2023 Northern Ireland Open


The 2023 Northern Ireland Open was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 29 October 2023 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the sixth ranking event of the 202324 season, the second of four tournaments in the season's Home Nations Series, and the fourth of eight tournaments in the season's European Series. Qualifying for the event took place from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England, although qualifiers featuring the top 16 seeds and two local wildcard players were held over and played at the Waterfront Hall. The winner received the Alex Higgins trophy and £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000.
Five players—reigning world champion Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh—did not enter the tournament, having planned to participate in an exhibition event originally scheduled for October 27 to 29 in Macau, China. The WST threatened the players with disciplinary action, claiming that playing an unsanctioned event in Macau rather than an official tour event in Belfast would breach their players' contracts. Following negotiations, the Macau exhibition event was rescheduled to be played from 22 to 24 December, and the WST granted the players permission to enter it. The players concerned remained absent from the Northern Ireland Open. China's Ding Junhui also did not compete in the event. Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew for medical reasons and was replaced in the draw by Rory McLeod. In all, six of the top 16 ranked players did not participate in the tournament.
Mark Allen was the defending champion, having defeated Zhou Yuelong 94 in the 2022 final, but he lost 34 to Andres Petrov in the last 64. Judd Trump won the tournament, defeating Chris Wakelin 93 in the final to secure his fourth Northern Ireland Open title, following his previous wins in 2018, 2019, and 2020. It was Trump's 26th ranking title, putting him ahead of Mark Williams in fifth place on the all-time list. Following his back-to-back wins at the 2023 English Open and 2023 Wuhan Open, Trump became the fifth player in snooker history—after Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and Ding—to win three consecutive ranking tournaments, and the first to do so since Ding in 2013.
The qualifying stage of the tournament in Sheffield produced 24 century breaks, and the main stage in Belfast produced a further 57 centuries. Joe Perry made the tournament's highest break, a 145 in his last-64 match against Michael White.

Format

The 2023 event was the eighth consecutive edition of the Northern Ireland Open since it was first played in 2016. The second event in the season's Home Nations Series, the fourth event in the European Series, and the sixth ranking tournament of the 202324 season, it was staged from 22 to 29 October 2023 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The event was broadcast in Europe by Eurosport, Discovery+, and DMAX. In China, the event was broadcast on Liaoning TV,, Youku, and Huya Live. It was broadcast on Premier Sports in the Philippines; on Now TV in Hong Kong; on True Vision in Thailand; on Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei, and on Fastsports in Pakistan. In all other territories, the event was streamed by Matchroom Sport.
Qualifying matches were played from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England, although qualifiers featuring the top 16 seeds were held over to be played at the Waterfront Hall. The Sheffield qualifiers were broadcast in Europe by Discovery+; in China by Migu, Youku, and Huya Live; and streamed in all other territories by Matchroom Sport.
All matches were played as the best of seven until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best-of-17-frame match played over two.
The defending champion was Northern Irish player Mark Allen, who won the title for a second consecutive time by defeating Chinese player Zhou Yuelong 94 in the 2022 final. Allen previously won the 2021 final with a 98 victory over Scotland's John Higgins.

Prize fund

The total prize fund for the 2023 event was £427,000, of which the winner received £80,000. The breakdown of prize money is shown below:
  • Winner: £80,000
  • Runner-up: £35,000
  • Semi-final: £17,500
  • Quarter-final: £11,000
  • Last 16: £7,500
  • Last 32: £4,500
  • Last 64: £3,000
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £427,000

    Summary

Controversy over Macau exhibition event

Five players—reigning world champion Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh—elected not to enter the Northern Ireland Open because they had planned to play at an exhibition event originally scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 October in Macau, China. The WST threatened to refer the players to the disciplinary committee of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association if they competed in Macau rather than Belfast, claiming that playing in an unsanctioned event that clashed with an official tour event would constitute a breach of their players' contracts. Former WST chairman Barry Hearn warned the players—dubbed the "Macau Five" by some media outlets—that they could be fined, banned, or even expelled from the sport as a consequence. Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan supported the players, saying: "This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play." Following negotiations among the WST, the players, and the Macau promoter, the exhibition event was rescheduled for 22 to 24 December. The WST granted players permission to enter and dropped the threat of disciplinary action, stating that "a mutually agreeable solution has been reached". However, the five players did not take part in the Northern Ireland Open, having not entered the event.
The defending champion Mark Allen subsequently commented: "I was offered the opportunity to play in Macau and the only reason I didn't was that it would clash with Belfast. I wouldn't miss Belfast. It means a lot to me and sometimes it's not just about money for me." However, he called the players' contract "very restrictive" and said he was "very strongly in the players' camp" in their dispute with the WST. Allen also claimed that the game was in "disarray", had "gone nowhere in recent years", and said: "I don't think anything will change until the players revolt. We need to boycott collectively. Top players missing an event is the only way it will change." He called the WST's statements about the Macau event "amateurish", adding: "To say they've treated the players with respect is laughable when there have been threats of suing and banning them." Allen later retracted his comments and issued an apology.

