until the quarter‑finals, which were the best of 9. The semi‑finals were the best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frame match played over two sessions .[8][9]
The qualifying rounds were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland) and by the CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin and Huya Live in China. They were available from Matchroom Sport in all other territories.[10]
The main stages were broadcast by Eurosport, Discovery+ and DMAX in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland); by the CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin and Huya Live in China; by Now TV in Hong Kong; by Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; by TrueVision in Thailand; by TAP in the Philippines; and by Sportcast in Taiwan. It was available from Matchroom Sport in all other territories.[11]
Prize fund
The tournament winner received the Alex Higgins trophy.[12] The breakdown of prize money for the event, an increase of £123,400 from the previous event, is shown below:[8]
Winner: £100,000
Runner-up: £45,000
Semi-final: £21,000
Quarter-final: £13,200
Last 16: £9,000
Last 32: £5,400
Last 64: £3,600
Last 96: £1,000
Highest break: £5,000
Total: £550,400
Summary
Qualifying rounds
Round 1
The first round took place on 28 September as the best of 7 frames .[13]Oliver Lines played in the semi final of the British Open on 28 September, so his match against Joshua Cooper was held over to the main venue in Belfast, where he beat Cooper 4–2.[13]Jimmy White beat Paul Deaville 4–3 and Stan Moody beat Dylan Emery 4–2. Marco Fu withdrew from the event, so reigning women's world champion Bai Yulu was given a walkover to the next round.[14]
Round 2
The second round took place on 29 September as the best of 7 frames.[13]Ricky Walden's match against the winner of the match between Lines and Cooper was held over to the main venue in Belfast, where Lines beat Walden 4–2.[13]
Final rounds
Last 64
The last 64 matches were played from 20 to 22 October as the best of 7 frames.[15]Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the event, giving opponent Long Zehuang a walkover into the last 32.[16]
The last 32 matches were played on 22 and 23 October as the best of 7 frames.[15] In the evening session on 22 October Murphy recovered from 0–2 behind to beat Zhou Yuelong 4–2, Trump defeated Selt 4–2, Heathcote beat Jimmy Robertson 4–1, Tian beat Robert Milkins 4–1, and Stuart Bingham whitewashed Davis.[23] In the morning session on 23 October Pang Junxu beat 6th seed Luca Brecel 4–1, and Lei Peifan beat 13th seed Tom Ford also by 4–1. In the afternoon session Lines beat 3rd seed Allen 4–3, O'Donnell defeated White 4–2, and Elliot Slessor beat Long 4–2. Ma defeated Wakelin 4–1, and Barry Hawkins beat Higgins 4–2.[24] In the 23 October evening session Moody whitewashed Jak Jones, Kyren Wilson beat Anthony McGill 4–3, Neil Robertson whitewashed Wang, and Williams defeated Saengkham 4–1, making a 143 total clearance in the third frame, the highest break of the tournament, which was later equalled by Trump.[25]
Last 16
The last 16 matches were played on 24 October as the best of 7 frames.[15] In the afternoon session Murphy beat Bingham 4–3, and Pang whitewashed O'Donnell. Williams defeated Ma 4–2, and Kyren Wilson beat Moody 4–1.[26] In the evening session Neil Robertson beat Lines and Slessor beat Lei, both by 4–1. Trump defeated Hawkins 4–1, and Heathcote beat Tian 4–2.[27]
Quarter finals
The quarter-finals were played on 25 October as the best of 9 frames.[15] In the afternoon session Pang beat Neil Robertson 5–4, making a 129 total clearance in the deciding frame . Kyren Wilson defeated Williams 5–1, making a 135 break in the 4th frame.[28] In the evening session Trump beat Murphy 5–1, making breaks of 128 and 125 in the 4th and 5th frames, and Slessor beat Heathcote, also by 5–1.[29]
The semi-finals were played on 26 October as the best of 11 frames.[15] In the afternoon session Kyren Wilson beat Pang 6–4. After the match Wilson said: "I showed a little bit of emotion at the end, because I've never managed to make the one table setup here at the Waterfront. As soon as I walked out today I thought, wow, what an arena and what a crowd. This is definitely one of the best venues I've ever played in. I was desperate to make the final so I'm delighted to do that."[30] In the evening session Trump whitewashed Slessor. After the match Trump said: "One of the best arenas you can play in, I had plenty left in the tank. I felt very relaxed out there. The table is a good test for everyone. The table conditions play so good here. I love playing here. The table is so reactive."[31][32]
Final
The final was played on 27 October as the best of 17 frames, played over two sessions . World number one Trump faced world number two Wilson.[15] At the end of the afternoon session Wilson led Trump 7–1, having taken the first seven frames.[33] Wilson went on to win the match 9–3. After the match Wilson said: "We all know Judd [Trump] is capable of reeling frames off in a row. It was about doing the right things. I turned up an hour before this evening's session when nobody would have blamed me for turning up ten minutes before thinking it was won. You can't allow that to happen against Judd." Trump said: "I want to thank everyone for their support tonight. It was always going to be difficult to come back from 7–1 down, but I got an amazing reception. Kyren [Wilson] was too good today. The way he has bounced back after winning the World Championship is inspiring. I hope we can have many more battles."[34][2][35]
Main draw
The results of the main draw are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding and players in bold denote match winners.[36][15]
The results of the early rounds are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners.[37][13]
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Mark Williams (WAL) (143)
Judd Trump (ENG) (143)
