2023 Northern Ireland Open

The total prize fund for the 2023 event is £427,000, of which the winner will receive £80,000. The breakdown of prize money is shown below:

• Total: £427,000

Former WST chairman Barry Hearn (pictured) warned that competing in an overlapping exhibition event in Macau, China, would breach players' contracts.

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 so they would be available to play at an exhibition event originally scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 October in Macau, China.[8] The WST threatened to refer the players to the disciplinary committee of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) 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.[9][10][11] 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.[12][13] 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."[14]

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 stated that "a mutually agreeable solution has been reached to avoid further action." However, the five players did not take part in the Northern Ireland Open, not having entered the event.[15][16] Ding Junhui also did not enter the event.[17] The defending champion Mark Allen later stated: "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.[18] 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 added: "The statements WST have been putting out are amateurish. 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.[19][20]

Issues occurred throughout the event with the scoreboards, the on-screen scores on Eurosport and Discovery+, and the World Snooker Tour's live scores website, causing disruption to some matches.[21] During the first-round match between Neil Robertson and Wu Yize, a manual scoreboard was used after the electronic one malfunctioned.[22]

Zhou Yuelong (pictured) made a 144 break, the highest of the qualifying round, but he lost 2–4 to Stan Moody.

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.[4]

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 4–1 victory over Long Zehuang. German player Lukas Kleckers recovered from 1–3 behind to defeat Andrew Pagett 4–3, making breaks of 84 and 101 in the match. Alfie Burden won the deciding frame on the colours to defeat Egypt's Mostafa Dorgham, while Dominic Dale made centuries of 136 and 101 as he defeated Allan Taylor 4–1. Dylan Emery came from 0–2 behind against Martin Gould to clinch a 4–3 win.[23] Zak Surety secured a 4–2 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 4–2 win over Stuart Carrington. The 1997 world champion Ken Doherty made breaks of 135 and 65 as he came from 2–3 behind against Liam Highfield to secure a 4–3 victory. Matthew Stevens recovered from 1–2 behind against seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry to win 4–2.[24]

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 4–1. Hong Kong's Marco Fu made breaks of 133 and 104 as he defeated Jamie Jones 4–2, while the 2006 world champion Graeme Dott whitewashed Oliver Lines 4–0, and Joe Perry defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4–2.[25] 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 4–2 victory.[26] The 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham made a 117 break in his match against Ashley Hugill; Bingham went on to clinch a 4–3 victory, winning the decider on the final black.[27] Estonian player Andres Petrov made a 112 break in the deciding frame to beat Sanderson Lam 4–3. From 1–3 behind, Stephen Maguire made breaks including 126 and 100 to defeat Fergal O'Brien 4–3. Zhang Anda, runner-up at the English Open earlier that month, defeated 2023 World Championship semi-finalist and 26th seed Si Jiahui 4–1. 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 2–4.[28]

Rory McLeod (pictured) replaced world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan, who withdrew for medical reasons. He lost 0–4 to David Gilbert in the last 16.

The held-over qualifying matches were played on 22 and 23 October as the best of seven frames.[4] World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew for medical reasons in advance of the tournament and was replaced in the draw by Rory McLeod,[29] who whitewashed the USA's Ahmed Aly Elsayed 4–0.[30] Neil Robertson, yet to reach the last 32 of a ranking event that season, defeated Wu 4–1. Judd Trump defeated Jenson Kendrick, and Jack Lisowski defeated Rebecca Kenna, both by 4–1 scorelines.[31] Northern Irish wildcard Robbie McGuigan, aged 19, defeated Muhammad Asif, also 4–1. During the match, referee Alex Crișan mistakenly picked up the cue ball after McGuigan had potted the pink, and attempted to place the cue ball on the pink spot.[32] Mark Williams made a 140 total clearance during his 4–1 win over Tian Pengfei.[31] Cao Yupeng defeated the 8th seed Robert Milkins, Ma Hailong defeated the 12th seed Ryan Day, and Sam Craigie beat the 6th seed Kyren Wilson, all by 4–3 scorelines.[30]

