Having struggled badly in the semi-finals, Ryan Day produced very high quality snooker from start to finish yesterday and beat Mark Allen by 10-7 to win a fourth ranking title, the 2022 British Open.

Congratulations Ryan Day!

Here is the report by WST:

Best Of British Means Career High For Day

Ryan Day won his fourth ranking title – and the biggest of his career – as he came from 7-6 down to beat Mark Allen 10-7 in the final of the Cazoo British Open.

Welshman Day had previously won the Riga Masters, Gibraltar Open and Shoot Out, and has beaten John Higgins at the Crucible, but admitted that this week’s triumph in Milton Keynes is undoubtedly his greatest achievement in snooker.

The 42-year-old banks the top prize of £100,000, doubling his previous best pay day, and takes the Clive Everton Trophy back to Pontycymmer. The spin-offs are significant as he earns a place in the Cazoo Champion of Champions, looks sure to be in the field for both the World Grand Prix and Players Championship, and having climbed from 27th to 16th in the rankings he is back in contention for a spot at the Cazoo Masters in January.

That’s a tremendous reversal of fortune for a player who failed to go beyond the quarter-finals of any ranking event last season. He began working with renowned coach Chris Henry in 2021, and confidence has come flooding back for one of the most fluent break-builders of his generation.

Northern Ireland’s Allen came into the final as heavy favourite having been the best player of the week, but was outplayed at the decisive moments as his opponent reeled off the last four frames of an exciting contest. Antrim’s 36-year-old Allen, who missed out on a seventh ranking title, earns £45,000 and climbs from 14th to tenth in the world.

Allen took the first frame of the evening session to go 5-4 ahead, and had a chance in frame ten but potted just one red before missing the blue to a centre pocket, handing Day the chance to compile a break of 58 to get back on level terms. Allen regained the lead with a 53 before Day’s 79 made it 6-6 at the interval.

In frame 13, Day had a chance to clear from 41-5 behind, but missed the last red along the top cushion on 48. Allen later failed on the final pink, but got another chance and slotted in a long pink to edge ahead for the fifth time. Once again Day restored parity, thanks to a run of 74. Allen had a clear scoring chance early in the 15th but missed the blue to a top corner, and his opponent punished him with 70 to take the lead for the first time since 4-3.

A run of 84 saw Day go 9-7 ahead – the first time that either player had led by two frames. Tension took hold in frame 17 as both players missed chances. It came down to a tactical exchange on the yellow and Day, leading 49-39, laid a crafty snooker and from the chance that followed he cleared to the pink for victory.

“It’s special,” said Day, who was joined by wife Lynsey and daughters Francesca and Lauren as he celebrated with the trophy. “It was a fantastic match and a top standard for most of it. I felt like I got stronger as it went on. To be able to share that moment at the table with the trophy and the family is magic.

“Last night I was worried that the match would all be done and dusted early in Mark’s favour, because of how badly I played in the semi-finals, it could have been a massacre. But I slept well, changed my mindset and played a lot better.

“I have had some horrific defeats and played some awful matches in the last few years and I was wondering whether the end was near. But a win like this gives me at least another couple of years with a cue in my hand and hopefully there is more to come. Winning a big event like this shoots you up the rankings and I need to capitalise.

“My wife had already booked a holiday in New York in December so the £100,000 comes at a good moment!”

Allen, who has now lost eight of his 14 ranking finals, said: “I know how hard it is to win tournaments. The really top guys make it look easy, and it’s not. So all credit to Ryan because it has been a while since he got over the line in a big event. I missed the blue at 7-7, then after that he made good breaks and closed it out well. I had my chances and didn’t perform well enough.

“Ryan said himself that he really struggled in the semi-finals last night (beating Robbie Williams 6-5) but I knew he would play better today. The first session today was a really high standard, then he continued that into tonight’s session and I didn’t.”

Allen lost over four stone in weight over the summer and added: “I feel I have my priorities better now. I did it for my life, rather than my snooker, but if it helps my game as well that’s brilliant. I am getting myself healthier because I want to be around for my family.”

The truth is that Ryan has underachieved for some reason. At times, nerves let him down. One example of such occurrence is the 2007 Shanghai Masters final. The way he played yesterday though was no surprise to me. Ryan has tremendous ability and, when on song, he’s a delight to watch.

