Reigning Northern Ireland Open champion Judd Trump will begin the defence of his title against Indian number one Ishpreet Singh Chadha as Mark Allen has been handed a tough opening round draw at this year’s tournament.
The Antrim cueman, fresh off his Semi-Final appearance at the British Open, will take on World No.65 Liu Hongyu in the first round at the Waterfront Hall for the tournament that gets under way on Sunday October 20.
Allen’s battle with Hongyu, whose best result saw him reach the English Open Semi-Finals a year ago, will be the main event of the evening session on day two, Monday October 21.
Trump, who won the event for the fourth time last year by beating Chris Wakelin in the Final, will kick off the tournament on the opening day when the World No.1 faces Chadha at 1pm, with an all-Leicester battle between Mark Selby and Louis Heathcote headlining the evening session.
A rematch of the 2010 World Championship Final between Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott will be the main event of Monday’s afternoon session, with Tuesday’s first round session seeing world champion Kyren Wilson take on David Grace.
Other intriguing opening round ties feature seven-time world champion and three-time NI Open runner-up Ronnie O’Sullivan clash with Long Zehuang on Monday night, while 2017 champion Mark Williams will open his account on Tuesday afternoon against Jamie Clarke.
Antrim’s Jordan Brown, the only other Northern Irishman in the field, will be one of the first players on the table, scheduled to face England’s Robert Milkins at 11am on the Sunday.
The event, which has a blockbuster field featuring nine of the world’s top-10 players competing, will conclude with the Final on Sunday October 27, when the next winner of the Alex Higgins Trophy is crowned.
Selected NI Open first round fixtures
Sunday October 20: Judd Trump vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha (1pm), Luca Brecel vs He Guoqiang (2pm), Mark Selby vs Louis Heathcote (7pm), Shaun Murphy vs Jiang Jun (8pm)
Monday October 21: Neil Robertson vs Graeme Dott (1pm), Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Long Zehuang (2pm), Mark Allen vs Liu Hongyu (7pm), John Higgins vs Fan Zhengyi (8pm)
Tuesday October 22: Kyren Wilson vs David Grace (1pm), Mark Williams vs Jamie Clarke (2pm)