Please note that this is NOT an official website. At this point in time Ronnie O’ Sullivan does not have an official website, nor does he wish to have one.
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026 Day Two Evening
Shock results continued at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open as Martin O’Donnell, recovering from a neck injury, edged out Judd Trump 4-3 to reach the last 32.
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World number three Trump joins Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Barry Hawkins, Chris Wakelin, Xiao Guodong and Ali Carter as the top-16 ranked players already knocked out in the opening round at the Waterfront Hall. A record four-time winner of this event since 2018 – and runner-up in each of the last two seasons – Trump falls early this time and remains without a ranking title since the German Masters in February.
O’Donnell had lost all eight of his previous meetings with Trump but the former Welsh Open finalist took one of the biggest scalps of his career as he set up a clash with Luca Brecel.
World number 56 O’Donnell won the opening frame with a break of 64 before Trump levelled with a 91. The next two were shared then O’Donnell regained the lead with a 52 before Trump’s 94 made it 3-3. The decider was a fragmented affair but it was controlled by O’Donnell, winning it 87-5.
“I was really looking forward to the game tonight,” said the 40-year-old. “We play behind closed doors at qualifiers a lot so it was exciting to play in a great occasion like this against Judd, who I believe is the best player in the world. It was a great opportunity to test my game against his and thankfully I finally got one over on him. It’s up to me to put myself in these situations more often, getting the job done in the qualifiers and then I can enjoy it at the venues.
“Over the last ten days I felt I was starting to hit the ball really well and I’m delighted that showed tonight. When you beat Judd you feel you can have a deep run, but the results over the last two days show the strength in depth on the tour – everyone is tough.“
O’Donnell was recently diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in his neck and has battled through pain in several matches this season. “It’s not great – I don’t know if it will ever go back to normal without an operation,” he said. “I am doing everything I can, I have had physiotherapy, acupuncture and injections.
“I am managing it and not practising as much – just doing enough to feel competitive. I love this game and when it gets taken away from you for a while it’s tough. It might be a good thing for me at my age. Maybe six hours a day for six days a week is not going to be right for me going forward.”
Jak Jones top scored with 103 in a 4-1 victory over Tom Ford, boosting his hopes of a third ranking title this season having already landed the Championship League and British Open.
Stuart Bingham registered the 1,000th professional match win of his career, only the sixth player to reach that tally, as he beat Yao Pengcheng 4-2 with a top run of 68. Zhang Anda scored breaks of 64, 110 and 72 in a 4-2 defeat of Liam Pullen.
WST is at it again with the “shock results” expression. The truth is that there are nearly no shock results anymore. The general level in snooker is now really high. Lower ranked players are no more overwhelmed playing top players at venues in front of fans because they do it all the time. The qualifiers played in cubicles with no one watching are a thing of the past. And, of course, the “class of 92” generation are now in or approaching their fifties, and are still dangerous. That kind longevity was not even conceivable 20 years ago. We should (try to) ejoy them while they are still playing, without entertaining unrealistic expectations.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s frustrating run of results continued as he lost 4-3 to world number 110 Ka Wai Cheung in the opening round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
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Playing in a UK tournament for the first time this season, O’Sullivan looked short of confidence as he let slip a 3-1 lead. The seven-time World Champion has played in four events in China this term and reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, but then suffered a first round defeat against Jiang Jun at the Shenzhen Open.
O’Sullivan has spoken of his poor form as a “disease” for which he is yet to find a cure. Though he scored heavily today when he had chances, the 50-year-old also made unexpected errors which allowed his underdog opponent to pull off the best result of his career.
Hong Kong’s Cheung, age 27, was relegated from the tour at the end of last season but regained his card via Q School and now hopes to prove his ability on the big stage. He is through to the last 32 of a ranking event for the second time and will meet Stuart Bingham or Yao Pengcheng next.
