Northern Ireland Open (snooker)

Professional snooker competition was first contested in Northern Ireland in the name of Northern Ireland Classic in 1981; subsequent ranking events were held from 2006 to 2008 but have been discontinued since.

On 29 April 2015, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn announced that the Northern Ireland Open at a Belfast venue would be added to the main tour in 2016,^[1] as part of a new Home Nations Series with the existing Welsh Open and Scottish Open, and the new English Open tournaments.^[2][3]

In 2017, Yan Bingtao became the youngest player to reach a ranking final. Yan came close to breaking Ronnie O'Sullivan's record of being the youngest player to win a ranking event, which had stood for 24 years, but he narrowly lost to Mark Williams 8–9 after having led 8–7. This final also featured one of the biggest age gaps between finalists as Williams was almost 25 years older than Yan. Additionally, Yan also became the first player born in the 2000s to reach the final of a ranking tournament.

In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Judd Trump defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–7 in each final. The 2020 tournament was staged outside Northern Ireland, at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom on the 2020–21 snooker season.^[4]

In 2021, Mark Allen became the first Northern Irish player to win the event, knocking out defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals and beating John Higgins 9–8 in the final, after trailing 6–8.^[5] In 2022, Allen successfully defended the title, coming from 1–4 down to beat Zhou Yuelong 9–4.^[6][7]

In 2023, Judd Trump regained the title for a record-extending fourth time, beating Chris Wakelin 9–3 in the final.^[8] Trump reached the final again in 2024 but lost 3–9 to reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson who became the first right-handed player to win the event.^[9][10]

Other than the first edition in 2016, where it was held at the Titanic Belfast complex, and in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has been regularly held at the Waterfront Hall, an auditorium adjacent to the River Lagan; it is the only venue within the Home Nation Series to have a multi-level balcony seating, which contributes to its unique atmosphere and is praised by players such as Kyren Wilson. The final of the 2025 event was attended by 1,435 spectators, a record UK attendance number only outside of The Masters, which is held in London.^[11]