Most of snooker’s star names will be at the Northern Ireland Open, starting Sunday, but Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams will not be competing.

The second Home Nations event of the season at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast gets going on Sunday morning, with the winner leaving with £100,000 a week later.

Williams stole the headlines on Monday when he became the oldest winner of a ranking event by claiming the Xi’an Grand Prix.

The 50-year-old beat Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final and landed £177,000 in the process, so has decided to take a well-earned week off.

Speaking after winning the big title in China on Monday, the Welshman said: ‘I’m going to have a break now for a little bit because in the last two or three months I’ve done a hell of a lot of travelling to China. Back and forth

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