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Northern Ireland Open Betting Tips: Shaun Murphy Value At 10/1 To Take Lion’s Share Of Prize Money?

8 hours ago

| BY Sam Cox

Zhao Xintong is the snooker betting favourite for the 2026 Northern Ireland Open ahead of Judd Trump and Mark Selby.

Defending champion Jack Lisowski has the honour of being the top seed, but he’s out at 25/1 to win this event. Trump and Mark Allen are the only previous repeat winners of the Northern Ireland Open.

Form Players

Wu Yize, who won the Shenzhen Open, has the third-shortest odds at 15/2 to go all the way in Belfast. Wu was knocked out at the last 16 stage in the English Open, however, and he fell in the first and second rounds of the China Open and British Open, respectively.

Ali Carter claimed the English Open, beating Mark Williams in the final. Yuan Sijun, the runner-up in Shenzhen, made the third round of the English Open and has climbed to the highest ranking of his career, but he won’t feature in Belfast due to losing in the qualifying draw.

Shaun Murphy has been on a surge over the last 12 months. A runner-up at the World Championship, Murphy has started the new season with quarter-final appearances at the China Open and English Open. He also made the last eight at the Shanghai Masters and reached the semis of the Shenzhen Open.

Predictions

Murphy is great value at 5/2 to win his quarter of the draw. It’s surprising to see that Murphy shares the same price as Kyren Wilson, who he has beaten in 13 of their 17 meetings. Lisowski, Si Jiahui, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are among the threats in the section, but we are riding with the form man here.

Similarly, the fourth quarter represents some betting value. A stacked third quarter is too hard to call, so it’s a market to steer clear of, but we think the fourth quarter comes down to Wuhan Open champion Chang Bingyu, Wu, or two-time Northern Ireland champion Mark Allen.

Yes, John Higgins is in the section, but the veteran Scot has had a poor start to the year and his record at this event is underwhelming since reaching the final five years ago. It’s hard to know what to expect from Allen after withdrawing from a string of events for personal reasons – we’re happy taking Wu at 9/4 or Chang at 7/2.

Winner of the Shanghai Masters and consistently making the latter rounds at ranking events this year, six-time finalist Trump is worth backing at 3/1 to reach the final.

It’s hard to look past Murphy at 10/1 to win the event, though we don’t mind 25/1 on Carter after his title in Brentwood. It could all fall into place for the Englishman if he can make it past Selby in his section.