The first time I fully understood how good Ryan can be was a one-off event called OneForSeven played in Cardiff on 21 December 2009. It was a variant format, it was a lot of fun but was never repeated. Ryan won it and he played blistering snooker for start to finish. it was mesmerising.

This is how it works

I took pictures at that event but don’t have them at hand but I did found this gallery online, and this one as well. It’s a bit of a walk through the memory lane this… Because of the location there was a very strong Welsh contingent. You might recognise a very young Michael White, a very young Jamie Clarke and a very young Liam Highfield. Dave Harold was still playing, as were Hannah Jones (at the time a very promising young female player). Reanne Evans and Stephen Lee were there too. David Hendon paid us a visit and Paul Collier for some reason was wearing a prisoner’s outfit.

The two matches we saw yesterday a t the 2022 British Open couldn’t have been more different. The only thing they had in common is the referee. Indeed, because Colin Humphries was unwell, it was Ben Williams who took charge of both.

The afternoon match was as one-sided as it gets. During the first mini session, Mark Allen restricted Noppon Saengkham to just 6 points, of which 5 were from a penalty. The trend continued after the interval. Mark went 5-0 up. At that point he had scored breaks of 69, 76, 133, 69 and 56 whilst Noppon had scored 11 points in total. To Noppon’s credit, he didn’t give up and managed to win the scrappy next frame.All smiles, e celebrated with the crowd who was clearly happy for the sympathetic Thai. It was as good as it got though as Mark took the next with a break of 64.

Here is the report by WST:

‘Flawless’ Allen Storms Into Final

Mark Allen described his own performance as “nearly perfect” after beating Noppon Saengkham 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Cazoo British Open.

Northern Ireland’s Allen lived up to his billing as the heavy favourite for the title as he dominated a potentially tough task against Thailand’s Saengkham, sealing the result in just 112 minutes to reach his 14th ranking final.

World number 14 Allen will face Ryan Day or Robbie Williams over a possible 19 frames in the final on Sunday in Milton Keynes, with the winner to lift the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000. Victory would give Allen  a seventh ranking title, which would put him 14th on his own on the all-time list, ahead of Ken Doherty, Stuart Bingham and Stephen Maguire who all have six.

Just one of Allen’s six ranking titles has come in England – he has won three in China, one in Scotland and last October he enjoyed his finest hour when he captured the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast. The 36-year-old also won the Masters in 2018.

World number 38 Saengkham was playing in his third ranking semi-final and had hoped to reach his first final, but was completely outplayed and has to settle for a prize of £20,000.

The Thai scored just 11 points in the first five frames as Allen rattled in breaks of 69, 76, 133, 69 and 56 to go 5-0 up. A whitewash looked likely in frame six until Allen missed a red to a centre pocket on 44, and Saengkham cleared with 48 before raising his hands to the crowd in celebration having got one on the board.

Saengkham trailed 64-0 in the seventh then had a chance to clear after fluking a red, but missed the final green and that extinguished any hopes of a fight-back.

“I’m delighted with the way I played, I was pretty much flawless for the first four frames,” said Allen. “After that I kept making it tough for him and didn’t give him easy chances. I think I only missed one ball.

“I remember playing John Higgins in the (2013) World Open semi-finals, it was 2-2 at the interval and he didn’t pot a ball in the next four frames. That’s pretty much how it was today, it was nearly the perfect performance.

“It would be great to go ahead of the likes of Ken and Stuart on the list of ranking event winners but those two have both won the world title so I think they would take their career ahead of mine. I’m not getting carried away, I have to go and do a job tomorrow. At the end of my career I’ll see where I am on that list.”

Allen, who lost more than four stone in weight over the summer, added: “I won’t be watching the other semi-final tonight, I’ll have a very relaxed evening and the same in the morning. I’ll do a little work out in my room and otherwise take it easy.”

The evening match was completely different. It was pretty horrible TBH.

Here is the report by WST:

Day One Win Away From Claiming Biggest Title

Ryan Day is one match away from his biggest career title after holding his nerve in a final frame decider to defeat Robbie Williams 6-5 and secure his place in the Cazoo British Open final.

The three-time ranking title winner admitted he had to “fight tooth and nail” to overcome Williams, with both players not at their fluent best.

Day, who came from 4-2 down in the match, won three consecutive frames to lead 5-4, before Williams won the tenth to force a decider. But, in the end, the Welshman pulled through to book his spot in the final where he will play Mark Allen – who beat Noppon Saengkham 6-1 earlier today.

