Irish Women’s Snooker Open 2025 | Tournament Preview
The first-ever World Women’s Snooker Tour event to be held in Ireland gets underway on Friday with the staging of the Irish Women’s Open from the SBI HQ in Carlow, Ireland.
Organised in partnership with Snooker & Billiards Ireland, the national federation for the sports in the Republic of Ireland, with support from Sport Ireland, the event will see many of the world’s best female snooker players compete in the country for the first time.
Among those present will be six of the world’s top eight, including reigning world champion and winner of two ranking events already this season, Bai Yulu, as well as world number one Mink Nutcharut, and three-time world champion Ng On Yee.
India’s Anupama Ramachandran, Narucha Phoemphul of Thailand and England’s Tessa Davidson will also be among those looking to lift the title on the Emerald Isle.
The competition will be played over three days, with all players beginning their tournament at the round robin group stages. The top two from each group will progress to Sunday’s knockout rounds.
Group A
Three-time world champion Ng On Yee will be hoping to make it third time lucky this season following final appearances at the UK Championship and Niche Cues Open since September.
The Hong China China star will begin in a group which features reigning World Women’s Seniors champion Tessa Davidson, with the pair having met most recently in Belgium back in February when Ng edged a close match 3-2 in the quarter-finals.
Talented junior Zoe Killington will also feature in the group, while Ireland’s Tanya O’Neill returns to the Tour for the first time in seven years.
Group B
China’s Bai Yulu will begin her bid for a third title of the season in Group B, which is will be the sole five-player group in the round robin stages.
A rematch with Scotland’s Sophie Nix, who memorably compiled her highest-ever Tour break of 56 against Bai earlier this year at the WSF Women’s Championship in Morocco, will await, with the 17-year-old set to make her first appearance of the season in Ireland.
Also present in the group will be Germany’s Diana Schuler, who last competed at the UK Championship in September, as well as Iran’s Zeinab Shahi.
The group is completed by Ireland’s Paula Judge, who last played at the 2018 World Championship and reached the UK Championship quarter-finals in both 2016 and 2017.
Group C
World number one Mink Nutcharut heads up Group C as she continues her bid for what would be a tenth ranking event crown, having most recently lifted silverware in Morocco back in January.
The Thai star will face opposition including two-time ranking finalist So Man Yan during the group stages, with Yan having reached the last 16 stage of both the UK Champpionship and Niche Cues Women’s Open in recent months.
Also in the group are home duo Margaret O’Driscoll – a two-time ranking event semi-finalist who returns to the WWS Tour for the first time since the 2001 World Championship – and 19-year-old Ella O’Connor who makes her debut this weekend.
Group D
The final group is led by world number six Anupama Ramachandran, whose best performance on the Tour so far this season came last month in Bangkok as she reached the quarter-finals of the Niche Cues Women’s Open in Thailand.
The 23-year-old will meet Narucha Phoemphul during the group stage, with the pair having met most recently at the last 16 stage of the UK Championship in September, with Phoemphul having edged a close match 3-2.
The pair will be joined by 17-year-old Laura Killington, who is currently enjoying her best run of form on the circuit with back-t0-back last 16 appearances at her previous two competitions, while Ireland’s Michelle Sherwin completes the group as she makes her first Tour appearance in 20 years.
Under-21 / Seniors
The Under-21 side event in Carlow will see current top ranked player Narucha Phoemphul look to extend her advantage at the top of the standings, with third ranked Sophie Nix seeded in the opposite half of the draw.
A six-strong field in the Seniors competition meanwhile will see Tessa Davidson bid to extend a winning run from competitions played which stretches back to the 2023 UK Championship, with second seed Diana Schuler targeting her second title, three years on from her success at the Scottish Open.
The action gets underway on Saturday from 12:00pm GMT, with the latest match results and standings available via WPBSA SnookerScores.
