The Waterfront Hall has just wrapped up another edition of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, which ran from 18 to 25 October. It was the eleventh consecutive year the tournament has come to Belfast, having first been held in 2016, and it sits as the second of four Home Nations Series events, following the English Open and ahead of the Scottish and Welsh Opens. The final was due today, Sunday 25 October, and it was the seventh ranking event of the 2026-27 season, tucked between the Shenzhen Open and the International Championship.
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The trophy on the line is the Alex Higgins Trophy, named after the two-time world champion who died in 2010; his daughter Lauren presented it at the inaugural event. This year's prize fund totalled £550,400, with £100,000 for the winner, £45,000 for the runner-up, £21,000 for the semi-finalists, £13,200 for the quarter-finalists, £9,000 for the last 16, £5,400 for the last 32, £3,600 for the last 64, £1,000 for the last 96, and £5,000 for the highest break. Defending champion Jack Lisowski, who beat Judd Trump 9-8 in the 2025 final, fell early, losing 4-1 to Anthony McGill in the last 32. The final ended up being a clash between Kyren Wilson, the number nine seed from England, and Jak Jones, the number thirty seed from Wales.
Getting to that final took a tiered format first brought in for the 2024-25 Home Nations Series. In the first round, seeds 65 to 96 played seeds 97 and below, including amateurs; winners then met seeds 33 to 64, before the 32 best seeds entered. Matches were best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, when they stepped up to best of nine, then best of eleven in the semi-finals, and finally a best-of-17 final played across two sessions. Qualifying had been held earlier, from 13 to 16 September, at the Leicester Arena in England. In the last 64, Wu Yize and He Guoqiang retired, handing walkovers to Scott Donaldson and Elliot Slessor. In the quarter-finals, Mark Williams clawed back from 2-4 to beat David Gilbert 6-4, with three centuries of 104, 115 and 101 in the last four frames. In the semi-finals, Kyren Wilson recovered from 3-5 to beat Sam Craigie 6-5. Across the main phase there were 45 century breaks, with another 18 in qualifying.
Tickets ranged from £13.00 to £90.00 plus a £3.25 fee, with under-16s needing an adult and children under three not admitted except for specific events. VIP packages were reserved for the semi-finals on Saturday 24 October: the 1875 Club Hospitality package with an all-day match ticket was £225 a head, and the 1875 Club Upgrade was £150 for anyone already holding tickets for both semi-final sessions. Those packages gave access to The 1875 Club Lounge from noon, a meet with snooker legend Jimmy White, a photo with the trophy, complimentary refreshments, a fork buffet lunch, live music and VIP priority service. The whole thing was broadcast live and on-demand by TNT Sports.
The Waterfront Hall itself is a Belfast City Centre landmark, part of Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd, opened in 1997 and designed by local architects Robinson McIlwaine. Its main auditorium holds 2,250 seats, with a smaller 500-seat hall next door, and it has hosted the likes of Van Morrison, Blondie, Neil Diamond, One Direction and Snow Patrol. The Northern Ireland Open didn't start here, though; the first edition was held in 2016 at the Titanic Exhibition Centre.
Published Date
25 October 2026
