As expected, Ronnie withdrew from the tournament
O’SULLIVAN WITHDRAWS FROM BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN
Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to face Long Zehuang in the last 64 in Belfast on Monday afternoon, but he withdrew from the event on Sunday evening. China’s Long receives a bye to the last 32.
The tournament at the Waterfront Hall runs until October 27th.
Here are the reports by WST about the first day of the tournament, plus some personal thoughts about what I was able to watch.
I was watching with a friend who is visiting me on my island… She is a former female snooker player from Germany. She is a multiple German Women’s Champion, so she can play a bit… She wasn’t at all impressed by the way the tables were playing.
BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY ONE AFTERNOON
Relishing the life of a globe-trotting snooker player, Judd Trump is in one of his favourite locations this week and started the defence of his BetVictor Northern Ireland Open title with a 4-0 win over Ishpreet Singh Chadha.
The Waterfront Hall in Belfast has been a particularly happy hunting ground for the world number one – he has lifted the trophy four times in the last six years. He needed just 49 minutes to whitewash today’s opponent with top breaks of 72, 65 and 112.
More than any other player, Trump has embraced the opportunities presented by snooker’s global circuit. Originally from Bristol, he now lives in Hong Kong and was delighted to hear the recent announcement that the World Grand Prix will be staged there in March. He also has a practice base in Dubai where he spent last week working on his game.
“It’s an exciting time to be playing,” said Trump, who has already banked over £840,000 in prize money this season. “Basing myself more in Dubai and Hong Kong, I can play to a high standard when we have events in those time zones. It’s more inspiring than living back in the UK and I love travelling, going to new places and playing in front of different audiences.
“The announcement about Hong Kong was one of the best we have had for a long time and hopefully there are more on the horizon. It will be my first home tournament as we’ve never had one in Bristol! I have never been recognised as much as I am in Hong Kong. People there love snooker, they proved that at the tournament in 2022 when there was an incredible atmosphere. It’s such a nice place to be, it has some of the best skylines in the world, the best food, the friendliest people and they are very knowledgeable about snooker. Everyone will be trying even harder than usual to get in top 32.“
Looking ahead to the rest of this week, Trump added: “It was easy to get up for this event. Certain venues seem to be made for snooker. Anyone who has played in the semis or final at the Waterfront knows how special it is. It’s similar to Alexandra Palace or the Tempodrom in terms of the size of the crowd and the way people react. I thrive on that atmosphere with people enjoying themselves. It helps me show off and play my best shots, hopefully I can channel my inner Alex Higgins with a few specials!”
His opponent in the last 32 will be friend Matthew Selt, who top scored with 78 in a 4-1 win over Lyu Haotian. Stan Moody came from 2-0 down to beat Ryan Day 4-3, knocking in breaks of 108, 105 and 67.
Crucible runner-up Jak Jones saw off Alexander Ursenbacher 4-0 while Zhou Yuelong came from 3-1 down to beat Dominic Dale 4-3, making a 111 in the decider. Home favourite Jordan Brown suffered a 4-2 reverse against Robert Milkins.
As usual there are some puzzling omissions in this report. There is no mention of former World Champion Luca Brecel 4-3 win over He Guoqiang. Neither played well and both appeared to struggle with the conditions. No mention either of Lei Peifan’s 4-2 mildly surprising win over a much higher ranked opponent, David Gilbert. Nothing either about Stan Moody’s 4-3 win over Ryan Day. Stan was 0-2 down in that match.
Also missing from this report is Oliver Lines 4-2 win over Joshua Cooper. This match was in fact a round 1, qualifying match that hab been held-over because of Oli’s run to the semi-finals at the British Open. WST had apparently not considered that a low ranked player could possibly get that far in a tournament and had organised the NI Open qualifiers “overlapping” with British Open main venue phase.
BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY ONE EVENING
World number 71 Louis Heathcote sprang the biggest surprise of the opening day of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open as he beat Mark Selby 4-3 to reach the last 32.
Heathcote clearly wasn’t expecting a long stay in Belfast as he only brought enough underpants to last two days, but with a guaranteed £5,400 he can afford a trip to the shops ahead of his next match with Jimmy Robertson or Xiao Guodong. While British Open champion Selby was far from his best, it’s still a fine win for Heathcote which boosts his hopes of keeping his tour card at the end of the season.
Leading 3-2, Heathcote had a chance to seal victory in frame six but missed a tricky pot on the final yellow to a centre pocket and Leicester rival Selby punished him for 3-3. In the decider, Heathcote had two clear scoring chances and built a 49-1 lead, then four-time Crucible king Selby had an opportunity to counter but potted just one red before missing a routine green to a baulk corner and that proved the key moment.
“I’m delighted, neither of us played great but I’m glad I finished on the right side,” said 27-year-old Heathcote. “I felt as if I got stronger as the game went on and it is rewarding to get through that kind of match. I only brought enough pants to last until tomorrow so I’ll be in Primark in the morning to buy more.
“I have only had one run to a last 16 (in ranking events other than the Shoot Out) in five and a half years and that’s just not good enough to stay on tour. I want to be in the deep end of tournaments and I know how difficult that is. I have been scoring heavily and I felt as if a big win was coming. There is a lot of pressure to stay on tour and earn money but I am trying not to think about that, I’m just trying to enjoy the process.“
Shaun Murphy avoided another shock as he came from 2-0 down to beat Jiang Jun 4-2 with a top break of 118. Pang Junxu top scored with 129 in a 4-3 win over Yuan Sijun, while veteran Mark Davis impressed in a 4-1 win over a three-time winner of BetVictor Home Nations events – Gary Wilson. Stuart Bingham eased to a 4-1 success against Scott Donaldson.
Jian Jun has started brilliantly with breaks of 78 and 60 but as soon as Shaun Murphy won a frame Jian appeared to somehow “fade away”. Shaun didn’t play at his best, far from it.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Shaun Murphy was a bit lucky in the third frame, fluking a couple of snookers near the conclusion. After that, Jiang lost his composure. He’s probably not used to playing matches at 11pm, but at the moment he needs every win he can get.