Ryan Day thought career was in the balance before dramatic Snooker Shoot Out win

Ryan Day was considering his future in the sport and felt his career could be nearing the end before a superb Snooker Shoot Out win on Sunday night.

The Welshman beat Mark Selby to win the chaotic one-frame format event and pocket £50,000 in the process.

Despite being as high as number four in the world in his pomp, Dynamite had slipped all the way down to #50 after a poor run of results, and he admitted he was fearing for his place on tour.

The big win has seen the 40-year-old shoot all the way back up to #32, though, and has given him the confidence that comes with winning a third ranking event of his career, a place in next season’s Champion of Champions event and this year’s Players Championship later this month.

After a downward slide, it looks like the veteran is back on the way up and thoughts of an early retirement are now off the table.

‘I’ve been struggling in the ranking terms for a couple of seasons now and there was probably a possibility that I could fall off the tour if I wasn’t too careful back end of the season,’ Day told Eurosport.

‘This is obviously going to help massively and you never know what doors it could open in a year or two’s time.

‘I’m made up, it’s going to bring a few quid my way and it might start me off with a bit of confidence so I can win matches in a proper tournament.

‘I’ve been in and out of love with the game, so hopefully this is going to ignite that.

‘A lot of players have won this in the past and gone on to bigger and better things, so hopefully it will be the same for me.’

Day has struggled for results over the last two seasons and most recently at the German Masters just before the Shoot Out, when he was 4-0 ahead of Barry Hawkins in the last 32 before losing 5-4.

That heart-breaking defeat was as bad as any he has suffered in his career and left Day considering how much longer he had left in snooker.

‘I was 4-0 up against Barry and it’s the first time I’ve ever lost a match from being in that position. I remember winning one many moons ago against Steve Davis from 4-0 down,’ he explained.

Ryan Day’s run to the Shoot Out title

Rd 1: 78-0 Matthew Selt
Rd 2:33-6 Ashley Carty
Rd 3: 75-0 Ben Hancorn
Rd 4: 40-37 Zhou Yuelong
QF: 49-6 Dave Gilbert
SF: 31-18 Mark Williams
F: 67-24 Mark Selby

‘If I’d lost first round here, then it’s the Welsh and the World Championship, I lose them and I could be off the tour! It’s all turned round in seven 10-minute frames.

‘We go to China a lot at the start of the season and I used to love travelling but now my children are growing up a bit, I miss being away from them.

‘You go there, you don’t get the results, your season has started off in a bad way and it snowballs, hopefully it snowballs the other way not and can be more positive.

Selby was disappointed to lose in the final and even more so because it ended his run of 11 straight victories in ranking event finals.

A win over Day would have seen him break Stephen Hendry’s record of 12 straight ranking event final wins, but he has to settle to being level with the Scot.

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