Northern Ireland Open: Kyren Wilson beats Jak Jones to secure title at Waterfront Hall

Kyren Wilson won the Northern Ireland Open for the second time in three years with a clinical 9-2 victory over Jak Jones at the Waterfront Hall.

Wilson, 34, carried his impressive tournament form into the final and led 6-2 after the afternoon session having been helped by three century breaks.

The Englishman then won the opening three frames of the evening session to complete the comfortable victory in what was a repeat of the 2024 World Championship final, also won by Wilson.

The victory is the world number nine's 11th ranking title and his first since the Players Championship in 2025.

"I am buzzing, it's a really great tournament. I love to be a part of it and I have built a nice little CV here," Wilson told BBC Sport NI.

"Three centuries later and going in at the interval at 6-2, I felt very strong. Then it was a tricky one to prepare for because your mind is thinking, 'right, I've won'.

"However, then the little demon in the back of your head is saying, 'no, don't think you've won, you could lose it' so you've just got to go through the right processes and I made sure I was here with plenty of time, made sure I ate well, had a little bit of rest time in the hotel room and just go about my business as usual."

Wilson 'very grateful' after second NI Open win

Wilson, who beat Judd Trump in the 2024 decider, made an emphatic start to the final in Belfast with a 101 break in the first frame to lay down an early marker.

Jones claimed the second, but Wilson won the next three frames with the help of breaks of 60 and 135.

The Welshman responded in style and registered a run of 130 in the sixth frame to at least keep himself in contention.

However, Wilson regained his control of the match and won the final two frames of the session to move to within three of victory.

The former world champion continued to dominate in the evening session and kept his cool to win the opening three frames and lift the Alex Higgins trophy.

"Obviously the trophy has got an absolute legend of our sport's name on it in, so I am very grateful that I can take this trophy home for a second time," he added.

"I think the fans in Belfast quite like to see positive snooker. They like to see players going for their shots and maybe just trying to do something a little bit different every now and again when frames are over and that's what I'm all about.

"I'm about trying to entertain people and also trying to get the win at the same time, which is not an easy balance sometimes. I am very glad I managed to do that this week."