Kyren Wilson thrashes Jak Jones 9-2 to win the Northern Ireland Open and £100,000

Kyren Wilson beat Jak Jones 9-2 in the Northern Ireland Open final in Belfast on Sunday, his first ranking title in 19 months and his second in this event. He took the Alex Higgins Trophy and the top prize of £100,000 (about Rs 3.7 crore), the World Snooker Tour reported.

Wilson led 6-2 after the afternoon session, with three century breaks, and needed only 45 minutes of the evening at the Waterfront Hall to finish the job. He closed with a break of 75.

Northern Ireland Open 2026 final: the numbers

Rupee figures use today's pound rate of Rs 370.19 on our pound to rupee page.

Back from a hard 19 months

Wilson, 34, from Kettering, won the 2024 World Championship by beating Jones in the final and added four more ranking titles in 2024/25. Since then, WST says, he has dealt with his favourite cue being snapped, health problems for his wife Sophie and a burglary at the family home. His ranking-event form was poor enough that he had slipped to 23rd in the race to next spring's Crucible.

This win lifts him into the top 16 of that race, on course for an automatic place at the World Championship. He stays ninth in the world rankings and jumps from 17th to fifth on the one-year list. He joins Judd Trump and Mark Allen as the only players to win the Northern Ireland Open more than once, and moves one title ahead of Jimmy White on the all-time list.

He also leads the race for the £150,000 Home Nations bonus, paid to the top money-winner across the four Home Nations events, by £13,200 from Ali Carter, with the Scottish and Welsh events still to come.

Jones misses a record

Jak Jones, 33, from Cwmbran, had never won a trophy as a professional before this season, then won the Championship League in July and the British Open in September. A win in Belfast would have made him the fastest player to three ranking titles, beating John Higgins' six months in 1994/95. He still climbs from 24th to 18th in the world.

Next on the tour

The International Championship is next, WST says, and a deep run there could earn Jones a top-16 seeding for the UK Championship and the Masters. For more cue sport and the rest of the week's sport, see our snooker desk and sports news.