Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Snooker competition}} {{History merge|originalpage=Draft:2023 Northern Ireland Open|reason=the article was moved to draftspace by [[User:Schminnte|Schminnte]] at the same time as it was updated by [[User:AlH42|AlH42]] (see [[User talk:AlH42#2023 Northern Ireland Open moved to draftspace|this discussion]]).}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox individual snooker tournament |tournament_name=2023 [[Northern Ireland Open (snooker)|Northern Ireland Open]] |logo=[[File:2023 Northern Ireland Open logo.jpg|300px]] |dates={{Start and end dates|2023|10|22|2023|10|29|df=y}} |venue=[[Waterfront Hall]] |location=[[Belfast]] |country=[[Northern Ireland]] |organisation=[[World Snooker Tour]] |format=[[List of snooker ranking tournaments|Ranking event]] |Total prize fund=£427,000 |winners_share=£80,000 |defending_champion={{flagathlete|[[Mark Allen (snooker player)|Mark Allen]]|NIR}} |highest_break= |winner= |runner_up= |score= |previous=[[2022 Northern Ireland Open|2022]] |next=<!--[[2024 Northern Ireland Open|2024]]--> }} The '''2023 Northern Ireland Open''' (officially the '''2023 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open''') is an upcoming professional [[snooker]] tournament that will take place from 22 to 29 October 2023 at the [[Waterfront Hall]] in [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland. Qualifying for the event will take place from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the [[Ponds Forge|Ponds Forge International Sports Centre]] in [[Sheffield]], England, although qualifiers featuring the top 16 seeds will be held over and played at the Waterfront Hall. Organised by the [[World Snooker Tour]], it is the sixth [[Snooker world rankings|ranking event]] of the [[2023–24 snooker season|2023–24 season]], following the [[2023 Wuhan Open (snooker)|2023 Wuhan Open]] and preceding the [[2023 International Championship]]. The second of four tournaments in the season's [[Home Nations Series]], following the [[2023 English Open (snooker)|2023 English Open]] and preceding the [[2023 Scottish Open (snooker)|2023 Scottish Open]] and the [[2024 Welsh Open (snooker)|2024 Welsh Open]], it is also the fourth of eight tournaments in the season's [[European Series]]. The winner will receive the [[Alex Higgins]] trophy and £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000. The winner also earns a place in the [[2023 Champion of Champions]] invitational event. Five top players—reigning world champion [[Luca Brecel]], [[Ali Carter]], [[John Higgins]], [[Mark Selby]], and [[Thepchaiya Un-Nooh]]—did not enter the tournament, electing instead to play at an exhibition event from October 27 to 29 in [[Macau]], China. The World Snooker Tour threatened the players with disciplinary action, claiming that playing an unsanctioned event in Macau rather than an official tour event in Belfast would breach their players' contract. Former WST chairman [[Barry Hearn]] warned that the players could be fined, banned, or expelled from the sport, but seven-time world champion [[Ronnie O'Sullivan]] supported the players. [[Mark Allen (snooker player)|Mark Allen]] is the defending champion, having defeated [[Zhou Yuelong]] 9–4 in the [[2022 Northern Ireland Open|2022 final]]. ==Format== [[File:Waterfront Hall Belfast.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo|The event takes place at the [[Waterfront Hall]] in [[Belfast]].]] The 2023 event will be the eighth consecutive edition of the [[Northern Ireland Open (snooker)|Northern Ireland Open]] since it was first played in [[2016 Northern Ireland Open|2016]]. The second event in the season's [[Home Nations Series]], the fourth event in the [[European Series]], and the sixth ranking tournament of the [[2023–24 snooker season|2024–24 snooker season]], it will be staged from 22 to 29 October 2023 at the [[Waterfront Hall]] in Belfast, Northern Ireland.<ref name="NI_Open_snooker.org">{{cite web |title=BetVictor Northern Ireland Open |url=https://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=1450 |publisher=snooker.org |access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="WST_Allen_Mertens">{{cite web |title=Allen to face Mertens in Belfast |date=11 October 2023 |url=https://wst.tv/allen-to-face-mertens-in-belfast/ |publisher=[[World Snooker Tour]] |access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref> Qualifiers will be played from 17 to 20 August 2022 at the [[Ponds Forge|Ponds Forge International Sports Centre]] in [[Sheffield]], England, although qualifiers featuring the top 16 seeds will be held over and played at the Waterfront Hall.<ref name="NI_Op_Q_snooker.org">{{cite web |title=Northern Ireland Open Qualifiers |url=https://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?event=1474 |publisher=snooker.org |access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref> The defending champion is Northern Irish player [[Mark Allen (snooker player)|Mark Allen]], who won the title for a second consecutive time by defeating Chinese player [[Zhou Yuelong]] 9–4 in the [[2022 Northern Ireland Open|2022 final]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Allen retains NI Open title with 9-4 win over Zhou |language=en-GB |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/63366638 |date=23 October 2022 |access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref> ===Prize fund=== The event features a prize fund of £42,000, of which the winner will receive £80,000. The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below: {{div col}} * Winner: £80,000 * Runner-up: £35,000 * Semi-final: £17,500 * Quarter-final: £11,000 * Last 16: £7,500 * Last 32: £4,500 * Last 64: £3,000 * Highest break: £5,000 {{div col end}} * Total: £427,000 ==Summary== ===Controversy over Macau exhibition event=== Five players—reigning world champion [[Luca Brecel]], [[Ali Carter]], [[John Higgins]], [[Mark Selby]], and [[Thepchaiya Un-Nooh]]—elected not to enter the Northern Ireland Open so they could play at an exhibition event taking place from October 27 to 29 in [[Macau]], China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marques |first=Renato |date=2023-10-12 |title=Macau snooker event in the center of int’l imbroglio |url=https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau-snooker-event-in-the-center-of-intl-imbroglio.html |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=Macau Daily Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[World Snooker Tour]] threatened to refer the five players to the [[World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association|WPBSA]]'s disciplinary committee if they competed in Macau rather than Belfast, claiming that playing in a non-sanctioned event that clashed with an official tour event constituted a breach of their players' contract.