Most of snooker’s star names will be at the Northern Ireland Open, starting Sunday, but Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams will not be competing.
The second Home Nations event of the season at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast gets going on Sunday morning, with the winner leaving with £100,000 a week later.
Williams stole the headlines on Monday when he became the oldest winner of a ranking event by claiming the Xi’an Grand Prix.
The 50-year-old beat Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final and landed £177,000 in the process, so has decided to take a well-earned week off.
Speaking after winning the big title in China on Monday, the Welshman said: ‘I’m going to have a break now for a little bit because in the last two or three months I’ve done a hell of a lot of travelling to China. Back and forth and back and forth.
‘I need to take a little time out. The Northern Irish is next, but I’m very doubtful I’m going to go to that.
‘I’m going to take that week off so the next tournament will be back out here, the International [Championship] in China at the end of the month.
‘I try and play in as many tournaments as I can, it’s very rare I pull out of anything, but sometimes I’ve got to give myself a little rest from it all and chill out for a bit.’
Williams has since confirmed his withdrawal from Belfast, which means Long Zehuang gets a bye through to the last 32, having already won a qualifier to reach the last 64.
The Rocket will not be landing in Belfast
O’Sullivan has not pulled out of the Northern Ireland Open because he didn’t enter it in the first place, playing a light schedule this season compared to the rest of the professional tour.
The Rocket has not been totally inactive by any means, playing in the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Masters and Xi’an Grand Prix and sitting in a healthy spot of fourth in the one-year ranking list thanks to some good early results.
Speaking to Metro last month about his schedule for the rest of 2025, O’Sullivan said: ‘I’ll be doing the China one, which is Xi’an [Grand Prix]. Hopefully I’ll be doing the Nanjing one in China [International Championship], Saudi [Riyadh Season Snooker Championship] and hopefully I’ll be doing the UK Championship. That’s the plan anyway.’
The International Championship starts in Nanjing on November 2, with O’Sullivan facing Allan Taylor in his opener and Williams playing Anthony McGill. Defending champion Ding Junhui takes on David Grace.
What to look out for at the Northern Ireland Open
Six ranking events so far this season have produced six different winners, so it has been a case of expect the unexpected in recent months.
Those six champions do not include world number one Judd Trump or world champion Zhao Xintong, with both struggling for results so far this campaign.
Trump has won the event four times before and been in five of the last eight finals in Belfast, so no one will be surprised if he comes good next week.
The likes of Mark Selby and John Higgins are also looking for their first title of the season and are a threat to win every tournament they enter.
Kyren Wilson is the defending champion and has already won the Shanghai Masters this season, but has been struggling for results since while his wife has been suffering with health issues.
However, the 2024 world champion says Sophie is now on the mend after successful surgery and he hopes that will see his form return.
‘We’re about seven weeks in, my wife has had some surgery recently and we’ve been waiting on some results which thankfully have come back all good this week,’ Wilson told the BBC.
‘It’s been quite tough to be honest, there’s been a lot of strain on the family.
‘My wife has had a tough time of it but we’ve had some fantastic news which is certainly going to free up the mind for not just me, but all of us.
‘It’s going to make travelling and playing snooker a lot easier again.’
Northern Ireland Open draw and schedule
Sunday October 19
10am
Chris Wakelin vs Lan Yuhao
1pm
Wu Yize vs Scott Donaldson
Noppon Saengkham vs Ashley Hugill
Zhao Xintong vs Jordan Brown
3pm
Mark Selby vs Ian Burns
Pang Junxu vs Robbie Williams
Hossein Vafaei vs Ben Woollaston
7pm
David Gilbert vs He Guoqiang
Jackson Page vs Steven Hallworth
9pm
Jack Lisowski vs Haris Tahir
John Higgins vs Louis Heathcote
Monday October 20
10am
Barry Hawkins vs Zak Surety
Elliot Slessor vs Fan Zhengyi
1pm
Yuan Sijun vs Daniel Wells
Zhou Yuelong vs Dylan Emery
Neil Robertson vs David Grace
3pm
Gary Wilson vs Chang Bingyu
Lei Peifan vs Aaron Hill
Shaun Murphy vs David Lilley
7pm
Stuart Bingham vs Jimmy Robertson
Jak Jones vs Martin O’Donnell
Mark Allen vs Robert Milkins
9pm
Joe O’Connor vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Tuesday October 21
10am
Zhang Anda vs Mark Davis
Stephen Maguire vs Luca Brecel
1pm
Kyren Wilson vs Oliver Lines
Si Jiahui vs Cheung Ka Wai
3pm
Matthew Selt vs Ryan Day
Ali Carter vs Stan Moody
As per World Snooker Tour, the Northern Ireland Open is available to watch in the UK and Ireland on ‘TNT Sports and discovery+.
‘Freeview channel DMAX is showing weekday afternoon sessions and all semi-final and final sessions.