The 2019 Northern Ireland Open (also known as the 19.com Northern Ireland Open) was a professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

tournament that took place from 11 to 17 November 2019 at the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Co ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

, Northern Ireland. The fourth edition of the Northern Ireland Open, it was the sixth ranking event of the

2019–20 snooker season The 2019–20 snooker season was a series of professional snooker tournaments played between 9 May 2019 and 22 August 2020. In total, 47 events were held during the season: however, the ending of the season was highly disrupted by the ...

, the second tournament of the

Home Nations Series The Home Nations Series is a snooker tournament series in the four home nations of the United Kingdom. It began in the 2016–17 snooker season, combining two existing tournaments, the Scottish Open and Welsh Open, with two newly created tourname ...

. Featuring a prize fund of £405,000, the winner received £70,000. The event was broadcast on

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

and

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ev ...

domestically and was sponsored by betting company 19.com. The defending champion was

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

, who had defeated

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

9–7 in the 2018 final. The pair both reached the final in 2019, with Trump successfully defending the title, defeating O'Sullivan by the same scoreline.

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

scored the highest of the tournament, compiling a

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

in the first frame of his first round match with Lu Ning, the sixth of his career.

Format

The Northern Ireland Open was first played in 2016, and was won by Mark King. The 2019 event was the second of four

events, and the sixth world ranking tournament of the

. The event took place from 11 to 17 November 2019 at the

, Northern Ireland. and followed the World Open, and preceded the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sulliva ...

. The defending champion was

, who had won the 2018 event by defeating

9–7. All matches were played as the best of 7 in the first four rounds, at which point the number increased: 9 in the quarter-finals; 11 in the semi-finals; and the best of 19 frames in the final. Chinese sports prediction website 19.com sponsored the event, which was broadcast in Europe and Australia by

;

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...

, Superstars Online,

Youku Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haid ...

and Zhibo.tv in China; True sport in Thailand;

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...

in New Zealand and

DAZN DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet. The ...

in Canada.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below: * Winner: £70,000 * Runner-up: £30,000 * Semi-final: £20,000 * Quarter-final: £10,000 * Last 16: £7,500 * Last 32: £4,000 * Last 64: £3,000 * Highest break: £5,000 * Total: £405,000

Tournament summary

The first four rounds were played from 11 to 14 November as the best of seven frames. Defending champion Trump defeated James Cahill in the opening round, then beat three Chinese players Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui and

Yan Bingtao Yan Bingtao (, born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the youngest player to win the Amateur World Snooker Championship after defeating Muhammad Sajjad 8–7. Having qualified to compete on the main tour for ...

, whilst unseeded player Anthony Hamilton defeated

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and dire ...

Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...

and eighth seed

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 M ...

to reach the quarter-finals. Fifth seed

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the a ...

defeated

Xu Si Xu Si (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Career Xu Si first started playing snooker aged 12 at his local club in Jieyang during the school holidays. After a few weeks he became determined to become a snooker pla ...

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made hi ...

and

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

in qualifying for the quarter-finals where he would meet

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

as he defeated Chang Bingyu, Kacper Filipiak, Billy Joe Castle, and 2019 World Cup partner

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

. Fourteenth seed Joe Perry defeated

Zhao Xintong Zhao Xintong (; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player. Long considered one of the brightest talents in the game, he won his first ranking title (also his first Triple Crown title) at the 2021 UK Championship, defeating Lu ...

Ross Bulman Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

Graeme Dott Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship an ...

and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

to play Alexander Ursenbacher in the quarter-finals, who overcame

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

and

Martin O'Donnell Martin O'Donnell (born May 1, 1955) is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as ''Myth'', '' Oni'', ''Halo'', and ''Destiny''. O'Donnell collaborated with his musical colleague Michael Salvatori ...

in the opening two rounds. In the third round, he met

, who made the highest break of the event, a maximum break of 147 in the first frame of his opening round win over Lu Ning, the sixth of Bingham's career. Ursenbacher defeated Bingham 4–2, and then sixth seed Mark Allen 4–3. Seventh seed

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and ra ...

overcame

Fraser Patrick Fraser Patrick (born 8 November 1985) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Glasgow. Career Patrick started his professional career in 2002 by playing Challenge Tour, where he spent three seasons without success. In 2007 Patrick earn ...

Luo Honghao Luo Honghao (; born 31 January 2000) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career Amateur In July 2017, he reached the final of 2017 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship where he lost the final 7–6 to Fan Zhengyi. Later ...

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

and

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championsh ...

to meet Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated

Oliver Lines Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snook ...

Lei Peifan Lei Peifan (; born 31 May 2003) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career In May 2019, Lei came through Q School on the overall Order of Merit to earn a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 ...