<ref>{{cite news |title=World Snooker Tour threatens sanctions for players playing in Macau exhibition |url=https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/world-snooker-tour-threatens-sanctions-for-players-playing-in-macau-exhibition/212937 |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |publisher=[[Sporting Life (British newspaper)|Sporting Life]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2023 |title=World Snooker Tour ("WST") Statement |url=https://wst.tv/world-snooker-tour-wst-statement/ |access-date=12 October 2023 |publisher=[[World Snooker Tour]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=World champions to miss NI Open to play in Macau |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/67073133 |access-date=2023-10-13}}</ref> Former World Snooker Tour chairman [[Barry Hearn]] warned the players that they could be fined, banned, or even expelled from the sport as a consequence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haigh |first=Phil |date=11 October 2023 |title=Players face being 'fined, banned or thrown out' over Macau event, says Hearn |url=https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/11/snooker-stars-face-being-fined-banned-or-thrown-out-over-macau-event-says-barry-hearn-19643651/ |access-date=12 October 2023 |publisher=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]}}</ref> Seven-time world champion [[Ronnie O'Sullivan]] supported the players, saying: "This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play".<ref>{{cite news |last=Haigh |first=Phil |date=9 October 2023 |title=Ronnie O'Sullivan backs dissenting players in stand-off with World Snooker Tour |url=https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/09/ronnie-osullivan-backs-dissenting-players-in-stand-off-with-world-snooker-tour-19629425/ |access-date=12 October 2023 |publisher=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]}}</ref> ===Qualifying round=== Qualifying for the event will take place from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the [[Ponds Forge|Ponds Forge International Sports Centre]] in [[Sheffield]], England.<ref name="NI_Op_Q_snooker.org" /> ==Qualifying== Qualification for the tournament will take place from 17 to 20 October 2023 at the [[Ponds Forge|Ponds Forge International Sports Centre]] in [[Sheffield]], England. Superscripted numbers in parentheses are the top 32 players' [[seed (sports)|seedings]], whilst players in bold denote match winners. ===Belfast=== Qualifying matches featuring the top sixteen seeds and two [[Wild card (sports)|wildcards]] from Northern Ireland (Robbie McGuigan and Joel Connolly) were held over to be played in Belfast. The held-over matches are as follows:<ref name="NI_Op_Q_snooker.org" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Cue kings set for super Sunday in Belfast |date=12 October 2023 |url=https://wst.tv/cue-kings-set-for-super-sunday-in-belfast/ |publisher=[[World Snooker Tour]] |access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref> ====22 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[Neil Robertson]]|AUS}} v {{flagathlete|[[Wu Yize]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Robert Milkins]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Cao Yupeng]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Ryan Day (snooker player)|Ryan Day]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ma Hailong]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Judd Trump]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Jenson Kendrick]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Kyren Wilson]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Sam Craigie]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Ricky Walden]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ben Woollaston]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Mark Williams (snooker player)|Mark Williams]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Tian Pengfei]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Jack Lisowski]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Rebecca Kenna]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|Robbie McGuigan|NIR}} v {{flagathlete|[[Muhammad Asif (snooker player)|Muhammad Asif]]|PAK}} *{{flagathlete|[[Mark Allen (snooker player)|Mark Allen]]|NIR}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ben Mertens]]|BEL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Shaun Murphy]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ryan Thomerson]]|AUS}} *{{flagathlete|[[David Gilbert (snooker player)|David Gilbert]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|Joel Connolly|NIR}} *{{flagathlete|[[Ronnie O'Sullivan]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ahmed Aly Elsayed]]|USA}} *{{flagathlete|[[Anthony McGill]]|SCO}} v {{flagathlete|[[Jimmy White]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Gary Wilson (snooker player)|Gary Wilson]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Louis Heathcote]]|ENG}} {{div col end}} ====23 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[Barry Hawkins]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Elliot Slessor]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Hossein Vafaei]]|IRN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Mark Joyce]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Tom Ford (snooker player)|Tom Ford]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Haydon Pinhey]]|ENG}} {{div col end}} ===Sheffield=== The qualifying matches to be played in [[Sheffield]] are as follows:<ref name="NI_Op_Q_snooker.org" /> ====17 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[Fan Zhengyi]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Liu Hongyu (snooker player)|Liu Hongyu]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Long Zehuang]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Anton Kazakov]]|UKR}} *{{flagathlete|[[Andy Hicks]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Jiang Jun]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Allan