After wins in the Riga Masters, Gibraltar Open and more recently, the Shoot Out, Day will be hoping to claim a fourth ranking title and take home £100,000 – the biggest payday of his career.

Day, who is ranked 27^th in the world, took the lead with a break of 55. Williams hit back with a break of 77 before going on to win the next two frames and enter the mid-session interval with a 3-1 lead. The next two were shared then Day edged the seventh, 56-31, before a break of 61 ensured the match was finely poised at 4-4. He then moved in front for the first time since the opening frame.

Day had a match-winning chance in the tenth but missed the last red to a top corner with the score 51-50. Williams, who was seeking to reach his first ranking final, cleaned up for 5-5.

In the decider, Williams led 28-24 when he misjudged a containing safety, handing his opponent a chance to pot a red to a top corner. Day made a break of 45 which proved enough to secure a spot in the final.

“I was massively relieved to fall over the line,” said Day. “What you’ve seen tonight is two players that are not up the top of the rankings, fighting tooth and nail, letting the pressure affect them. But tomorrow is a different day. I’m playing Mark Allen, who is the form guy of the whole week and I know I’m going to have to improve massively, but I’m sure I’ll be better than I was tonight, for sure.

“I’ve won three ranking titles but they were not really massive events. This one would go down as a proper big event on home soil. So it would mean the world. I’ve got to come out of the trap early tomorrow and try and put Mark under pressure.

“I’ve got nothing to lose. Everyone, especially after watching that match tonight, will be expecting Mark to win. He’s trounced everybody he’s played. I’ve got a nice cheque coming in at the end of the week that is going to help my ranking, probably get me into one or two extra events that I wasn’t guaranteed before this week and I’ve just got to try to enjoy it.”

Day, who is a Manchester United fan, will now miss the Manchester Derby against rivals City tomorrow. The 42-year-old joked: “I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing really! City are in good form, United have been a little bit better lately so hopefully, there is an upset in both the football and the snooker tomorrow!”

Ryan’s quotes, in italic and bold, do tell the story. There is not much to add and credit to them both. It’s not easy out there under such circumstances.

Ryan Day is currently up to second in the provisional one year list, and Robbie to 11th. Both definitely well placed to qualify for the Grand Prix.

Those are WST reports about the quarter-finals at the 2022 British Open yesterday.

Afternoon session

Allen And Williams Into Semis

Mark Allen became hot favourite for the Cazoo British Open title as he beat Mark Selby 5-3 to reach the semi-finals, remaining on course for a seventh career ranking crown.

Allen followed up yesterday’s victory over Judd Trump by knocking out another of snooker’s top guns, and the world number 14 is the highest ranked player left in the field in Milton Keynes. He will play in the first semi-final from 1pm on Saturday afternoon (live on the main ITV channel) with the random draw for the last four to be made this evening.

On the other table, Robbie Williams beat Lyu Haotian 5-1 to reach the semi-finals of a ranking event for the third time in his career. The world number 61 is now guaranteed £20,000, his second-biggest pay day.

Northern Ireland’s 36-year-old Allen is seeking his first title since winning his home tournament in Belfast last October. Having lost over four stone in weight over the summer, he has come into the new season full of confidence. The Pistol had lost his previous two meetings with Selby, but proved the stronger player at the business end of today’s contest.

Four-time Crucible king Selby started strongly with a break of 123 in the opening frame, then Allen took a scrappy second before making a superb 143 to lead 2-1. In frame four, Selby missed a mid-range red to a corner pocket on 34 and his opponent punished him with a 75 clearance.

After the interval, Leicester’s Selby made a 103 to close the gap to 3-2, then got the better of a safety exchange on the penultimate red in frame six and took the chance to level the tie. In the crucial seventh frame, Selby led 51-12 when his attempted long pot on the third-last red missed by several inches. Allen made an excellent 47 to regain the lead, and a long red early in the eighth set him up for a match-winning 126.

“I’m very proud of the clearance I made at 3-3 because the balls were tough,” said Allen. “I felt I was being frozen out of the match up until that point. Mark’s safety was immaculate, every time I came to the table I had no shot. I stayed patient and showed a lot of character in the end.

“I’m sure I’ll be favourite to win the tournament now but all of the other guys still in the field are there for a reason – they have all played well this week and they are all dangerous. Whoever I draw next is going to be very tough.”

