Home Nations Series

Snooker tournament

Home Nations Series

Tournament information
Country| United Kingdom
Established| 2016
Organisation(s)| World Snooker Tour
Format| Ranking events
Winner's share| Individual event:
£100,000
Series winner bonus:
£150,000
Current champion|  Neil Robertson (AUS)

The Home Nations Series (officially the BetVictor Home Nations Series for sponsorship reasons) is a snooker tournament series for the four home nations of the United Kingdom.[1] It began in the 2016–17 snooker season, combining two existing tournaments, the Scottish Open and Welsh Open, with the newly created English Open and the Northern Ireland Open.

The series' events currently offer the lowest prize fund of all regular format snooker ranking events (The Snooker Shoot Out has the lowest prize fund of all ranking events). However, the best-performing player of the series is entitled to a £150,000 bonus prize.

## History

[edit]

The Brentwood Centre in Essex, which hosted the English Open since inception The Waterfront Hall in Belfast hosted the Northern Ireland Open since 2017

On 29 April 2015, Barry Hearn, chairman of World Snooker announced that from the 2016–17 snooker season on, a "Home Nations Series" would be added to the season's calendar. Being the home of snooker, the series includes tournaments of the four countries in the United Kingdom: the English Open, the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open. There was a special bonus of £1 million on offer to the player who would win all four tournaments in the same season until 2020, when it was dropped in light of the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

So far, the highest number of tournaments won in the same season is two, with Mark Selby winning the English and the Scottish Open in the 2019–20 season, Gary Wilson winning the Scottish and the Welsh Open in the 2023–24 season, and Judd Trump winning the English and the Northern Ireland Open in the 2020–21 and the 2023–24 seasons.

The Home Nations Series awards two wildcards to amateur players.[3] The four national governing bodies select the wildcard players according to criteria that they have previously agreed with the WPBSA, and the first round became a qualification round for all players not in the top 16 since the 2021-22 season.[4]

## Trophies and prizes

[edit]

The trophies of the individual tournaments are named after well-known snooker players of the respective countries:

* At the English Open: the Steve Davis trophy.[5]
* At the Northern Ireland Open: the Alex Higgins trophy.[6]
* At the Scottish Open: the Stephen Hendry trophy.[7]
* At the Welsh Open: the Ray Reardon trophy.[8]

### BetVictor Bonus

[edit]

Besides the prize money players could earn within an event, a bonus prize of £150,000 is also awarded to the player who earned the most cumulative prize money across all the Home Nations Series events. It was initially set up under the European Series banner since the 2021-22 season, where all Home Nations Series events were included; it was until the 2024-25 season that the European Series was discontinued, and the bonus prize is now won solely based on the performance within the Home Nations Series events.[9]

For previous BetVictor Series Bonus winners, see European Series § Series winners.

Season  | Winner  | Bonus prize  | Ref.

|
|
|

2024–25 |  Neil Robertson (AUS) | £150,000  | [10]

## Format

[edit]

All tournaments within the series are ranking tournaments of the World Snooker Tour and are played with 128 players. After first nominating all professional players, the wildcard players will be nominated and finally top‑up players from the Q School order of merit. Up to and including the last 16, the matches are played as best‑of‑seven frames, in the quarter‑finals as best‑of‑nine, semi‑finals as best‑of‑eleven frames, and in the final best‑of‑seventeen.

From inception, and until the 2024‍–‍25 season, the tournaments were generally played as a flat‑draw format. In the 2021‍–‍22 season, the last 128 round was modified slightly by being turned into a mini‑qualifying round, where players outside of the top 16 have to win a match in order to play at the final venue. The top 16 still play in the qualifying round, but their matches are held over to be played at the final venue instead.