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 4–2.[33] The defending champion and top seed Allen called the absence of six of the top 16 players from the event "a shame for the Belfast crowd".[17] He whitewashed Ben Mertens 4–0, with a highest break of 55, for his 14th consecutive win at the tournament.[34] 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 [Mertens is] a classy opponent."[35] Gary Wilson made breaks of 69, 118, 94, and 50 in his 4–3 victory over Louis Heathcote.[33] Jimmy White was 1–3 behind against Anthony McGill but won the fifth frame despite requiring snookers, and also took the sixth to tie the scores at 3–3. However, McGill, playing with a glove and a black carbon fibre cue, won the deciding frame with an 81 break.[35][33] David Gilbert defeated Northern Irish wildcard Joel Connolly 4–1.[34] Hossein Vafaei made breaks of 74, 72, and 112 in his 4–1 defeat of Mark Joyce. Barry Hawkins made breaks of 64, 123, and 108 as he defeated Elliot Slessor by the same scoreline.[36]

The round of 64 was played as the best of seven frames from 23 to 25 October.[1] Lisowski lost the opening frame to Jackson Page, but then won four in a row, making a 138 break in frame four, to clinch a 4–1 victory. Lisowski commented that he shocked himself with a better than expected performance, saying he had not practiced much for the match, was feeling "rusty", and had a cold.[37] Brown won the opening frame against Neil Robertson with a 94 break and went on to take a 3–0 lead. Robertson won the fourth with a 125 break, but Brown clinched a 4–1 victory with a 51 break in the fifth. "It's right up there with my best wins, even if [Robertson] has not been in his best form", Brown said afterwards. He dedicated his win to his former coach Joe Bingham on the fifth anniversary of his death.[36][38] Hill defeated Fan Zhengyi, also by a 4–1 scoreline.[36]

After winning the title for two consecutive years, defending champion Mark Allen (pictured) lost 3–4 in the last 64 to Andres Petrov.

Moody reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time by beating Rod Lawler 4–1. Moody won the opening frame with a 102 century, won the second from 57 points behind by making a 66 clearance, and took the last two frames on the colours. "I have more confidence and belief now that I have won a couple of matches", Moody said afterwards. "I will just keep playing my game and I know if I do that I can beat anyone."[39] Murphy made breaks of 122, 80, and 117 as he took a 3–1 lead over Hong Kong's Marco Fu. However, Fu recovered to tie the scores at 3–3, winning the sixth frame after Murphy called a push shot foul on himself while potting the penultimate red. In the deciding frame, Fu led by 27 points with 27 remaining, but Murphy obtained foul points from a snooker and then made a clearance from the green, winning the match on the final black. Asked afterwards about declaring the push shot, Murphy stated: "I don't think the referee saw it. You couldn't tell that I had fouled, but I knew. We pride ourselves in our game on honesty and it cost me that frame."[38][39] Matthew Selt made four half-centuries as he defeated Dean Young 4–3. Gary Wilson defeated Kleckers 4–1, making breaks of 107, 96, and 86.[39]

Having trailed world number 96 Petrov 0–2 and 1–3, defending champion and world number four Allen tied the scores at 3–3 to force a deciding frame, which came down to the colours. Requiring the blue and pink for victory, Allen missed the blue and Petrov potted the remaining three colours to win the match on the black at 01:45 BST.[40][41] Petrov, who also reached the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time, commented afterwards: "It's the best win of my career, by far."[39] Posting on X at 03:21 BST, Allen said that he "gave it absolutely everything but came up just short."[38][41] Hawkins advanced with a 4–1 win over Jiang Jun in a match that was noted for numerous errors by both players. The opening frame lasted 43 minutes and a stalemate in the third frame led to a re-rack. Jiang made a 105 break in frame four and Hawkins made an 81 to clinch victory in the fifth.[42] Two-time semi-finalist Perry made a 145 total clearance in the third frame of his match against Michael White, equalling the highest break of his career; Perry went on to win the match in a deciding frame.[43][44]

