Northern Ireland Open 2026

What the Northern Ireland Open is

The Northern Ireland Open is a ranking tournament and one of the Home Nations series. Belfast stages the televised main draw after qualifying matches in Leicester. The competition runs from Sunday 18 to Sunday 25 October 2026 at Waterfront Hall. Its opening days offer several matches in the same visit; the weekend concentrates attention on one table and the final four players.

Jack Lisowski returns as defending champion after beating Judd Trump 9–8 in the 2025 final. That victory was Lisowski’s first ranking title. The 2026 draw announcement describes the Belfast tournament’s tenth anniversary and names the leading players due to appear in the opening programme. For visitors, the useful distinction is between the short best-of-seven rounds and the longer matches from Friday onwards.

WST lists a £550,400 prize fund, including £100,000 for the winner and £45,000 for the runner-up. This is the published Northern Ireland Open fund checked on 9 October 2026. The event is named for Northern Ireland, while its venue is specifically the Waterfront in Belfast: travel bookings should use Belfast and the event’s actual dates.

WST event profile and prize fund · Checked 9 October 2026.

WST draw announcement · Checked 9 October 2026.

Session times and choosing your visit

For the first four days, the daytime admission starts at 10am. The price sheet also places Table 1’s second match not before 1pm, with its third match 15 minutes after the second finishes. Other tables operate on a roll-on, roll-off basis. The daytime ticket is a single listed admission option; the sheet supplies no separately priced 10am and 1pm tickets.

On Thursday, daytime play is not before 1pm. Friday’s event-specific tariff prints 2pm for the quarter-finals. WST’s earlier general Home Nations announcement used 1pm for Friday; this guide follows the Northern Ireland Open price sheet. Read the time on your issued ticket and the latest match schedule before travelling. Evening admission is 7pm throughout the published sheet.

Monday or Tuesday daytime costs £16.50 Standard, or £19.75 including the venue fee. These are useful lower-cost choices for seeing several early matches. The £28 all-day Standard ticket on those dates costs £31.25 with the same fee. Compared with buying two £16.50 sessions and paying two fees, the day pass saves £8.25 for that published combination.

For the single-table atmosphere, Saturday evening costs £40 before the fee. For the title match, Sunday afternoon is £48 and Sunday evening £52; Sunday’s £90 all-day offer covers both parts for £93.25 including the fee. Choose the final day if following one match across two sessions is the main aim of your trip.

WST’s September draw announcement schedules Lisowski on Sunday at 1pm, Mark Selby not before 2pm, Neil Robertson at 7pm and Shaun Murphy not before 8pm. Monday’s programme names Wu Yize at 1pm, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Kyren Wilson not before 2pm, Trump at 7pm and John Higgins not before 8pm. Tuesday’s opening programme includes Mark Williams at 10am, Mark Allen at 1pm and Zhao Xintong not before 2pm. Consult the linked WST schedule for subsequent rounds.

Event-specific timings · Checked 9 October 2026.

Announced opening-round player programme · Checked 9 October 2026.

Full Northern Ireland Open price list

Second-round tickets also start at £16.50; the full table retains every individual round.

Each paid ticket carries a £3.25 booking fee. Add it once to a session ticket, day pass or season ticket; two separate session tickets attract two fees. A dash means no concession amount is published for that option. The lowest concession session is £13 before fees, available on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday programme.

Concession eligibility in the sheet includes people aged 65 and over, registered unemployed visitors, students with NUS identification, NHS staff with ID and registered disabled visitors. The tariff notes a free carer. Request the venue’s companion arrangements before buying so the order contains the correct seats and category. Weekend admission has no published concession amount.

The official event listing requires under-16s to come with an adult and every visitor to hold a valid ticket. Buy through WST’s ticket link or Waterfront’s own booking route. The hall’s ticketing FAQ explains its booking fee and seller arrangements. Keep the order confirmation together with the session date: an all-day entry and an evening entry have different scope.

Complete official price sheet · Checked 9 October 2026.

The £225 Saturday offer includes lounge access, lunch, refreshments, commentary radio, a trophy photograph and live music. The listing advertises Jimmy White as its guest, subject to change. The £150 option upgrades an existing both-session booking. It is a separate purchase from admission; the ordinary Standard calculator below estimates the ticket products in the main tariff.

Estimate your tournament trip

Choose a Belfast session, all-day pass or season ticket, then Standard or an available concession. This event calculator includes Waterfront’s £3.25 fee for each paid ticket. Add any extra checkout costs and the rest of your trip budget.

Event-specific points on the day

This final falls on Sunday 25 October 2026. It is the second half of a two-session match, so an afternoon booking and an evening booking are separate admissions unless you choose the listed all-day product. Set your hotel and return journey around the sessions you actually hold.

The tariff says matches on Tables 1 and 2 that have started play continue to a conclusion regardless of the time. A slow match can therefore affect the running order. The score determines the finish of a best-of match, and a final can end before all its scheduled frames are required.

[UNVERIFIED: an event-specific refund or replacement-play policy for a match that finishes early.] The checked tariff, venue listing and ticketing FAQ supply the admission prices and timetable but no clear early-finish promise. Ask the official seller for the terms attached to your order.

For bags, cashless payment, phones, food, arrival allowance and help inside the building, use Waterfront’s on-the-day guide. Access bookings and authorised hearing-assistance arrangements are covered in the accessibility guide. These venue instructions apply to the tournament as well as its session timetable.

Your wider Belfast trip

Plan the rest of your visit

Which session should I book? compares tournament visits. First time at live snooker explains frame etiquette, and Tickets and official resale covers buying routes.

Northern Ireland Open facts and tariffs checked on 9 October 2026. This guide is independent of WST and the venue. Booking.com hotel links through CJ may earn a commission at no extra cost. How we check our facts.

Questions before booking