Williams, age 35 from the Wirral, reached his two previous ranking semi-finals at the 2013 Indian Open and 2022 BetVictor Shoot Out.

After losing the opening frame today, he trailed 55-0 in the second, but hit back to win it on the colours. That proved a turning point as Williams took the next four frames in a row with a top break of 49.

“I didn’t score well today but it was all about getting the win,” said Williams, whose biggest scalp this week was Ding Junhui in the last 32. “The main thing for me is concentration. In the past I have struggled with keeping my focus at the big moments, but I have managed to do that this week. That has made a huge difference.

“These are the opportunities I want to grasp because it helps me get into the other ITV events later in the season. A run like this can kickstart a whole career. I wasn’t playing well today but I kept reminding myself to stay focussed and stick in there.”

Evening session

Jones Toppled By Noppon Effect

Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham overcame an attack of nerves as he moved a step closer to a first ranking title, beating Jamie Jones 5-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Cazoo British Open.

Saengkham appeared in two ranking semi-finals in 2018, at the Yushan World Open and Welsh Open, and now has the chance to reach his first final. He will face Mark Allen at 1pm on Saturday in Milton Keynes, a match televised live on the main ITV channel. World number 38 Saengkham finished last season strongly, reaching the last 16 of the World Championship, and has carried that momentum into the new campaign.

Defeat has a silver lining for Jones as his schedule is now clear for him to run the London Marathon on Sunday, raising money for WST’s official charity Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home.

Breaks of 61 and 89 gave Saengkham a 2-0 lead tonight, then Jones fought back to 2-2. A run of 102 saw Saengkham regain the advantage, but he made more errors as the winning line drew close and Jones recovered to 3-3.

In frame seven, an excellent pot on a red to a centre pocket set up Saengkham for a run of 63 to go 4-3 up. Both players missed clear opportunities in the eighth, but when Jones made a safety mistake with three reds left it proved his last shot as his opponent scored the points he needed.

“At 4-3 I thought my heart was going to jump out of body,” said former World Under-21 Champion Saengkham. “I told myself to calm down. I was nervous, I couldn’t control my hands. I missed easy balls, so I tried to relax and I just hoped I would get more chances. There was lots of pressure. I think I will enjoy tomorrow’s match more because I will be facing a top 16 player.”

In the other quarter-final, Ryan Day made a fantastic total clearance in the deciding frame to beat Yuan Sijun 5-4. The Welshman will now meet Robbie Williams on Saturday at 7pm.

World number 27 Day has won three ranking titles – the 2017 Riga Masters, 2018 Gibraltar Open and 2021 Shoot Out – and this is his first semi-final since that Shoot Out triumph 20 months ago.

Day and Yuan shared the first four frames – the Chinese player making the bigger breaks with 74 and 68. Yuan then took a scrappy fifth frame and had a chance to go 4-2 ahead but missed the final pink to a top corner when he trailed 61-51. Day potted the pink for 3-3 and made a 50 in the next to edge ahead.

Yuan dominated frame eight to make it 4-4, but didn’t have a chance in the decider as 42-year-old Day made a 124.

Day said: “It wasn’t the best game but I stuck in there. To win it with a big break gives me a big confidence boost. I tried to play fast and not get bogged down. There were nerves tonight on both tables, you could sense that. Tomorrow night is a big opportunity for both me and Robbie.”

Mark Selby congratulated Mark Allen on social media and insisted that there were many positives despite the defeat. In particular, he said that his mental health is improving which, of course, is much more important than any match of snooker.

Lyu Haotian collapsed. He won the first frame, was well ahead in the second, missed, lost it and basically further disintegrated as the match went on. He had chances in every frame. It’s sad to see. I had hoped that he was coming back to his best, and technically he probably is, but mentally he remains extremely fragile.

Yuan Sijun, on the other hand, gave a good account of himself. With a bit more experience in the latter stages of events, he will become extremely dangerous.

This afternoon, we will start with Mark Allen vs Noppon Saengkham. Allen is favourite of course but I wouldn’t dismiss Noppon’s chances. I would love to see him win a big event and it would do snooker in Thailand a world of good.

Regarding the evening match, Ryan Day is much more experienced than Robbie Williams when it comes to playing on the TV table in the latter stages of a big event. But Ryan has not always handled pressure that well and Robbie is very capable to create an upset.