Ryan Day (born 23 March 1980) is a Welsh professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player. A prolific break-builder, he has compiled over 400 century breaks during his career, including two

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...

s. He is a three-time World Championship quarter-finalist, has been ranked at no. 6 in the world and has won four ranking tournaments.

Career

Early career

Day was born in Pontycymer,

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. A top amateur, he reached the final of the IBSF Championship in China in November 1998 but lost on the final black. Day began his professional career by playing UK Tour in 1998, at the time the second-level professional tour. He was named Young Player of Distinction of the season 2000/2001 by the

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards based in Bristol, England. It owns and publishes the official rules of the two sports and engages in promotion ...

(WPBSA). He won the 2001 Benson & Hedges Championship. With this win, he qualified for the 2002 Masters, where he defeated

Dave Harold David Harold (born 9 December 1966) is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter" (conflating his home city's pottery industry and his profession of ...

, before losing 0–6 to

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

. He also won the WPBSA Challenge Tour in the 2001/2002 season and was named WPBSA Newcomer of the Year in 2002. Due to problems with his liver in 2003, his results suffered badly. In 2004, however, he qualified for the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927 Wor ...

and he led

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

9–7 in the first round, becoming the first player to score three in his first

Crucible A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...

match, but missed a pink in the 17th frame that would have left Higgins needing a snooker to stay in the tournament. Higgins went on to win the frame and the next two for the match. As some consolation, Higgins commented that Day was "going to be a top player for many years to come".

2005–2011

Day reached the quarter-finals of his home tournament, the 2005 Welsh Open defeating

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...

and

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

along the way. He finished this season ranked 33, but as

Quinten Hann Quinten may refer to: People Surname * Christopher Quinten (born 1957), British actor Given name * Quinten Burg (born 1948), American politician * Quinten Hann (born 1977), Australian snooker player * Quinten Hermans (born 1995), Belgian cyclist ...

did not participate in any events, Day was always among the top 32 seeds, meaning one less qualifying match than he would otherwise have faced. Back at the Crucible in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, he beat Joe Perry 10–3 in the first round and led

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...

9–7 in the second round before losing 10–13. He narrowly missed reaching the top 16 of the rankings as a result. The 2006/2007 season was the most successful of his career up till then. Day reached the quarter-finals of the

2006 Northern Ireland Trophy The 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy was the 2006 edition of the Northern Ireland Trophy snooker tournament, held from 13 to 20 August 2006, at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ding Junhui defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan by nine to six (9� ...

and was runner up in the 2007 Malta Cup, losing 4–9 to

Shaun Murphy Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting. Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...

. That year's performance saw him ranked 16 in the world for the 2007/2008 season, one place higher than in the previous year. As a member of the Top 16, he automatically qualified for tournaments. Day's 2007/2008 season started with an appearance in the final of the Shanghai Masters; Day led his practise partner

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport. Career Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...

6–2 after the first session, but eventually succumbed to a 6–10 defeat. After failing to progress past the last 16 in the next three tournaments, he reached the semi-finals of the China Open, beating

Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...

Ken Doherty Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter. As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...

and Mark Williams before he was beaten by

Stephen Maguire Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in ...

5–6, denying him a place in the final. Day made it through to the quarter-finals of the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for the first time in his career by beating Irishman

Michael Judge Michael Judge (born 12 January 1975 in Dublin) is a professional snooker player from the Republic of Ireland. His best performance in a ranking event came in the 2004 Grand Prix, where he reached the semi-finals, and he reached his highest rank ...

10–6 and the defending champion

13–9 in one of the best wins of his career, before losing 7–13 to

. His consistent performances took him up to 8th place in the rankings. Day reached the final of the 2008 Grand Prix where he lost to

, defeating

Ricky Walden Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester. Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...

Jamie Cope Jamie Cope (born 12 September 1985) is an English former professional snooker player. A finalist in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, Cope also reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Masters. He reached his h ...

and

. The year ended on a disappointing note when he lost in the first round at the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan h ...

. He again reached the World Championship quarter-finals in 2009, before losing 11–13 to Mark Allen. However, he continued to move up the rankings, climbing 2 places to number 6, the highest ranked player not to have won a ranking event. A disappointing 2009–10 season in which he reached only one quarter-final (in the Welsh Open), culminated in an 8–10 first round defeat in the

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

. This continued into the next season where he made a number of early exits which meant that at the first revision under the new ranking system he dropped out the top 16, down to number 20.

2011/2012 season

Day qualified for five of the eight ranking tournaments during the 2011–12 season, losing in the first round in four. His best performance came at the end of the season in the biggest event on the tournament calendar, the

. He came back from 3–7 down in his qualifying match against

Gerard Greene Gerard Eamonn Greene (born 12 November 1973 in Chatham, Kent) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He represents Northern Ireland in international events, as his parents are from Belfast. Greene has enjoyed moderate success in his ...

to win 10–8, to set up a first round match with China's number 1,

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...

