Ryan Day wins 2021 Snooker Shoot Out
Ryan Day has won the 2021 Snooker Shoot Out, being Mark Selby 67-24 in the final.
It is Day’s third ranking title, and his excellent break put pay to Selby’s hopes of winning a record 12th ranking final in succession.
Defending champion Michael Holt was defeated in the second round by Matthew Stevens, giving space for a new name on the trophy (no player has ever won this tournament twice, and 2021 would not be the time for an exception).
Day had seen off former world champion and compatriot Mark Williams in the last four, while Selby beat amateur player Craig Steadman.
It looked to be Selby’s to lose – he had developed a 24-point advantage before going for a red, which blew the frame open with just four minutes to go. After a minute, Day had potted a black and taken the lead, and then he held his nerve to build a break of 67, which proved more than enough to win the title as the clock ran out.
After the match, Day said: “I’ve been struggling in ranking terms for a couple of seasons now and there was a possibility I could fall off the tour if I wasn’t too careful.
“This is obviously going to help massively, and you never know how many doors it might open in a year or two’s time.”
Selby expressed his disappointment at the defeat, which would have seen him beat Stephen Hendry’s record of ranking final wins, before issuing a now-familiar comment about the status of the tournament.
He said: “I don’t think it should be a ranking event. It wasn’t a ranking event before and it was really good fun. It’s disappointing not to beat Stephen Hendry’s record.”
Mark Allen also made tournament history in the first round, where he vanquished Jimmy Robertson 142-0. It was the tournament’s only century break, and the highest break ever recorded at a Shoot Out.
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