Ricky Walden played Dale in a match that lasted lasted three hours and eight minutes. Walden made breaks of 83, 68, and 93 to take a 3–1 lead, but Dale tied the scores at 3–3 to force a decider. Walden won the match on the final blue. Bingham made a 118 break in his 4–1 defeat of Xu Si.[45] Trump made two centuries as he whitewashed Julien Leclercq in 45 minutes, extending his winning streak to 15 consecutive matches.[44][46] McGill trailed 1–3 against amateur player McGuigan and was 39 points behind in frame four with only the colours remaining. However, McGill obtained three snookers on the yellow to gain the required penalty points, and then won the frame on a re-spotted black. He went on to win the next two frames to clinch a 4–3 victory. McGill said afterwards: "Robbie still looked composed after that. It's one of those painful defeats for him, but there's no doubt he will get on the tour. I was very impressed by him." McGill attributed his win to his carbon fibre cue.[46] Maguire made breaks of 132 and 85 as he came from 1–3 behind to beat James Cahill 4–2. Jak Jones defeated Mark Davis by the same score, making a 143 total clearance during the match, the highest break of his professional career.[46] Robbie Williams defeated Mark Williams 4–2; the final frame of the match was interrupted by a fire alarm at the venue.[47]

The round of 32 was played as the best of seven frames on 25 and 26 October.[1] Brown, the last Northern Irish player remaining in the event, lost 2–4 to Yuan Sijun, who made breaks of 100, 97, and 77. Hill whitewashed Emery while Murphy whitewashed Sean O'Sullivan, missing only one attempted pot in the match. Moody progressed with a 4–2 win over Gary Wilson while Xing Zihao defeated Petrov 4–1.[47] Lisowski defeated Selt 4–1 and commented on a change of technique: "The way I feather the cue ball is a bit different this week, I am trying to give myself more time on the shot."[48] Maguire defeated Craigie 4–2, while Walden defeated Bingham 4–1.[48] Trump defeated Ian Burns 4–2, despite making a highest break in the match of just 36. Perry came from 1–3 behind to defeat Hossein Vafaei 4–3, making back-to-back 122 breaks in the sixth and seventh frames. Gilbert made a 127 break as he secured a 4–1 victory over Lyu Haotian. Hawkins defeated Jimmy Robertson while Robbie Williams defeated Zhang, both by 4–1 scorelines.[49]

The round of 16 was played as the best of seven frames on 26 October.[1] The Thursday of the tournament is known as "moving day" since all of the remaining last-32 matches and all of the last-16 matches are played, meaning that some players have to play twice. At the end of "moving day" only eight players remain in the tournament.[50]

The 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy (pictured) used multiple cues during the tournament, deviating from the norms of the sport. Murphy lost 2–4 to Chris Wakelin in the last 16.

Moody led Yuan 2–1, but Yuan won three consecutive frames for a 4–2 victory, reaching the sixth ranking quarter-final of his career. Murphy also led Wakelin 2–1, but changed cues before the fourth frame and scored just two points in the last three frames as Wakelin secured a 4–2 victory. Wakelin was skeptical of Murphy's multiple cue strategy, commenting: "It's like putting Max Verstappen in Lewis Hamilton's car and expecting it all to fit perfectly and drive the same. A cue is so personal, I don't think swapping halfway through a match is the solution now, though it could be in the future." Walden defeated Xing 4–1, making a 134 break in the match, to reach his first ranking quarter-final since the 2022 Scottish Open. "It has been a long time coming after a tough season for me", remarked Walden.[49]

Trump trailed Noppon Saengkham 1–2 but tied the scores with a 124 break. Saengkham made a 109 to regain the lead at 3–2 and had chances to win the match in the sixth frame, which came down to a lengthy safety battle on the colours. Trump eventually won the frame by doubling the brown to a middle pocket and potting the blue. Trump made a 92 break to win the deciding frame, securing his 17th consecutive professional win. "It's so draining playing this many games", Trump commented, adding: "I go out there hoping the crowd will help and I'm trying to do it for my family who have always supported me". Lisowski made breaks of 116, 60, 61, and 83 as he defeated Hill 4–1, but predicted afterwards that Hill would "have a big future in the game". Perry trailed Maguire 1–3 but made a 123 break in the fifth frame and also won the sixth to tie the scores at 3–3. Perry had a chance to win the decider from 40 points behind, but missed a shot on the black that let Maguire clinch a 4–3 win and reach his first ranking quarter-final since the 2022 World Championship. Gilbert and Hawkins advanced with whitewash victories over McLeod and Robbie Williams respectively.[51][50]

Stephen Maguire (pictured) reached his first ranking quarter-final since the 2022 World Championship, but lost 4–5 to Judd Trump.