. Day produced another comeback, this time from trailing 6–9 to win the last 4 frames and advance to the second round. There he beat fellow qualifier

Cao Yupeng Cao Yupeng (; born 27 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the 2011 Asian Under-21 Championship, thus qualifying for the professional main tour for the 2011–12 season. In his first season on the circuit, he reached ...

13–7 and held a 5–2 lead in the early stages of his quarter-final match against compatriot

. However, he suffered a migraine at the start of the next session and went on to lose 11 consecutive frames to exit the tournament 5–13. Day finished the season ranked world number 30.

2012/2013 season

Day lost in qualifying for the opening ranking event of the 2012–13 season the

Wuxi Classic The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...

0–5 to

Robert Milkins Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998. Milkin ...

. He was then beaten in the second round of the

Australian Goldfields Open The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015. History Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...

and the Shanghai Masters, 3–5 to

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh on the Pontin's International Open ...

and 0–5 to

respectively. Day was defeated 3–6 by

Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...

in the opening round of the International Championship, but then came perhaps the best result of his season at the

. He beat

6–4 in a high quality first round encounter, before letting a 3–0 lead against world number two

slip to lose 4–6. Day played in nine of the ten minor-ranking

Players Tour Championship The Players Tour Championship was a series of snooker tournaments comprising some minor-ranking events played in Europe, and an Asian leg comprising some minor-ranking events in Asia. The series concluded with a Grand Final, where qualification ...

events during the season with his best results being two quarter-final defeats to be ranked 32nd on the Order of Merit, just outside the top 26 who qualified for the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Day struggled in the second half of the season as he failed to qualify for four of the remaining five ranking events, losing 2–5 in the first round of the World Open to Mark Allen in the one he did reach. He failed to qualify for the World Championship for the first time since 2006, narrowly losing to

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. Woollaston's only ranking event final came at the ...

9–10 in the fourth and final qualifying round. He finished the season ranked world number 31.

2013/2014 season

Day was beaten in the second round once and first round three times in the opening four ranking events of the 2013–14 season, but then reached the quarter-finals for the first time in over a year at the International Championship. Day won the first frame against Joe Perry but was thrashed 6–1. He went a stage further at the

German Masters The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...

and, in an attempt to play in his first ranking final since 2008, he came from 5–3 down against

to level the match, but lost the deciding frame. A trio of second round losses and a first round defeat in the China Open followed. At the

levelled the scores from 8–4 and 9–6 down in the first round, but Day won the final frame for a final score of 10–9, and advanced to the second round. His season then ended when he lost 13–7 to

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

, but he did increase his ranking by 10 places to world number 21, his highest finish for four years.

2014/2015 season

Ryan Day at Snooker German Masters (DerHexer) 2015-02-05 05

For the second season in a row Day qualified for every ranking event. A pair of last 16 defeats at the

and Shanghai Masters proved to be his best results in the first half of the year. At the Haining City Open he achieved his first official

in his last 32 match against

. Day would go on to reach the quarter-finals, but lost 4–2 to

Oliver Lines Oliver Lines (born 16 June 1995) is an English professional snooker player who practices at Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. He is the son of professional snooker player Peter Lines. Career Amateur Lines switched sports from football to snook ...

. After Day won the final two frames of his first round match against world number one

at the

to eliminate him 5–4, he said that he was working on his consistency to get back into the highest echelons of the game. He then beat

Alfie Burden Alfred Burden (born 14 December 1976) is an English professional snooker player from London. Career Burden originally had his eyes set on making a career as a professional footballer, but a badly broken leg curtailed this ambition. He spent a c ...

5–2 to face

Liang Wenbo Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...

in Day's only quarter-final appearance of the season and was narrowly beaten 5–4. In Day's home event he suffered a surprise 4–1 loss to amateur Oliver Brown in the second round of the Welsh Open. Day was 3–1 ahead of Mark Allen in the first round of the

, but then lost nine successive frames to be knocked out 10–3.

2015/2016 season

Day lost 5–4 to

in the second round of the Shanghai Masters, but turned the tables at the same stage of the International Championship by beating him 6–5. Day was defeated 6–4 by David Gilbert in the following round. However, in his next event he whitewashed

4–0 in the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Open and beat

Sam Baird Sam Baird (born 17 June 1988) is an English former professional snooker player. He first entered the professional tour for the 2009/10 season, by winning the EBSA Pro-Ticket Tour Play-offs. Career 2011/2012 season Baird reached the main draw o ...

