Ronnie O’Sullivan Withdraws from the Northern Ireland Open
Three-time former runner-up, Ronnie O’Sullivan, has withdrawn from the upcoming Northern Ireland Open in Belfast. Let’s delve into the details and the tournament schedule:
The Rocket’s Absence
- Date: Next week’s Northern Ireland Open.
- Reason: A medical issue.
- Replacement: Rory McLeod takes his place in the draw.
- Previous Withdrawals: This marks O’Sullivan’s fourth withdrawal this season, following the Championship League, European Masters, and the British Open.
Challenges for O’Sullivan
- Despite his status as the world number one, O’Sullivan faces challenges in the current one-year standings.
- He’s in danger of missing out on the World Grand Prix in January due to a provisional ranking of no. 39.
Notable Missing Players
- O’Sullivan’s absence adds to a list of top players skipping the event.
- The “Macau Five,” including Luca Brecel, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Ali Carter, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, also opted out.
- Ding Junhui has chosen not to enter as well.
Upcoming Schedule
- The Northern Ireland Open kicks off with venue stages on October 22nd, culminating in the final on October 29th.
- Defending champion Mark Allen seeks his third consecutive win at this event.
- Judd Trump is the pre-tournament favorite, with recent victories at the English and Wuhan Opens.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the results and schedule for the Northern Ireland Open qualifiers:
Northern Ireland Open Qualifying Results
Tuesday, October 17th
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | Fan Zhengyi 4-2 Liu Hongyu |
| 10am | Long Zehuang 1-4 Anton Kazakov |
| 10am | Andy Hicks 2-4 Jiang Jun |
| 1pm | Allan Taylor 1-4 Dominic Dale |
| 1pm | Alfie Burden 4-3 Mostafa Dorgham |
| 1pm | Reanne Evans 0-4 Hammad Miah |
| 4pm | Liam Graham 0-4 Jackson Page |
| 4pm | Andrew Higginson 2-4 Sean O’Sullivan |
| 4pm | Andrew Pagett 3-4 Lukas Kleckers |
| 7pm | Dylan Emery 4-3 Martin Gould |
| 7pm | Joe O’Connor 2-4 Zak Surety |
| 7pm | Rod Lawler 4-0 Baipat Siripaporn |
Wednesday, October 18th
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | Mohamed Ibrahim 2-4 Dean Young |
| 10am | Scott Donaldson 0-4 Mark Davis |
| 10am | Victor Sarkis 2-4 Ross Muir |
| 1pm | Jamie Clarke 4-3 Alfie Davies |
| 1pm | Liam Highfield 3-4 Ken Doherty |
| 1pm | James Cahill 4-1 Duane Jones |
| 4pm | Jordan Brown 4-2 Stuart Carrington |
| 4pm | Adam Duffy 1-4 Julien Leclercq |
| 4pm | Liam Pullen 1-4 Robbie Williams |
| 7pm | Chris Wakelin 4-0 Anthony Hamilton |
| 7pm | Manasawin Phetmalaikul 3-4 Barry Pinches |
| 7pm | Matthew Stevens 4-2 Stephen Hendry |
Thursday, October 19th
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | David Grace 0-4 Xing Zihao |
| 10am | Xu Si 4-2 Alexander Ursenbacher |
| 10am | Xiao Guodong 1-4 Yuan Sijun |
| 1pm | Marco Fu 4-2 Jamie Jones |
| 1pm | Pang Junxu 2-4 Ian Burns |
| 1pm | Noppon Saengkham 4-0 Himanshu Jain |
| 4pm | Matthew Selt 4-1 Andy Lee |
| 4pm | David Lilley 1-4 Aaron Hill |
| 4pm | Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Sydney Wilson |
| 7pm | Graeme Dott 4-0 Oliver Lines |
| 7pm | Martin O’Donnell 4-3 Daniel Wells |
| 7pm | Joe Perry 4-2 Ishpreet Singh Chadha |
Friday, October 20th
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | Zhou Yuelong 2-4 Stan Moody |
| 10am | Mink Nutcharut 2-4 Michael White |
| 10am | Peng Yisong 4-1 He Guoqiang |
| 1pm | Stephen Maguire 4-3 Fergal O’Brien |
| 1pm | Si Jiahui 1-4 Zhang Anda |
| 1pm | Lyu Haotian 4-1 Ashley Carty |
| 4pm | Andres Petrov 4-3 Sanderson Lam |
| 4pm | Stuart Bingham 4-3 Ashley Hugill |
| 4pm | John Astley 0-4 Thor Chuan Leong |
| 7pm | Jak Jones 4-0 Oliver Brown |
Held Over Fixtures (to be played at the venue)
Sunday, October 22nd
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | Robert Milkins vs Cao Yupeng |
| 10am | Ryan Day vs Ma Hailong |
| 10am | Neil Robertson vs Wu Yize |
| 1pm | Ricky Walden vs Ben Woollaston |
| 1pm | Judd Trump vs Jenson Kendrick |
| 1pm | Kyren Wilson vs Sam Craigie |
| Not before 2pm | Jack Lisowski vs Rebeccan Kenna |
| Not before 2pm | Robbie McGuigan vs Muhammad Asif |
| Not before 2pm | Mark Williams vs Tian Pengfei |
| 7pm | Mark Allen vs Ben Mertens |
| 7pm | Shaun Murphy vs Ryan Thomerson |
| 7pm | David Gilbert vs Joel Connolly |
| Not before 8pm | Gary Wilson vs Louis Heathcote |
| Not before 8pm | Anthony McGill vs Jimmy White |
| Not before 8pm | Rory McLeod vs Ahmed Aly Elsayed |
Monday, October 23rd
| Time | Match |
|---|---|
| 10am | Hossein Vafaei vs Mark Joyce |
| 10am | Barry Hawkins vs Elliot Slessor |
| 10am | Tom Ford vs Haydon Pinhey |
Stay updated with the latest developments in the snooker world as the Northern Ireland Open unfolds.
