A First for Jack or Fourth Northern Ireland Title for Trump?
The sixth ranking tournament of snooker’s 2023/24 season, the BetVictor Northern Irish Open, got underway in Belfast on Monday. A qualifying round took place in Sheffield last week. Amongst the headline stories was the success of 18-year-old Ukrainian player Anton Kazakov. He reached the last 64 of a ranking event for the first time with a 4-1 victory over China’s Long Zehuang.
Jack Lisowski appears to have a charmed passage in the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open. ©GettyImages
Veteran Jimmy White and seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry failed to qualify for the last-64 phase of the competition. However, former World Champion Ken Doherty and two-time World Championship finalist Mathew Stevens have qualified for the Eurosport televised event.
Of the surprise eliminations at the qualifying stages, the eighth seed, Robert Milkins, lost to Cao Yupeng. Ryan Day, seeded 12, was defeated by Ma Hailong, and Sam Craigie knocked out the sixth seed, Kyren Wilson. The scoreline in all three matches was 4-3.
What You Need to Know – Northern Ireland Open 2023
Five high-profile players, reigning world champion Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, did not enter the tournament. Instead, they planned to play an exhibition event in Macau. It has since been rescheduled for December.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is another ‘big name’ absentee. The legendary player, who collected £210,000 for winning the Shanghai Masters in mid-September, has cited “medical reasons” for his withdrawal from the Northern Irish Open.
All BetVictor Northern Irish Open matches are played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which are best of nine frames. The semi-finals are best of 11, and the final is a best-of-17-frame match. It will be played over two sessions.
The tournament has a prize fund of £427,000. The winner will earn £80,000 and receive the Alex Higgins Trophy. £35,000 is set aside for the beaten finalist, and semi-finalists will win £17,500.
Money earned in this, and seven other events sponsored by the Gibraltar-based online bookmaker, counts towards the BetVictor Series Rankings. Its winner will earn a £150,000 bonus. Robert Milkins took the bonus last season.
Trump the Juddernaut Favourite to Mow Down the Field
Given O’Sullivan’s withdrawal, it is no surprise that Judd Trump began the BetVictor Northern Irish Open – the second leg of the Home Nations Series – as the bookmakers’ clear favourite. He has won this event three times in the past.
Overall, last season was disappointing for Trump. The 34-year-old did win the Masters, but in contesting 14 ranking events, he progressed beyond the quarter-final stages just once. However, this season, he has already reached the final of the European Masters and – in the space of seven days and over 5,000 miles apart – won the English and Wuhan Opens.
Mark Allen has won this tournament for the past two years. So, it was unsurprising to see the local champion – drawn away from Trump at the top half of the draw – follow in the betting on 6/1, just ahead of Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, who was eliminated on Monday by Jordan Brown.
In winning three ranking events and reaching a further final and a semi-final, 2022/23 was an outstanding season for the world number four. However, Allen’s performances in the late summer and autumn have been distinctly average, and, on recent lacklustre displays, he cannot be recommended at the odds. In fact, an early bath is predicted.
“Just a wonderful break!” 💯
A century clearance of 1️⃣3️⃣8️⃣ puts Jack Lisowski within one frame of victory over Jackson Page at the Northern Ireland Open!
What a comeback! 🤩#NIOpen pic.twitter.com/fkjzGweFPT
— Eurosport (@eurosport) October 23, 2023
It Is Lisowski’s Time to Shine
A few daring snooker betting sites priced Jack Lisowski on 10/1 following his 4-1 first-round victory over Jackson Page. Dismissing the world 52 may not be the most noteworthy of achievements, but in the process, Lisowski produced three 50-plus breaks, including a quickfire 138 total clearance.
Having never won a ranking event, Lisowski is something of a ‘nearly man’. Brilliant on his day, and with a simple-looking path to at least the quarter-finals (he plays Matthew Selt or Dean Young in the second round), this could be the event that sees him finally enter the winner’s enclosure.
