Northern Ireland Open: Dates, schedule, players, format, prize money, history & more

The Northern Ireland opening is one of the four ranking events that make up the Home Nations Series, which is part of the professional snooker tour. 

Here's everything you need to know about this year's tournament which gets underway on Sunday 20th November, 2024.

Northern Ireland Open - Dates

The 2024 Northern Ireland Open starts on Sunday 20th October, 2024, with the final taking place on Sunday 27th October, 2024.

Qualifying for the event will take place from 17th to 20th October, 2023 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England.

Northern Ireland Open - Schedule

Matches get underway at 10:00, 13:00 and 19:00 and are played throughout the day.

The early rounds of the event are played on a multi-table system and the matches increase in length as the tournament progresses. 

Northern Ireland Open - Venue

The Northern Ireland Open’s home is in Belfast and it will once again return to the Waterfront Hall in 2024.

The tournament has been held in the Northern Irish capital since 2016, with only the 2020 renewal moving away from the city. 

Northern Ireland Open - How to watch and live streaming

Eurosport have the broadcast rights with matches to be shown on their TV channels and the Eurosport Player online.

The tournament is also available to watch via bet365’s live streaming service. 

Northern Ireland Open - Previous winners

In 2021 home hero Mark Allen sent the Belfast crowd wild when lifting the trophy on home soil for the first time, before the Antrim Ace successfully defended his crown a year later.

Judd trump reigned supreme last time around, establishing himself as a fur time winner, having previously lifted the trophy in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Mark King and mark Williams are the only other two winners of the prestigious competition.

Northern Ireland Open - Format

64 players from the Pro Tour enter the main draw following two pre-qualifying rounds, which in 2024 took place at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield.

The current top-16-ranked players will play their qualification matches at the venue for the televised stages of the tournament, with those encounters, together with matches in rounds one, two and three being played over the best of seven frames. 

That increases to nine in the quarter-finals and further up to 11 for the last-four matches, while the final will be contested over 17 frames.

Northern Ireland Open - Trophy

Players in the Northern Ireland Open battle it out for the Alex Higgins Trophy.

The late two-time world champion was born and raised in Belfast and his memories continue to live on through the sport. 

Northern Ireland Open - Prize Money

• Winner: £100,000
• Runner-up: £45,000
• Semi-finals: £21,000
• Quarter-finals: £13,200
• Last 16: £9,000
• Last 32 (Round 4): £5,400
• Last 64 (Round 3): £3,600
• Last 96 (Round 2): £1,000
• Highest Break: £5,000
• Total prize fund: £550,400