4–2 to play in the final of an event carrying ranking points for the first time since 2008, but he was thrashed 4–0 by Mark Allen. He lost 6–2 to

Dechawat Poomjaeng Dechawat Poomjaeng ( ''Dechāwạt Phùmcæ̂ng'', born July 11, 1978) is a Thai professional snooker player. Career Early career He won the 2010 IBSF World Snooker Championship in Damascus, Syria, defeating India's Pankaj Advani 10–7 in the ...

in the second round of the

, but knocked out reigning world champion

Stuart Bingham Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...

5–3 to reach the quarter-finals of the

. Day lost the final three frames against

Kyren Wilson Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...

to be eliminated 5–4. He made two centuries and won the deciding frame on the final black against

to make another quarter-final at the World Grand Prix. He was defeated 4–2 by Bingham, losing the final frame from 56–0 points up, after Bingham made a 64 break. After being defeated 10–3 by Higgins in the opening round of the

, Day said he would be working on his fitness in the off season in an attempt to improve his concentration during matches.

2016/2017 season

Day advanced to the quarter-final stage of the Shanghai Masters by overcoming

and

Mei Xiwen Mei Xiwen (;born October 8, 1982) is a Chinese former professional snooker player. Career Mei made his debut on the Main Tour in the 2009/2010 season, as the ACBS Asian nomination, playing his first match at the 2009 Grand Prix. He lost 5� ...

both 5–2 and lost 5–3 to

. He won the first four frames against Mark Allen in the third round of the

, but went on to lose 6–5. His second quarter-final of the season came at the

and he was defeated 5–2 by

Martin Gould Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters. Career Gould began his pr ...

. At the World Grand Prix, Day overcame

, Michael White and

all 4–2. In the semi-finals he was 4–3 down to

Marco Fu Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...

, but recovered from needing four snookers in the eighth frame to level and went on to win 6–4. In Day's first ranking event final since 2008 he was 9–3 behind

Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...

and, though he pulled it back to 9–7, he was defeated 10–7. Day lost in the final of the non-ranking

Championship League Championship League is a professional snooker tournament, devised by Matchroom Sport. A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played similarly to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart but with some minor changes ...

3–0 to

. A 4–2 win over

saw Day play in the semi-finals of the Gibraltar Open and he was beaten 4–2 by

after leading 2–0. Day was a seeded player for the

, but lost 10–4

Xiao Guodong Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships. Career 2007–2010 Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...

in the first round and once again blamed his lack of concentration for the early exit.

2017/2018 season

Day finally clinched his maiden ranking title in his fifth final appearance. The Welshman defeated

5–2 to claim the Riga Masters title. The Welshman sensationally stormed to consecutive titles at the 2018 Gibraltar Open and the 2018 Romanian Masters. He defeated

and

in the respective finals. Day reached the semi-final in the

, this was his first appearance in the semi-finals of a

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

event, but he lost 6–3 to

in the semi-final. Day also made a return to the Masters for the first time since 2010. He beat

6–4 in the first round, but lost to

6–1 in the quarter final.

2018/2019 season

In the Gibraltar Open, Day reached the final again by beating

Lukas Kleckers Lukas Kleckers (born 18 May 1996 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German professional snooker player. Career Kleckers first drew attention in 2013 when, at the age of 17, he captured the highest ranking and most prestigious amateur event ...

Noppon Saengkham Noppon Saengkham (; born 15 July 1992) is a Thai professional snooker player. Career Early years In April 2009, Saengkham lost in the final of the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 1–5 to Zhang Anda. He went one better at the 2009 IBS ...

Elliot Slessor Elliot Slessor (born 4 August 1994) is an English professional snooker player. In May 2013, Slessor qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi-finalists from the first Q School event. Career Slessor ...

David Grace David Grace (born 1949 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England) is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART ...

, David Gilbert, and

Lu Ning Lu Ning (, born 1 January 1994 in Jilin) is a professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. Lu is among ten Chinese players currently suspended from the professional tour amid a match-fixing investigation. Career Lu's fir ...

. But he was unable to defend the title as he lost 4–1 to

in the final. Day qualified for the Masters again this season. He knocked

out in the first round, winning by 6–5. But he was defeated by

in the next round, losing 6–3.

2020/2021 season

Day secured his third ranking title by beating

in the final of the

Shoot Out A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

. In April 2021, he failed to qualify for the

after losing 5–10 to

in the final qualifying round.

Personal life

Day married his

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Ste ...

's sister, Lynsey, in the summer of 2008. The couple have two daughters, Francesca, born in 2006 and Lauren, in 2010. His younger brother

Rhys Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. It is pronounc ...

has played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for Manchester City and the Welsh under-21 side.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 9 (4 titles)

Minor-ranking finals: 1

Non-ranking finals: 6 (2 titles)

Pro-am finals: 9 (5 titles)

Team finals: 1 (1 title)

Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)

References

External links

Ryan Day
at ''worldsnooker.com'' *
Profile on Global Snooker

Profile on Yahoo! Sport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Ryan Welsh snooker players People from Pontycymer 1980 births Living people