A star-studded field, which includes defending champion Judd Trump and home hero Mark Allen, is set to grace Belfast’s iconic Waterfront Hall for the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open later this month.
Tickets are on sale from just £15, for details see www.wst.tv/tickets
The annual battle for the Alex Higgins Trophy takes place from October 20th to 27th, with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and John Higgins also in the field.
Trump clinched the title for a record fourth time 12 months ago, after a resounding 9-3 defeat of Chris Wakelin in the final. He headlines the opening Sunday with an intriguing contest against Indian number one Ishpreet Singh Chadha, while recent British Open winner Mark Selby faces his fellow Leicester cueman Louis Heathcote.
Antrim’s world number three Allen enters the fray on day two against China’s Liu Hongyu, Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott meet in a repeat of the 2010 world final and seven-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is up against Long Zehuang.
The Tuesday action sees World Champion Wilson and three-time Crucible king Williams play their opening matches against David Grace and Jamie Clarke respectively.
Selected fixtures below, for the full draw and format see www.wst.tv
Sunday October 20th
1pm – Judd Trump vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha
NB 2pm – Luca Brecel vs He Guoqiang
7pm – Mark Selby vs Louis Heathcote
NB 8pm – Shaun Murphy vs Jiang Jun
Monday October 21st
1pm – Neil Robertson vs Graeme Dott
NB 2pm – Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Long Zehuang
7pm – Mark Allen vs Liu Hongyu
NB 8pm – John Higgins vs Fan Zhengyi
Tuesday October 22nd
1pm – Kyren Wilson vs David Grace
NB 2pm – Mark Williams vs Jamie Clarke