The quarter-finals were played as the best of nine frames on 27 October.[1] Walden had an opportunity to win the opening frame against Lisowski, but missed the penultimate red, allowing Lisowski to take the frame with a 42 clearance. Walden won the second frame with a 132 break, but Lisowski won the third and made a 128 break in the fourth to establish a 3–1 lead at the mid-session interval. Walden led by 37 points in the fifth frame, but missed the pink to a middle pocket, and Lisowski responded with a frame-winning break of 81. Lisowski made a 73 break in the sixth to clinch a 5–1 victory, recording a 98 percent pot success rate in the match. He reached the 12th ranking semi-final of his career having lost only one frame in each of his matches to that stage. He commented: "It's unusual for me to win all my matches comfortably because I'm usually quite reckless and open. I am trying to play better safety. I am trying to think more, to do the simple things better, not rush around the table. That goes against my natural tendencies, which feels a bit weird".[52][53] Hawkins made breaks of 134, 91, and 138 as he took a 3–1 lead over Gilbert at the mid-session interval. However, Gilbert won three of the next four frames with breaks including 58, 65, and 106, tying the scores at 4–4. Hawkins made a 57 break in the decider—potting blues and baulk colours from the reds, as pink and black were unavailable—to clinch a 5–4 victory and reach his 31st ranking semi-final. Calling it a "fantastic match", Hawkins said: "I'm delighted to come through, especially with a good break in the last frame".[53][54]

Trump, the only top-10 player to reach the quarter-finals, faced Maguire, who won the first frame. Trump won the second with a 78 break, but Maguire won the third with a 74, and won a safety battle on the final brown in the fourth to lead 3–1 at the mid-session interval. Trump won the next two frames with breaks of 109 and 81 to tie the scores at 3–3, but made a safety error on the last red in frame seven that allowed Maguire to move 4–3 ahead. Trump tied the scores again at 4–4 with a 71 break, and made breaks of 54 and 24 in the deciding frame to clinch a 5–4 victory, reaching his 57th ranking semi-final. He said after the match: "At 1–3 down I felt I hadn't done much wrong and I would get my chances. I was never worried. When I got a chance in the decider I really felt I would take it." The match between Wakelin and Yuan was tied at 2–2 at the midsession interval. Wakelin then won three consecutive frames to secure a 5–2 victory, reaching the semi-finals of a ranking event for only the second time, after the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out. The match produced four half-century breaks, three by Wakelin and one by Yuan. Afterwards Wakelin called the match "scrappy" and said that "trying to get over the line felt like climbing Mount Everest". He added that "I have battled well and I have not shown that in recent years. I've had a tendency to go into my shell and be scared of losing. This week I have battled from the heart. I have put everything into it".[55][56]

The semi-finals are being played as the best of 11 frames on 28 October.[1] Lisowski faces Wakelin in the afternoon session and Trump faces Hawkins in the evening session.[56]

The final will be played as the best of 17 frames on 29 October.[1]

Matches featuring the top sixteen seeds and two wildcards from Northern Ireland (Robbie McGuigan and Joel Connolly) were held over to be played in Belfast. The results of the held-over matches were as follows:[4][59]

•  Barry Hawkins (ENG)⁽¹⁰⁾ 4–1  Elliot Slessor (ENG)
•  Hossein Vafaei (IRN)⁽¹¹⁾ 4–1  Mark Joyce (ENG)
•  Tom Ford (ENG)⁽¹⁵⁾ 4–0  Haydon Pinhey (ENG)

The results of the qualifying matches played in Sheffield were as follows:[4]

A total of 53 century breaks have been made so far during the main stage of the tournament in Belfast.[58]

A total of 24 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Sheffield.[58]