By Richard Petrie BBC Sport

Belfast's Joe Swail and Mark Allen from Antrim will be among the players challenging for this year's Northern Ireland Trophy at the Waterfront Hall.

Joe Swail was in fine form in the Aberdeen tournament

The event, which moves to November from its previous date in August, is being staged for the third time and carries ranking status for the second year.

Ding Jun Hui defends the title he won by beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-6 in last year's final and the world's best players want to steal his crown.

Reigning world champion John Higgins and the enigmatic O'Sullivan will be among the major crowdpullers but it is Swail and Allen who will attract most of the local support.

Swail arrives in Belfast on the back of a successful Royal London Watches Grand Prix in which he reached the last eight before losing 5-3 to eventual runner-up O'Sullivan.

Twice a world semi-finalist, the Belfast man finished last season with a thrilling 10-9 first-round win over Mark Williams at the World Championships in Sheffield but started this campaign on a low, losing 5-0 to Joe Delaney in the Irish Championship quarter-finals.

Antrim man Mark Allen suffered two defeats on Tuesday

Now ranked 19th in the world, Swail will have fond memories of his first appearance at the NI Trophy when he reached the last eight by beating O'Sullivan and will hope to repeat that kind of form.

Allen first sprang to prominence in the professional ranks at the same tournament in front of his home crowd in 2005, a 4-0 win over Steve Davis and a 4-1 victory over Higgins providing ample evidence of his undoubted potential.

Last year the former world amateur champion lost out to Ryan Day in the first round in Belfast but his 10-7 win over Ken Doherty at the The Crucible Theatre in April brought him national recognition.

This season has not started so well for Allen with a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Fergal O'Brien in the Irish championships followed by elimination in the group stages of the Grand Prix despite another win over Dubliner Doherty.

I might be biased but I think the Waterfront Hall is as good a venue as there is on the circuit Mark Allen

The Antrim man, who stands 29th in the world rankings, is confident that playing on his home patch will spur him on next week.

"Having the home crowd behind me is a great advantage and it's a great atmosphere in Belfast.

"I might be biased but I think the Waterfront Hall is as good a venue as there is on the circuit, it's up there with the Crucible.

"The playing conditions are perfect and the crowd is fantastic," he said.

Kent-based Northern Ireland player Gerard Greene could also give the local fans something to shout about as he hopes to build on his semi-final appearance at the Grand Prix where he eventually lost to Marco Fu.

Greene faces Liang Wenbo in his first round match with Allen taking on Rod Lawler and Swail facing Liu Song.

If Greene is successful, the prize for progressing is a second-round encounter with Williams while former world champion Graeme Dott awaits the winner of the Allen-Lawler clash.

Six-time world champion Davis will play Swail or Liu Song in the second round.

The Northern Ireland Trophy begins at the Waterfront Hall on Sunday 4 November and runs through to the final on Sunday 11 November.