O’Sullivan and Trump eliminated as more top seeds fall at NI Open
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s return to the Northern Ireland Open ended in disappointment after a 4‑3 defeat to world‑ranked 110 player Ka Wai Cheung in Belfast. Cheung, a qualifier from Hong Kong, claimed the opening frame, but O’Sullivan answered by taking the next three with breaks of 56, 138 and 72 to lead 3‑1. A missed red in the fifth frame allowed Cheung to compile an 88 and pull level. He continued his surge with a 77 in the seventh, and after another O’Sullivan miss, sealed the match with a 61 break in the deciding frame.
The victory marked Cheung’s first win in a main‑draw knockout match at a ranking event, and it earns him a clash with Stuart Bingham for a place in the last‑16. Reflecting on the win, Cheung told BBC Sport NI, “I’m very happy that I can still play well under pressure. To be honest, as you can see in the arena, Ronnie had a lot of fans. I was actually scared a little bit before the match but this is the best experience. No matter if I had lost or won, I think it is the best experience for my snooker career and that is all I need. To play the legend of the game and to win, this is very satisfying for me.”
O’Sullivan became the eighth top‑16 player to fall among the nine who have competed at the Waterfront Hall so far. Later, Judd Trump also went out, losing 4‑3 to fellow Englishman Martin O’Donnell. O’Donnell led three times during the match, but Trump levelled each occasion before O’Donnell, world number 56, secured the deciding frame. Trump produced breaks of 91, 94 and 52, while O’Donnell responded with three breaks over 50 to claim his first victory over the former world champion and world number three.
The tournament has seen a wave of upsets. On Sunday, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Xiao Guodong, Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter were all eliminated. Monday’s afternoon session produced further surprises: Barry Hawkins fell 4‑2 to Daniel Wells, while former world champion Kyren Wilson advanced with a comfortable 4‑0 win over Ben Mertens. Chris Wakelin was beaten 4‑1 by Jamie Jones, and Luca Brecel edged Lei Peifan by the same scoreline. The evening session will feature John Higgins among others.
O’Sullivan’s appearance was his first at the NI Open since 2022 and his first Home Nations event since the 2024 English Open. He had not played in a UK tournament since his dramatic 13‑12 second‑round loss to John Higgins at the World Championship in April. The loss in Belfast was far from the triumphant comeback he had hoped for.