Starting from the 2024‍–‍25 season, all tournaments in the series were changed to adopt a tiered system, bringing them more into line with other events that have moved towards protecting higher ranked professionals. The new format means that the Top 32 players on the world rankings at the designated cut‑off point are automatically sent through to the Last 64 round and will not play a qualifying round. Everyone below the Top 32 will play in a two‑round qualifying format: the first round will see those professionals seeded 65‍–‍96 playing in a match against those professionals seeded 97‍–‍128. The winners of that first round will play in a second round, where they will be facing professionals seeded 33‍–‍64, with the qualifying winners being placed randomly against the Top 32. The justification for the change in format was described by the World Snooker Tour as "giving the lower ranked players the opportunity to earn prize money through the earlier rounds and beyond, while ensuring that television audiences and ticket‑holders can see the leading players at the final venue."[11]

## Results

[edit]

Season  | Tournament  | City  | Winner  | Score  | Runner-up

|
|
|
|
|

2016–17 | English Open | Manchester |  Liang Wenbo (CHN) | 9–6  |  Judd Trump (ENG)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Mark King (ENG) | 9–8  |  Barry Hawkins (ENG)
Scottish Open | Glasgow |  Marco Fu (HKG) | 9–4  |  John Higgins (SCO)
Welsh Open | Cardiff |  Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 9–8  |  Judd Trump (ENG)
2017–18 | English Open | Barnsley |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 9–2  |  Kyren Wilson (ENG)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Mark Williams (WAL) | 9–8  |  Yan Bingtao (CHN)
Scottish Open | Glasgow |  Neil Robertson (AUS) | 9–8  |  Cao Yupeng (CHN)
Welsh Open | Cardiff |  John Higgins (SCO) | 9–7  |  Barry Hawkins (ENG)
2018–19 | English Open | Crawley |  Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 9–7  |  Mark Davis (ENG)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–7  |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Scottish Open | Glasgow |  Mark Allen (NIR) | 9–7  |  Shaun Murphy (ENG)
Welsh Open | Cardiff |  Neil Robertson (AUS) | 9–7  |  Stuart Bingham (ENG)
2019–20 | English Open | Crawley |  Mark Selby (ENG) | 9–1  |  David Gilbert (ENG)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–7  |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Scottish Open | Glasgow |  Mark Selby (ENG) | 9–6  |  Jack Lisowski (ENG)
Welsh Open | Cardiff |  Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 9–1  |  Kyren Wilson (ENG)
2020–21 | English Open | Milton Keynes |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–8  |  Neil Robertson (AUS)
Northern Ireland Open | Milton Keynes |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–7  |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Scottish Open | Milton Keynes |  Mark Selby (ENG) | 9–3  |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
Welsh Open | Newport |  Jordan Brown (NIR) | 9–8  |  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
2021–22 | Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Mark Allen (NIR) | 9–8  |  John Higgins (SCO)
English Open | Milton Keynes |  Neil Robertson (AUS) | 9–8  |  John Higgins (SCO)
Scottish Open | Llandudno |  Luca Brecel (BEL) | 9–5  |  John Higgins (SCO)
Welsh Open | Newport |  Joe Perry (ENG) | 9–5  |  Judd Trump (ENG)
2022–23 | Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Mark Allen (NIR) | 9–4  |  Zhou Yuelong (CHN)
Scottish Open | Edinburgh |  Gary Wilson (ENG) | 9–2  |  Joe O'Connor (ENG)
English Open | Brentwood |  Mark Selby (ENG) | 9–6  |  Luca Brecel (BEL)
Welsh Open | Llandudno |  Robert Milkins (ENG) | 9–7  |  Shaun Murphy (ENG)
2023–24 | English Open | Brentwood |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–7  |  Zhang Anda (CHN)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Judd Trump (ENG) | 9–3  |  Chris Wakelin (ENG)
Scottish Open | Edinburgh |  Gary Wilson (ENG) | 9–5  |  Noppon Saengkham (THA)
Welsh Open | Llandudno |  Gary Wilson (ENG) | 9–4  |  Martin O'Donnell (ENG)
2024–25 | English Open | Brentwood |  Neil Robertson (AUS) | 9–7  |  Wu Yize (CHN)
Northern Ireland Open | Belfast |  Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 9–3  |  Judd Trump (ENG)
Scottish Open | Edinburgh |  Lei Peifan (CHN) | 9–5  |  Wu Yize (CHN)
Welsh Open | Llandudno |  Mark Selby (ENG) | 9–6  |  Stephen Maguire (SCO)

## Statistics

[edit]

### Champions

[edit]

