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Ryan Day
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Ryan Day (born 23 March 1980, in Pontycymer, Bridgend, Wales), is a Welsh professional snooker player. He is known as a very solid breakbuilder and is one of only 26 players to have made over a century of centuries.
CareerHe was named Young Player of Distinction of the season 2000/2001 by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). He won the 2002 Benson & Hedges Championship. With this win, he qualified for the 2002 Masters, where he defeated Dave Harold, before losing 0-6 to Stephen Hendry. He also won the WPBSA Challenge Tour 2001/2002 and was named WPBSA Newcomer of the Year 2002. Due to problems with his liver in 2003, his results suffered badly.
In 2004, however, he qualified for the World Snooker Championship and he led John Higgins 9-7 in the first round, becoming the first player to score 3 in his first Crucible match, but lost the last 3 . As some consolation, Higgins commented that Day was "going to be a top player for many years to come".
Day reached the quarter-finals of his home tournament, the Welsh Open, in 2005, defeating Allister Carter and Steve Davis along the way and he named his comeback from 0-4 to beat Steve Davis 5-4 as his best victory to date.
Back at the Crucible in 2006, he beat Joe Perry 10-3 in the first round and led Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-7 in the second round before losing 13-10. Results this season saw him climb 33-17 in the rankings.
The season 2006/2007 was the most successful of his career to date: he reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy and was runner up in the Malta Cup 2007, losing 9-4 to Shaun Murphy. That year's performance saw him ranked 16th in the world for the 2007/2008 season, one place higher than in the previous year. As a member of the elite Top 16, he is automatically pre-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 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, Ken Doherty and Mark Williams (all 5-3) on the way, before he was beaten by his friend Stephen Maguire 6-5, denying him a place in the final. Day made it through to the quarter-finals of the 2008 World Championship for the first time in his career by beating Irishman Michael Judge 10-6 and the 2007 World Championship winner John Higgins 13-9 in one of the best wins of his career, before losing 13-7 to Stephen Hendry. His consistent performances mean that he will start the 2008/2009 season provisionly ranked 5 in the world.
Personal lifeDay was childhood sweethearts with Lynsey, who is four years older then him. She moved away with a long term boyfriend, and in 1999 Day's father married Lynsey's sister, Paula. After Lynsey's long term relationship broke down, she returned to Wales to stay with her sister. Day and Lynsey started dating again, and moved in together in April 2006 five houses away from Paula and Day's fathers house. Lynsey gave birth to their daughter Francesca on the 2 August 2006, and they married on Friday June 13, 2008.
His younger brother Rhys has played football for Manchester City, Mansfield Town and captained the Welsh under-21 side. He is currently playing for Aldershot Town, who play in the Conference National and he is the club captain.
Day and his father run The Vetz Club in Pontycymmer. The club is a combination of a snooker club and a public bar.
Tournament winsRankingNon ranking- Benson & Hedges Championship – 2001
External links
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