On October 23rd, Beijing time, the fourth day of the Snooker Northern Ireland Open saw the continuation of the 1/16 matches, which were played in a best-of-seven format.
The Northern Ireland Open is part of the British Home Series and is the seventh ranking event of the WST World Snooker Tour. The total prize money for the tournament is £550,000, with the champion receiving £100,000 and the runner-up £45,000. Alongside the English Open, Welsh Open, and Scottish Open, these four Home Series events are the backbone of snooker competitions, and the player who finishes first in prize money across these events receives an additional £150,000 bonus. This has attracted 128 top players from around the world to participate, with this year's defending champion being Judd Trump.
This year's Home Series competition rules have been innovated, with the top 32 ranked players directly qualifying for the main event as seeded players. The remaining players must compete through one or two rounds of qualifying matches to secure their place in the main event. This change highlights the advantage of higher-ranked players, which is why professional ranking event players take it seriously. In this competition, seven Chinese players - Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, Xiao Guodong, Wu Yize, Pang Junxu, Zhou Yuelong, and Lyu Haotian - qualified directly for the main event as seeded players. Another 17 players needed to go through qualifying matches, making a total of 24 Chinese participants. Unfortunately, Chinese star Ding Junhui did not register for the event and was the only top 16 player not to participate. Additionally, snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew due to health reasons, leaving 16 of the top 16 players to compete in the Northern Ireland Open.
After the qualifying matches, 10 out of 17 Chinese players successfully secured their spots in the main event. Adding the seven seeded players who qualified directly, a total of 17 Chinese players competed in the 64 to 32 matches, achieving a record of 7 wins and 10 losses. Zhou Yuelong defeated veteran Dale with three breaks over 50 and one century break, winning 4-3. Wang Yu晨 and Pang Junxu also advanced with 4-3 victories over their opponents. Ma Hairong made an impressive upset by defeating top 16 player Ali Carter 4-1. Rookie Lei Peifan, who returned to the professional circuit this year, defeated David Gilbert 4-2 in a minor upset. Tian Pengfei won 4-2 against Si Jiahui, and Long Zehuang advanced due to O'Sullivan's withdrawal.
The competition began with several upsets, with top 16 players such as Chinese player Zhang Anda, Mark Selby, and Gary Wilson all suffering early exits. After the first round of the main event, nine of the top 16 players advanced to the last 32, including the top three ranked players - Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, and Mark Allen. In the early morning of the match day, Chinese players Tian Pengfei and Zhou Yuelong took the lead. Tian Pengfei defeated veteran champion Michaelis with three breaks over 50, advancing to the last 16 with a 4-1 victory. Zhou Yuelong started with two consecutive wins but was then reversed by world champion Shaun Murphy, who won four frames in a row. Other advancing players included Judd Trump, who made one century break and three breaks over 50 to defeat Matthew Selt 4-2, Stuart Bingham, who whitewashed his opponent Mark Davis, and Louis Heathcote, who defeated Jimmy Robertson 4-1. The other 1/16 matches continued on the same day, with specific results as follows:
Pang Junxu defeated world champion Luca Brecel 4-1. Pang Junxu, born in 2000, is a rising Chinese player who turned professional in 2020 and is currently ranked 27th in the world. He has a stable playing style and is relatively balanced in both attack and defense. He has reached the final stage of a ranking event once, finishing as runner-up to O'Sullivan in the 2023 WST Elite Championship with a score of 2-6. In five previous encounters with Brecel, Pang Junxu has won three and lost two, including victories in this season's English Open and Saudi Masters.
Brecel, a Belgian prodigy born in 1995, turned professional in 2011 and has lived up to his potential, winning four ranking event titles, including the 2023 World Championship, where he became the first 90s-born player to win the world title. Currently ranked 6th in the world, Brecel has not maintained his excellent form after winning the World Championship and has been eliminated early in various events. After this season, he will lose 500,000 championship bonus points and may risk falling out of the top 16.
The match started with Pang Junxu in good form, scoring 63 points in a single stroke to take the lead 71-20. In the second frame, Pang Junxu's hot hand allowed him to win twice with a single-stroke 71 points. Brecel appeared slow to heat up and made repeated mistakes. In the third frame, Pang Junxu made a century break of 118 points to win, starting the match with a dream run of three consecutive victories and taking a 3-0 lead to secure match point. In the fourth frame, Pang Junxu relaxed and made more mistakes, allowing Brecel to score several times and win 78-1 to save a frame. In the fifth frame, the two players alternated shots in a messy and close battle, with Pang Junxu ultimately winning 73-25 in a tussle, eliminating Brecel 4-1 to advance to the last 16.
Lei Peifan defeated Tom Ford 4-1. Lei Peifan, currently ranked 92nd in the world, turned professional in 2019 but failed to maintain his status. This year, he won the Pacific Championship and regained his professional qualification, returning to the arena. His best result is reaching the last 32 of a ranking event. Ford, ranked 17th in the world, has been in poor form this season, being eliminated early in various events, causing him to fall out of the top 16. His best career result is being a runner-up in a ranking event.
In the first frame, Ford took the lead with several shots, winning 55-38. In the second frame, Lei Peifan made a century break of 115 points, winning the frame 121-15. In the third frame, Lei Peifan scored multiple times to surpass the points with 98-25, while Ford's icy hand caused mistakes in both attack and defense. In the fourth frame, the two players took turns scoring points, with Ford making a fatal mistake at a critical moment that Lei Peifan capitalized on with a single-stroke 56 points to win 74-65, taking a 3-1 lead and securing match point. In the fifth frame, Lei Peifan grew bolder and scored continuously with a single-stroke 63 points to win 93-0, eliminating Ford with four consecutive victories and advancing to the last 16, also refreshing his best career result.