Judd Trump is a record four-time champion of the Northern Ireland Open and has already been in the winner’s circle this season courtesy of his success at the Shanghai Masters, an elite but non-ranking event.
Trump dominated the Northern Ireland tournament with three consecutive victories from 2018 to 2020 and took the title again in 2023.
Chinese players Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize have won the World Championship over the past two years and now occupy first and second positions respectively in the world rankings, having leapfrogged previous number one Trump.
Wu emerged victorious in the most recent ranking event on the calendar, the Shenzhen Open, but has withdrawn from the NI Open, along with fellow Chinese player He Guoqiang, for health reasons.
Welshman Jak Jones is the only player to have won two tournaments this seasons, the Championship League and British Open, while Mark Selby (China Open), Chang Bingyu (Wuhan Open) and Ali Carter (English Open) have also lifted trophies.
Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams are other previous winners of the Northern Ireland event, hoping to add to their previous successes.
Defending champion Lisowski, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson and John Higgins are among the other established stars in the field.
Selby and Robertson have the added incentive of potentially becoming the first players to win all four Home Nations tournaments in their careers should they triumph in Belfast.