Ranking snooker tournament of the Home Nations Series, with Jack Lisowski as defending champion, at the Waterfront Hall.
World Snooker is back at the Waterfront Hall for the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, which runs from Sunday 18 October to Sunday 25 October. The round of 64 kicks off on the Sunday, and the final takes place on the following Sunday. It's the eleventh consecutive time the tournament has been held in Belfast, having first arrived here in 2016 after starting at the Titanic Exhibition Centre. It forms part of the Home Nations Series on the 2026-27 World Snooker Tour and carries ranking-event status.
Jack Lisowski returns as defending champion, looking to hold on to the title. The trophy up for grabs is the Alex Higgins Trophy, named after the two-time World Champion who died in 2010. At the inaugural edition, his daughter Lauren presented it to Mark King, who beat Barry Hawkins 9-8 to claim his first ranking title. Since then, no player from outside the United Kingdom has ever won it.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Belfast and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
The tournament follows the tiered format introduced to the Home Nations Series in 2024-25, so the matches get longer as the field narrows. The early rounds are best-of-seven frames, moving to best-of-nine in the quarter-finals and best-of-11 in the semi-finals. The final is a best-of-17 played over two sessions. The total prize fund is £550,400, with £100,000 going to the winner.