Player  | Total  | English
Open | Northern
Ireland
Open | Scottish
Open | Welsh
Open | Winning
span

|
|
|
|
|
|

Judd Trump (ENG) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2018–2023
Mark Selby (ENG) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2019–2025
Neil Robertson (AUS) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2017–2024
Mark Allen (NIR) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2018–2022
Gary Wilson (ENG) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2022–2024
Stuart Bingham (ENG) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2017–2018
Liang Wenbo (CHN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2016
Mark King (ENG) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2016
Marco Fu (HKG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2016
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2017
Mark Williams (WAL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2017
John Higgins (SCO) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2018
Shaun Murphy (ENG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2020
Jordan Brown (NIR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2021
Luca Brecel (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2021
Joe Perry (ENG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2022
Robert Milkins (ENG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2023
Kyren Wilson (ENG) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2024
Lei Peifan (CHN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2024
Total events  | 36  | 9  | 9  | 9  | 9  | 2016–2025

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Home Nations Series". Livesnooker.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
2. ^ Slater, Nigel (23 October 2020). "Barry Hearn reveals why he's dropped snooker's £1 million bonus". theoldgreenbaize.com.
3. ^ "Home Nations Snooker Events To Include Wild Cards - World Snooker". Worldsnooker.com. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
4. ^ "2021-22 Snooker Calendar Announced". wst.tv. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
5. ^ "English Open snooker trophy named after Steve Davis". World Snooker Tour. 26 Sep 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
6. ^ "Northern Ireland Open trophy to be named after Alex Higgins". World Snooker Tour. 27 Sep 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
7. ^ "Scottish Open trophy named after Stephen Hendry". World Snooker Tour. 30 Sep 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
8. ^ "Welsh Open trophy honour for Reardon". World Snooker Tour. 28 Sep 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
9. ^ "Neil Robertson wins Home Nations Series BetVictor Bonus prize and collects £150,000". Totally Snookered. 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
10. ^ Tour, World Snooker (2025-02-11). "Robertson Wins BetVictor Bonus". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
11. ^ "Tiered format for Home Nations and German Masters in 2024/25". World Snooker Tour. 5 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Home Nations Series

English Open|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Northern Ireland Open|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Scottish Open|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Welsh Open|

* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025
* 2026

* v
* t
* e

English Open

* Part of the Home Nations Series (since 2016)
* Part of the European Series (from 2021 to 2023)

Manchester|

* 2016

Barnsley|

* 2017

Crawley|

* 2018
* 2019

Milton Keynes|

* 2020
* 2021

Brentwood|

* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* List of winners

* v
* t
* e

Northern Ireland Open

* Part of the Home Nations Series (since 2016)
* Part of the European Series (from 2021 to 2023)

Belfast|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Milton Keynes|

* 2020

* List of winners

* v
* t
* e

Scottish Open

* Part of the Home Nations Series (since 2016)
* Part of the European Series (from 2021 to 2023)

International Open|

* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997

Aberdeen|

* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002

Edinburgh|

* 2003
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Glasgow|

* 2004
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

Ravenscraig|

* 2012

Milton Keynes|

* 2020

Llandudno|

* 2021

* List of winners

* v
* t
* e

Welsh Open

* Part of the Home Nations Series (since 2017)
* Part of the European Series (from 2021 to 2024)

Newport|

* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998

Cardiff|

* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004

Newport|

* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014

Cardiff|

* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

Newport|

* 2021
* 2022

Llandudno|

* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* List of winners

* v
* t
* e

Active professional snooker tournaments

Tour|

* World Snooker Tour (main tour)
* Q Tour (feeder tour)
* World Women's Tour

Ranking events|

* Championship League
* Xi'an Grand Prix
* Saudi Arabia Masters
* English Open
* British Open
* Wuhan Open
* Northern Ireland Open
* International Championship
* UK Championship
* Shoot Out
* Scottish Open
* German Masters
* Welsh Open
* World Open
* World Grand Prix
* Players Championship
* Tour Championship
* World Championship

Non-ranking events|

* Shanghai Masters
* Champion of Champions
* Masters
* Championship League Invitational

Series|

* Triple Crown
* Home Nations Series
* Players Series
* Q School

Related lists|

* List of snooker tournaments
* ranking
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* List of ranking title winners
* List of withdrawn tournaments

* Cue sports portal
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*[AUS]: Australia
*[Ref.]: References
*[CHN]: China
*[ENG]: England
*[HKG]: Hong Kong
*[SCO]: Scotland
*[WAL]: Wales
*[NIR]: Northern Ireland
*[BEL]: Belgium
*[THA]: Thailand
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