Taylor (snooker player)|Allan Taylor]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Dominic Dale]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Alfie Burden]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Mostafa Dorgham]]|EGY}} *{{flagathlete|[[Reanne Evans]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Hammad Miah]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Liam Graham (snooker player)|Liam Graham]]|SCO}} v {{flagathlete|[[Jackson Page]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Andrew Higginson]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Sean O'Sullivan (snooker player)|Sean O'Sullivan]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Andrew Pagett]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Lukas Kleckers]]|GER}} *{{flagathlete|[[Dylan Emery]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Martin Gould]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Joe O'Connor (snooker player)|Joe O'Connor]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Zak Surety]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Rod Lawler]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Baipat Siripaporn]]|THA}} {{div col end}} ====18 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[Mohamed Ibrahim (snooker player)|Mohamed Ibrahim]]|EGY}} v {{flagathlete|[[Dean Young (snooker player)|Dean Young]]|SCO}} *{{flagathlete|[[Scott Donaldson]]|SCO}} v {{flagathlete|[[Mark Davis (snooker player)|Mark Davis]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Victor Sarkis]]|BRA}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ross Muir]]|SCO}} *{{flagathlete|[[Jamie Clarke (snooker player)|Jamie Clarke]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|Alfie Davies|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Liam Highfield]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ken Doherty]]|IRL}} *{{flagathlete|[[James Cahill (snooker player)|James Cahill]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Duane Jones (snooker player)|Duane Jones]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Jordan Brown (snooker player)|Jordan Brown]]|NIR}} v {{flagathlete|[[Stuart Carrington]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Adam Duffy]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Julien Leclercq (snooker player)|Julien Leclercq]]|BEL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Liam Pullen]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Robbie Williams (snooker player)|Robbie Williams]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Chris Wakelin]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Anthony Hamilton (snooker player)|Anthony Hamilton]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Manasawin Phetmalaikul]]|THA}} v {{flagathlete|[[Barry Pinches]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Matthew Stevens]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Stephen Hendry]]|SCO}} {{div col end}} ====19 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[David Grace (snooker player)|David Grace]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Xing Zihao]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Xu Si]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Alexander Ursenbacher]]|SWI}} *{{flagathlete|[[Xiao Guodong]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Yuan Sijun]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Marco Fu]]|HKG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Jamie Jones (snooker player)|Jamie Jones]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Pang Junxu]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ian Burns (snooker player)|Ian Burns]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Noppon Saengkham]]|THA}} v {{flagathlete|[[Himanshu Jain]]|IND}} *{{flagathlete|[[Matthew Selt]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Andy Lee (snooker player)|Andy Lee]]|HKG}} *{{flagathlete|[[David Lilley (snooker player)|David Lilley]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Aaron Hill (snooker player)|Aaron Hill]]|IRL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Jimmy Robertson (snooker player)|Jimmy Robertson]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Sydney Wilson]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Graeme Dott]]|SCO}} v {{flagathlete|[[Oliver Lines]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Martin O'Donnell (snooker player)|Martin O'Donnell]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Daniel Wells (snooker player)|Daniel Wells]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Joe Perry (snooker player)|Joe Perry]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ishpreet Singh Chadha]]|IND}} {{div col end}} ====20 October==== {{div col}} *{{flagathlete|[[Zhou Yuelong]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Stan Moody]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Mink Nutcharut]]|THA}} v {{flagathlete|[[Michael White (snooker player)|Michael White]]|WAL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Peng Yisong]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[He Guoqiang (snooker player)|He Guoqiang]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Stephen Maguire]]|SCO}} v {{flagathlete|[[Fergal O'Brien]]|IRL}} *{{flagathlete|[[Si Jiahui]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Zhang Anda]]|CHN}} *{{flagathlete|[[Lyu Haotian]]|CHN}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ashley Carty]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Andres Petrov]]|EST}} v {{flagathlete|[[Sanderson Lam]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[Stuart Bingham]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Ashley Hugill]]|ENG}} *{{flagathlete|[[John Astley (snooker player)|John Astley]]|ENG}} v {{flagathlete|[[Thor Chuan Leong]]|MAS}} *{{flagathlete|[[Jak Jones]]|WAL}} v {{flagathlete|[[Oliver Brown (snooker player)|Oliver Brown]]|ENG}} {{div col end}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Home Nations Series}} {{European Series}} {{2023–24 snooker season}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Ireland Open, 2023}} [[Category:Home Nations Series]] [[Category:2023 in snooker|Northern Ireland Open]] [[Category:October 2023 sports events in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Sport in Belfast]] [[Category:Snooker competitions in Northern Ireland]] [[Category:European Series]]'