Cheung got the better of a scrappy opening frame before O’Sullivan compiled breaks of 56, 138 and 72 to go 3-1 ahead. He had a scoring chance in frame five but made just 16 before missing a red to a top corner and Cheung took advantage with a run of 88, then made a 77 in the next for 3-3. In the decider, O’Sullivan was on 6 when he overcut a short range blue to a centre pocket, and Cheung kept his cool in an excellent break of 60 which proved enough.
“It’s the best moment for me on the snooker tour,” said Cheung. “I played here last year, this arena is amazing, so to beat Ronnie here, I’m very happy. In the last frame I was nervous but for the whole match my safety and long game were not as good as Ronnie’s, but sometimes he was unlucky not to get on a colour, and then I had chances.
“To be honest I am a little bit scared of playing him because he has a lot of fans in the arena. My coach David (Roe) said no matter if I win or lose, I should just get the best experience. David has a lot of experience and always helps me on the table and on the mental side. My goal is to get into the top 64. I just look forward to playing every game and enjoying every moment.”
Some images
Here are the scores for that match:
And videos shared on youtube:
I’m disappointed, of course I am, and what worries me is that he started well, scored heavily, he built 3-1 and then couldn’t kill the match. But I like Cheung Ka Wai as well and I’m pleased for him. I hope he goes deep in the tournament. To be fair Cheung played really well. Neal Foulds in commentary was full of praise, both for the ability he showed but also, and maybe even more, for his positive shots selection during the whole match.
What worries me most is that Ronnie doesn’t look well. He doesn’t look fit nor physically nor mentally. When you age, it gets harder to stay slim and fit, especially if you have been overweight as a young person, as Ronnie was. But it’s not great to say the least.
That said, at no point during the match did Ronnie look disinterested and that’s important. I watched Trump’s match too and repeatedly Ronnie was visible sitting in his chair, and applauding Cheung’s good shots. He was following what happened at the table closely.
The first day at the 2026 Northern Ireland Open brought quite a few surprising results. I don’t want to use the word “shock” because the general level on tour is much better than it was a few years back and these are short matches. Here are the reports shared by WST:
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026 Day One Afternoon
Playing as defending champion for the first time in his career, Jack Lisowski battled to a 4-1 win over Huang Jiahao in the opening round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
Lisowski enjoyed his greatest moment on the baize a year ago when he beat Judd Trump 9-8 in a dramatic final at the Waterfront Hall, landing his first ranking title, and he admitted last week that returning to the scene would bring back emotional memories. He looked nervous at times against Huang, but did enough to reach the last 32 where he will meet Anthony McGill, a 4-1 winner in a Glasgow derby against Stephen Maguire. World number 18 Lisowski has reached just one quarter-final so far this season but hopes the Belfast atmosphere can inspire him again.
A break of 63 gave Lisowski the opening frame, then he took the second on the colours before adding the third with runs of 36 and 40. China’s Huang pulled one back with a break of 66 and had chances in the scrappy fifth frame, but eventually missed a tough blue to a top corner. Lisowski pulled off the shot of the match with a tremendous long blue, screwing back to pot the pink to a centre pocket before converting a tricky black.
“I have never been defending champion before so there was some expectation there, it was new to me,” said England’s 35-year-old Lisowski. “I wanted to keep the run here going. It’s nice to win that one and get into the tournament. It was really cool to be back out there, the Belfast crowd are so good and it’s an incredible arena, I just want to do as well as I can this week.”
Asked about the Alex Higgins-esque blue in the last frame, Lisowski added: “I caught it sweet, the white came back perfectly for the pink. it was a good combination of balls in the end to win. But I need to improve on that performance. The way I play, I am patchy and streaky. It can just click, but it can also be pretty bad for a while as it has been for the last few months. I practised with a lot of players last week trying to get my game sharp and ready to defend this title. Hopefully it’s going to be good enough, I’ll give it my best shot.“
Louis Heathcote made it two wins from two meetings against four-time World Champion Mark Selby with a 4-2 victory. World number 67 Heathcote beat the same opponent two years ago at the same venue on his way to the quarter-finals.
