Mark Allen to start Northern Ireland Open bid against Sanderson Lam

Antrim's Mark Allen is aiming for a first success in the Northern Ireland Open

Mark Allen will begin his Northern Ireland Open challenge against Englishman Sanderson Lam in front of home fans in Belfast on 20 November.

The Antrim player has moved five places up the world rankings to sixth after finishing runner-up to Mark Selby in the International Open last weekend.

Five-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Lukas Kleckers in his opener a day later.

Judd Trump takes on Stuart Carrington and John Higgins meets Nigel Bond.

The two games are also on 21 November while world number five Shaun Murphy starts a day earlier against Chen Zifan.

Neil Robertson, Joe Swail, Jimmy White and defending champion Mark King are among the other top players competing in the Waterfront Hall tournament from 20-26 November.

Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app.