WST has just published the draw and format for the 2022 Northern Ireland Open:
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Draw And Format
The draw and format for the 2022 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open is now available.
The qualifying round will run from August 23rd to 28th at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, with the final stages taking place at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast from October 16th to 23rd.
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Matches involving the world’s top 16 players and the two Northern Irish wildcard nominations will be held over to the final venue. That includes world number 22 Zhou Yuelong’s last 128 game, where he will face the winner of the wild card match.
Local hero and defending champion Mark Allen will begin his bid to retain the title against China’s Chang Bingyu. World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan faces plays Germany’s Lukas Kleckers first up, while four-time Crucible king Mark Selby faces 12-time Women’s World Champion Reanne Evans.
Here are the last 128 matches that caught my attention
- Ricky Walden v Xiao Guodong
- Jimmy Robertson v Gary Wilson
- Fan Zhengyi v Ashley Hugill
- Ali Carter v Ding Junhui
- Lu Ning v Jak Jones
- Noppon Saengkham v Ben Mertens
- Jamie Clarke v Marco Fu
- Zhao Xintong v Lyu Haotian
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
The stand out matches of this draw for me is Tom Ford v Sanderson Lam and also Gerard Greene v Barry Pinches.
All four of the above named possess a sturdy and robust all round game and are blessed with a snooker brain to rival anyone.
I predict Ford 4-2 and also Barry Pinches to win 4-3.
These two matches should be absolute belters.