Scoreboard issues

Issues occurred throughout the event with the, the on-screen scores on Eurosport and Discovery+, and the World Snooker Tour's live scores website, causing disruption to some matches. During the first-round match between Neil Robertson and Wu Yize, a manual scoreboard was used after the electronic one malfunctioned.

Qualifying round

Qualifying for the event took place from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England. All qualifying matches were the best of seven frames.
Playing his second season on the professional tour, 18-year-old Ukrainian player Anton Kazakov reached the last 64 of a ranking event for the first time with a 41 victory over Long Zehuang. German player Lukas Kleckers recovered from 13 behind to defeat Andrew Pagett 43, making breaks of 84 and 101 in the match. Alfie Burden won the on the colours to defeat Egypt's Mostafa Dorgham, while Dominic Dale made centuries of 136 and 101 as he defeated Allan Taylor 41. Dylan Emery came from 02 behind against Martin Gould to clinch a 43 win. Zak Surety secured a 42 victory over 28th seed Joe O'Connor, who made a 129 break in the second frame. Northern Irish player Jordan Brown advanced to the main stage of his home event with a 42 win over Stuart Carrington. The 1997 world champion Ken Doherty made breaks of 135 and 65 as he came from 23 behind against Liam Highfield to secure a 43 victory. Matthew Stevens recovered from 12 behind against seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry to win 42.
After reaching his first ranking quarter-final at the previous week's 2023 Wuhan Open, Irish player Aaron Hill defeated former world seniors champion David Lilley 41. Hong Kong's Marco Fu made breaks of 133 and 104 as he defeated Jamie Jones 42, while the 2006 world champion Graeme Dott Oliver Lines 40, and Joe Perry defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha 42. Stan Moody, who turned 17 the previous month, achieved his first win on the professional tour by defeating the previous year's runner-up, 20th seed Zhou Yuelong. Zhou made a 144 break in the opening frame, but Moody made a century and two half-centuries as he secured a 42 victory. The 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham made a 117 break in his match against Ashley Hugill; Bingham went on to clinch a 43 victory, winning the decider on the final black. Estonian player Andres Petrov made a 112 break in the deciding frame to beat Sanderson Lam 43. From 13 behind, Stephen Maguire made breaks including 126 and 100 to defeat Fergal O'Brien 43. Zhang Anda, runner-up at the English Open earlier that month, defeated 2023 World Championship semi-finalist and 26th seed Si Jiahui 41. The 2022 women's world champion Mink Nutcharut won the first two frames against Michael White, but she then lost four consecutive frames and the match 24.

Early rounds

Held-over qualifying matches

The held-over qualifying matches were played on 22 and 23 October as the best of seven frames. World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew for medical reasons in advance of the tournament and was replaced in the draw by Rory McLeod. Due to the absence of the "Macau Five", four of whom were top-16 players, plus the absence of O'Sullivan and world number 15 Ding Junhui, only 10 of the top-16 ranked players participated in the tournament, which Allen called "a shame for the Belfast crowd". Neil Robertson, yet to reach the last 32 of a ranking event that season, defeated Wu 41. Judd Trump defeated Jenson Kendrick, and Jack Lisowski defeated Rebecca Kenna, both by 41 scorelines. Northern Irish wildcard Robbie McGuigan, aged 19, defeated Muhammad Asif, also by a 41 scoreline. During the match, referee Alex Crișan mistakenly picked up the after McGuigan had potted the pink, and attempted to place it on the pink spot. Mark Williams made a 140 total clearance during his 41 win over Tian Pengfei. Cao Yupeng defeated the eighth seed Robert Milkins, Ma Hailong defeated the 12th seed Ryan Day, and Sam Craigie beat the 6th seed Kyren Wilson, all by 43 scorelines. McLeod whitewashed the USA's Ahmed Aly Elsayed 40.
Shaun Murphy brought three cues to the tournament, with respective tip sizes of 9.2 mm, 9.3 mm, and 9.5 mm. He used the cues with 9.2 mm and 9.5 mm tips against Australia's Ryan Thomerson, winning 42. The defending champion and top seed Allen whitewashed Ben Mertens 40, with a highest break of 55, for his 14th consecutive win at the tournament. Allen described his performance as "average" but said "It wasn't about playing well tonight, it was about getting through a potential banana skin, because a classy opponent". Gary Wilson made breaks of 69, 118, 94, and 50 in his 43 victory over Louis Heathcote. Jimmy White was 13 behind against Anthony McGill but won the fifth frame despite requiring snookers, and also took the sixth to tie the scores at 33. However, McGill, playing with a glove and a black carbon fibre cue, won the deciding frame with an 81 break. David Gilbert defeated Northern Irish wildcard Joel Connolly 41. Hossein Vafaei made breaks of 74, 72, and 112 in his 41 defeat of Mark Joyce. Barry Hawkins made breaks of 64, 123, and 108 as he defeated Elliot Slessor by the same scoreline.