From 2-0 down today, Heathcote won four frames in a row with top breaks of 64 and 59 to win the Leicester derby and set up a fixture with Matthew Selt. “I’m delighted, it feels like a better win than the one two years ago because I really had to dig in from 2-0 down,” said 29-year-old Heathcote. “I played well and felt really comfortable. You get a chance at the main venue but then you’re up against a four time World Champion and you’re not used to the conditions, so I’m extremely proud of how I played. My safety, long game and scoring were all good.“
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh top scored with 101 in a 4-2 victory over Ireland’s Aaron Hill. Sam Craigie made a break of 82 in the deciding frame to beat Xiao Guodong 4-3, while exciting tour rookie Wang Xinbo enjoyed a 4-2 success against Si Jiahui. Selt came from 3-1 down to beat Hossein Vafaei 4-3, making breaks of 61 and 90 in the last two frames.
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026 Day One Evening
Ricky Walden may be at risk of tour relegation this season but the three-time ranking event winner looked close to his best as he beat Neil Robertson 4-1 in the first round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
It was a day of surprise results in Belfast as five of the world’s top 16 were eliminated: Robertson along with Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby, Ali Carter and Xiao Guodong.
Walden hasn’t reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event since this tournament in Belfast three years ago, and currently lies 56th on the projected end-of-season list, in danger of dropping out of the top 64. However he showed improved form with a run to the last 16 of the recent Shenzhen Open and took another step forward tonight with a fine display against Robertson, scoring his fourth consecutive win against the former World Champion.
He started the opening frame with a break of 45, then enjoyed a slice of good fortune when Robertson potted a red but inadvertently knocked the green in. Walden added 36 for 1-0 and went on to compile runs of 75 and 76 for 3-0. World number four Robertson pulled one back with a break of 80, but a scrappy fifth frame went Walden’s way.
“It’s a big win, playing on the TV table and against someone as good as Neil,” said Walden, a former Shanghai Masters, Wuxi Classic and International Championship winner. “I cued really nicely and had a bit of rub of the green early on when Neil knocked the green in. That was a turning point early on. I’m working hard in practice as always and everything is feeling good. I am working on a few different things to try to evolve my game, and just waiting for my run to come.”
Asked about his position in the rankings, he added: “I have made peace with that. You can look at the rankings, but if you are not playing well enough then you deserve to be where you are. I am just trying to enjoy each game, I am pretty chilled about it. I know what I can still do, other people maybe don’t see that because it’s tough when you are only in qualifying. I actually feel more relaxed playing on the TV table.“
Walden now meets Joe O’Connor, who compiled runs of 106 and 124 in an impressive 4-1 defeat of Matthew Stevens.
Murphy was beaten 4-2 by Liam Davies, who continued his fantastic start to the season with his 20th win of the campaign so far. The 20-year-old Welshman knocked in breaks of 62, 81, 90 and 104 to set up a match with Pang Junxu or Alfie Burden.
“I am delighted because I have been shattered all day, I only got back from China two days ago,” said Davies. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen tonight, I was either going to miss everything or pot everything. Last year I think I would have crumbled under that pressure, but the more you get out there in front of the TV cameras the more you feel relaxed and then you can focus more.“
Carter’s perfect start to the BetVictor Home Nations Series ended as he was whitewashed 4-0 by China’s Xu Si. Carter won the BetVictor English Open in Brentwood last month, becoming the early front-runner for the series £150,000 bonus, but it’s an early departure this time for the Captain as Xu fired top runs of 56 and 70 in a one-sided victory.
Wu Yize and He Guoqiang have both withdrawn from the event, for medical reasons. As a result both Elliot Slessor and Scott Donaldson received a bye to the next round.
I don’t have much to add as the matches I watched are reported on by WST and also because as a snooker.org team member I have been on duty – at ungodly early hours – for the Women snooker events currently under way in Australia. As a result … I fell asleep in the sofa very early in the evening! 😁 Old people he! But I did see a bit of Ricky Walden in action. When at his best he’s a very top player but his career has been “plagued” with long episodes of disabling back pain. Ricky is extremely tall and as a result his stance at the table is a bit unusual and it puts some additional strain on his back.