Stuart Carrington Stuart Carrington (born 14 May 1990) is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Steven Hallworth and Ian Glover in Grimsby. In May 2011, Carrington qualified for the 2011–12 professional Main Tour as one of fo ...

and Yuan Sijun. The quarter-finals were played on 15 November as the best of nine frames. Trump defeated Hamilton 5–1, the same scoreline that O'Sullivan defeated Murphy, whilst Perry defeated Ursenbacher 5–3. Higgins led Selby 4–2, but led 66–0 in frame seven. Selby, however, took more than six minutes to take a single shot, more time than the fastest ever maximum break. Selby won the frame, and tied the match at 4–4, but Higgins won the deciding frame to win 5–4. The semi-finals were played as the best of 11 frames on 16 November. Higgins led Trump at 3–2 in the first, but Trump won the next four frames to progress to the final. A pot on the by Trump in frame eight where he played the around the table to make a was described by fellow players such as

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

, Mark Allen and opponent Higgins as "one of the best shots ever played". The second semi-final was held between O'Sullivan and Perry. O'Sullivan won all of the first five frames, before winning the match 6–1. The final was played between Trump and O'Sullivan on 17 November as the best of 17 frames, held over two . Trump won the opening two frames, and led 3–1 after a break of 123 in the fourth. He also led 5–3 after the opening session, despite missing an attempt for a maximum break in frame seven. Upon the restart, O'Sullivan won frame nine, before Trump opened up a three frame lead by winning the next two. O'Sullivan won two frames in a row, to trail by a frame, but Trump made a break of 124 to lead 8–6. Making his second century break of the final, a 135, O'Sullivan won frame 15, but Trump made a break of 84 to win the match 9–7. The win was Trump's 14th ranking event victory. After the match, Trump commented: "To defend any title is always difficult but to do it against Ronnie 'Sullivanis extra special...You've got to play our bestagainst Ronnie otherwise you lose." O'Sullivan praised his opponent after the match, commenting that he "enjoyed watching" Trump's play. The pair would also contest the following season's event, with Trump again winning over O'Sullivan by the same scoreline.

Main draw

The results from the event are shown below. Seeded players have their seedings in brackets. Players highlighted in bold denote match winners.

Qualifying round

4–0 Robbie McGuigan

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Finals

Final

Century breaks

A total of 76 century breaks were made during the competition. The highest break was a

scored by Bingham in the first frame of his opening round win over Lu Ning. *

147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...

* 139, 132 Zhang Anda * 137, 114

Mark Joyce Mark Joyce (born 11 August 1983) is an English professional snooker player who lives in Walsall. He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003. Joyce enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, winning the European Under-19 Cha ...

* 136, 134

* 136, 125, 124, 123, 122, 113, 111, 106, 106, 106, 105

* 136

* 135, 127, 126, 101

* 134 Joe Perry * 132

Sam Baird Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is an English former professional snooker player. He first entered the professional tour for the 2009/10 season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-offs. Career 2011/2012 season Baird reached the main draw o ...

* 132

* 130

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh on the Pontin's International Open ...

* 129, 127, 101

* 129, 119, 101

* 129

Tian Pengfei Tian Pengfei (, born 16 August 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He began his career by playing the Challenge Tour in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. Tian played on the Main Tour in 2006 and competed on the Wo ...

* 128, 113, 102

* 126, 102

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

* 123

Scott Donaldson Scott Donaldson (born 19 March 1994) is a Scottish professional snooker player. Donaldson turned professional in 2012 after winning the 2012 EBSA European Snooker Championship and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 ...

* 122, 104, 103

* 122

Thor Chuan Leong Thor Chuan Leong (; born 24 March 1988) is a Malaysian former professional snooker player. He is commonly referred to as Rory Thor. Career Thor, based in Penang, Malaysia represented his country at the 2006 & 2010 Asian Games and in the 2013 ...

* 118, 103, 101, 101 Mark Allen * 118 Yuan Sijun * 117, 115, 112, 110

* 116

* 115, 109, 101

* 114, 101

* 112

Jack Lisowski Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his att ...

* 109 Billy Joe Castle * 109

Chen Zifan Chen Zifan (, born 17 September 1995) is a Chinese professional snooker player who, in 2023, received a five-year ban from professional competition after committing match-fixing offences. In December 2022, Chen was suspended from the profess ...

* 108

Zhou Yuelong Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open. Career Between 20 ...

* 107 Anthony Hamilton * 106

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached num ...

* 105 Chang Bingyu * 105

* 105

Mitchell Mann Mitchell Mann (born 26 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player. Career Junior Mann first played snooker aged 9, after being forced to quit football after a diagnosis of Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome, a rare disease which ...

* 104

* 103, 102 Alexander Ursenbacher * 102

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at th ...

* 101 Michael White * 100

* 100

Hammad Miah Hammad Miah ( bn, হাম্মাদ মিঞা; born 6 July 1993) is a British professional snooker player of Bangladeshi-origin. In May 2013, Miah qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Ireland Open, 2019 Home Nations Series

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2019 in snooker 2019 in Northern Ireland sport Sports competitions in Belfast 2010s in Northern Ireland 21st century in Belfast November 2019 sports events in the United Kingdom