Wallace And Lavery Handed Wild Cards

Patrick Wallace and Declan Lavery have been awarded spots in next month’s Northern Ireland Open.

The two amateurs received nominations from the Northern Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association and they will be in the 128-man draw for the world ranking event which runs from November 16 to 22 in Milton Keynes.

Wallace, age 51 from Dungannon, reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship back in 2001. He retired from the pro game in 2011 but remains a regular competitor on the amateur circuit and finished last season as the top player on the national Northern Ireland rankings.

Lavery, age 36 from Antrim, successfully defended the Northern Ireland Championship title this year, beating Robbie McGuigan 10-9 in the final.

The draw will be made after the seeding cut-off, which falls at the end of this week’s BetVictor Championship League.

The Northern Ireland Open will be the second Home Nations event of the season, televised around the world by broadcasters including Eurosport and Matchroom.Live.