Ronnie O’Sullivan announced for big-money event and rare UK appearance
Ronnie O’Sullivan is in line to return to action in Leicester (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been confirmed in the line-up for next month’s Champion of Champions, which will see him make a rare UK appearance.
The Champion of Champions does what it says on the tin, bringing together the winners of events over the last 12 months into one non-ranking tournament.
The Rocket has not won a tournament on the professional circuit since March 2024, but did win this year’s World Seniors Championship in May.
That would not necessarily earn him a spot in the 16-player Champion of Champions, but seen as there have been multiple repeat winners of events over the last year, the Seniors champ gets the nod.
O’Sullivan does not play in many events in the UK since moving to Dubai and also spending time in Ireland, so it is not exactly a sure bet that he will play in Leicester next month, but he is being advertised to be there.
The Champion of Champions social media accounts posted on Wednesday: ‘One of the game’s biggest names is IN. Ronnie O’Sullivan will be at the Sportsbet.io #champofchamps next month.’
The tournament-organisers have advertised(Picture: Matchroom)
O’Sullivan has a fantastic record in the tournament, winning it four times and reaching two more finals.
However, recent years have been less successful as he pulled out of the event in 2023, lost in the opening round in 2024 and didn’t qualify last year.
The 50-year-old joins 14 other players in the confirmed field, with the Northern Ireland Open offering the chance for someone to take the last spot.
If an already-qualified player triumphs in Belfast, then it will be the highest ranked player not yet qualified, which would be Neil Robertson.
Champion of Champions qualified players
Mark Selby – Champion of Champions, UK Championship, China Open, Championship League
Zhao Xintong – Riyadh Season Championship, World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship
Kyren Wilson – Masters
Wu Yize – World Championship, Shenzhen Open
Judd Trump – German Masters, Shanghai Masters
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – World Open
Chang Bingyu – Wuhan Open
Chris Wakelin – Scottish Open
Barry Hawkins – Welsh Open
Jak Jones – Championship League, British Open
Ali Carter – English Open
Alfie Burden – Shoot Out
Panchaya Channoi – Women’s World Championship
Shaun Murphy – World Championship runner-up
Ronnie O’Sullivan – World Seniors Championship
O’Sullivan’s last professional outing in the UK was a World Championship last 16 defeat to John Higgins in April.
He did then win the Seniors at the Crucible in May and the Snooker 900 Global Championship in Reading shortly after.
The seven-time world champion has been playing this season but only at events in China, competing at the Shanghai Masters, China Open, Wuhan Open and Shenzhen Open.
The Rocket is in the draw for next week’s Northern Ireland Open and could still take on Cheung Ka Wai in his first match on Monday afternoon, but it would be no surprise if he withdrew before that happened. He hasn’t played at the Belfast event since 2022.
The Champion of Champions runs from November 9-15.
It’s interesting that Phil Haigh what writes about Ronnie spending time in Ireland. I’m not sure if this is still the case, but some years ago, in 2016, Ronnie Wood came to an exhibition event at Goffs and, at the time, he had a property not far away from that venue. Ronnie and Ronnie 😉 are – or certainly were back then – close friends. Ronnie is godfather to one of Ronnie Woods twin girls1. I’m not sure of anything but, possibly, he’s been visiting Ronnie Woods’ family and his goddaughter.
The twins , Gracie Jane and Alice Rose were born in May 2016. I took pictures of the two snooker players cuddling “their” baby but, at the request of the parents, I never shared them with anyone but them.. ↩︎
Mainland Europe’s biggest ever Q Tour event will take place on 22-25 October at Snooker Arena Germany in Oberhausen with 153 players from 35 countries competing.
The event three entry number is the largest ever for a Q Tour event in mainland Europe and includes a record 33 players from the host nation. The first two Q Tour Europe titles of the campaign were won by England’s Sanderson Lam on home soil and Malta’s Aaron Busuttil in Sofia, Bulgaira.
