Shaun Murphy Brings the Best Form to Northern Ireland Open

by Roy Brindley, 20 October 2025

With many of snooker’s big guns out of form, Shaun Murphy is fancied to land this week’s BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

Shaun Murphy is in fine form, whereas Judd Trump (left) appears well below his best. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• Judd Trump and Mark Allen seek to extend their outstanding Northern Ireland Open records.
• Betting is wide open with many top players struggling to find their best form.
• The bookies have dismissed the defending champion, Kyren Wilson, as a 15/2 shot.
• British Open winner, Shaun Murphy, is the fancy at tasty odds.

The second leg of Snooker’s Home Nations Series, the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, takes place in Belfast this week, when the Waterfront Hall will welcome 61 of the world’s top snooker players. A £100,000 first prize and the Alex Higgins Trophy are on the line.

Defending champion Kyren Wilson returns to compete in a star-studded lineup that features Mark Allen, Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong, Mark Selby, John Higgins, and Shaun Murphy. The 10th edition of the Northern Ireland Open, 2025’s contest, is the seventh ranking event of the 2025/26 season.

Trump and Allen Have the Back-Class

Winning the tournament six times in the past seven years, the competition has been dominated by Judd Trump and home hero Mark Allen. This track record and back-class sees the duo trade on 4/1 and 10/1 odds respectively.

However, their recent form is poor. Trump’s most recent appearance was a tame loss to veteran Matthew Stevens in the opening round of the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix. In his last four ranking events the current world number one has also suffered three third-round defeats.

UNREAL battle between Judd Trump and Matthew Stevens! 🤝

Black black ball drama and a monumental test of grit…#XianGP pic.twitter.com/VEMV00u9ol

— WST (@WeAreWST) October 8, 2025

Allen, never the model of consistency, won the BetVictor English Open in September but has since lost to the lowly-ranked Mitchel Mann in a qualifier for the International Championship. He then made a first-round exit from the Xi’an Grand Prix at the hands of Oliver Lines.

Three Byes and Two Big Names Missing

The man of the moment, and 2017 Northern Ireland Open winner, Mark Williams, who became the oldest winner of a ranking event when taking the Xi’an Grand Prix last weekend, has withdrawn from the Belfast event, giving Long Zehuang a bye to the ‘last 32’ stage.

Tom Ford also receives a bye in the opening round with his intended opponent, Marcu Fu, forced to withdraw due to injury. Despite their good fortune, the UK’s best online betting sites rate their chances of lifting the title at dismissive 33/1 odds.

Neil Robertson, blaming illness, withdrew in the 11th hour. The beneficiary, David Grace, will now collect £5,400 for progressing into the ‘last 32’ round, although online betting sites do not expect him to progress much further. He is 100/1 in the outright betting.

The overall complexion confirms that, currently, there is no dominant force in snooker. Furthermore, in addition to Trump and Allen, many established players have recently been performing well below their best.

Kyren Wilson, who failed to pot a ball when whitewashed 5-0 by Shaun Murphy in the Xi’an Grand Prix at the start of October, is a case in point. The 2024 World Champions’ three prior appearances in ranking events resulted in first-round defeats.

Northern Ireland Open Betting Odds

• 4/1 Judd Trump
• 6/1 Zhao Xintong
• 13/2 Mark Selby
• 7/1 Shaun Murphy
• 15/2 Kyren Wilson
• 10/1 Mark Allen
• 14/1 John Higgins
• 20/1 Barry Hawkins

Who Are the Best Bets for the Northern Ireland Open?

If he were taking part, Xiao Guodong would be the selection. This Chinese player has already won the Wuhan Open this season and made the final of the English Open. At 33/1 ante-post, he could be a livewire for the World Championship.

Incidentally, Zhao Xintong does not look anything like the young man who won nine consecutive matches to become the World Champion in the spring. Therefore, by a process of elimination, Shaun Murphy is the best bet for this week’s competition.

Now based in Ireland, ‘The Magician’ is in fine fettle. He won the British Open in late September, beating Neil Robertson, Judd Trump and Mark Selby en route to victory. A memorable journey to the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix came next.

Murphy gave notice of his form surge a month ago when making three consecutive centuries (of 125, 135, and 133) when scoring 457 points to whitewash Zak Surety 4-nil in the opening round of the English Open.

How Can I Watch the Northern Ireland Open

Viewers in the UK and Ireland can watch the action on TNT Sports and Discovery+. Freeview channel, DMAX, will also broadcast weekday afternoon sessions (and all semi-final and final sessions). Live streaming online betting sites, such as William Hill are another option.