The top ranked player at the end of the campaign will earn a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card, while further places will be available at the Q Tour Global Play-Offs where an additional three tour cards will be on offer.
Q Tour Europe is part of WPBSA Q Tour Global, which incorporates regional events held around the world, each offering access to the Q Tour Global Play-Offs at the end of the season.
Thia is an event played in Germany and there are 153 players in the draw. This is a huge number and it does show that there is a real interest in snooker in mainland Europe. The continent deserves more events. The main tour is far too UK centric. One person once challenged me after I said that, arguing that this is right because the majority of the players are from the UK. I challenged them back, suggesting that this “majority” situation was the result of the UK centric organisation of the tour, not the justification for it. I stand by that.
Limit UK events to the “Triple Crown”, replace “Home Nations” with “European Nations”, with just one in the UK, moving through the “nations” every four years, have qualifiers played near the actual venue just before the event proper, instead of in the UK weeks ahead of the said events. Have two of the three “European Q-Schools” played in mainland Europe … and I would bet my house that within 10 years, UK players will be a minority in the draws. That’s how it should be. The governing body call themselves “World Snooker” not “UK and Friends Snooker”. They should live by that name.
Stan Moody beat Mark Joyce yesterday in the final in Landywood to become the 2026 Pink Ribbon Champion. All the detailed results are available on WPBSA snookerscores
Congratulations Stan Moody!
And congratulations as well to Mark Joyce, the runner-up, who has supported the event right from the start.
This is a tournament that is very close to my heart.
It was established by Paul Mount, in 2010, 15 years ago, to raise money with the aim to support medical research aiming at finding better treatments for breast cancer and support the women who suffer from the disease or its aftermaths. Paul had lost his beloved sister to the illness.
It was initially played at the South West Snooker Academy, later known as the Capital Venue, house to the professional team Paul supported at the time. It was held there for ten years. The first edition was won by Michael Holt who beat Jimmy White in the final. Ronnie played in it just once, in 2015… and won it.
The plan was initially to hold it for ten years only but given its popularity, and the importance of the charity it supports, many players wanted it to continue. Covid 19 had other ideas and the event didn’t take place between 2020 and 2023. It was revived, in Landywood snooker club in 2024. Thank you guys! 💕
The victory represents Steadman’s second title of the campaign, having also won event one, and returns him to poll position in the one-year ‘Race to the Crucible’ ranking list as he looks to earn a return to the iconic Crucible Theatre for the World Seniors Championship in 2027.
A total of 61 cueists from seven countries embarked on Reading – including previous event winners Steadman and Ryan Day, as well as former ranking event winners Robert Milkins and eventual finalist Robertson.
Steadman, who reached the semi-finals at the Crucible this year, kicked off with a whitewash win over India’s Anurag Saboo before overcoming John Parkin in a deciding frame – having been pulled back from 3-0 ahead.
Things didn’t get any easier for the World Snooker Tour (WST) professional as he faced a trio of former Crucible Theatre qualifiers in succession.
A 4-2 win against fellow former professional Gerard Greene was followed by having to come from 3-1 behind to overcome Neal Jones in a deciding frame on Sunday morning. Breaks of 80, 50 and 54 then saw Steadman defeated Barry Pinches 4-1 to set up a title match meeting with Robertson.
The 2018 European Masters winner had last beaten Rory McLeod to reach the title match on his World Seniors Snooker debut. He was given no time to settle into the final, however, as Steadman began with the tournament high break of 127 before following up with a 63 to move 2-0 ahead.
Robertson rallied with breaks of 53 and 67 to restore parity, but Steadman then regained his advantage with a contribution of 74 before getting over the line in frame six to win the title.
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Craig Steadman isn’t and never was a “top player” but he’s extremely determined and tenacious. He always makes his opponent work really hard to earn their points. He’s never easy to beat and he never gives up.
