When you are looking for the greatest snooker players and the latest snooker betting odds, the chances are you will have come across Ryan Day. He is a professional Welsh snooker player, who has produced numerous breaks over his career. This includes over 400 century breaks and three maximum breaks.

If that wasn’t enough, Day has advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Championship three times, peaked at No. 6 in the world rankings, and won four ranking competitions. His career has seen him gather a lot of success and earn the nickname, Dynamite.

In this article, we will go into more detail about who Ryan Day is when it comes to the world of snooker. 

Early Career

Day was born in Bridgend’s Pontycymer. He was a top amateur who advanced to the IBSF Championship final in China in November 1998, yet lost on the last black.

In 1998, Day participated in the UK Tour, the second-tier professional tour at the time, to launch his professional career. His accomplishments earned him the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association’s (WPBSA) Young Player of Distinction title for the 2000–2001 season. 

In 2001, he took home the Benson and Hedges Championship. This then allowed Day to qualify for the Masters in 2002.

Professional Career

Ryan Day began his full time professional career in 2002. During his first crucible game for the World Championship, Day put out a very impressive game. He only lost the match due to missing a pink during the 17th frame. This then led his opponent, John Higgins, to claim that ‘Day is a player to watch, as he will become one of the best’.

During 2005 to 2011, this was the best period in Day’s career. He reached the finals of  various competitions. These accomplishments allowed him to break through the top 16, which then automatically qualified him for the top competitions.

Then in the 2011/2012 season, Day’s long run of success declined slightly. He qualified for 5 of the 8 ranking competitions. However, he lost 4 of these competitions in the first round.  Throughout this season, Day completed many amazing comebacks in his games, but finished the season ranked no.30.

Day has struggled to regain his momentum and at the end of the 2015/2016 season, Day told reporters that would be improving his fitness. This was an attempt to improve his concentration levels during all matches. 

From then on, Day has had a couple of successes and reached a handful of finals. Recently, he has been a hit or miss depending on the tournaments he has entered.

You should keep an eye out for the latest sports picks, because if Ryan Day is playing, you will often see his name. 

Achievements

Day made history in 2004 when he defeated John Higgins in the Crucible for the first time and recorded three century breaks. In addition to this, Day has advanced to the World Championship quarterfinals three times, breaking the reign of reigning champion Higgins in 2008 with a 13-9 victory.

Day then won the Shootout for the first time in 2021 by defeating Mark Selby in a ranking tournament final for the first time in five years. He won the British Open the following year, defeating Mark Allen 10-7. This is what he claims to be his biggest career victory to date.

His most notable professional maximum break occurred in the Tour Championship in March 2023, one of his three career-to-date maximum breaks.

Titles Won

Since Ryan Day turned professional in 2002, he has made 9 ranking finals and won 4 of those titles. This includes the Riga Masters in 2017, Gibraltar Open in 2018, Snooker Shoot Out in 2021 and the British Open in 2022.

Furthermore, he has won two titles in non-ranking tournaments. These include the Benson and Hedges Championship in 2001 and the Romanian Masters in 2018. 

Day is usually a common face in most finals of any tournament he is in. He is considered a player to watch, because when he is good he is unstoppable. It took him a long time to secure his world ranking and since then his position has moved up and down quite a bit. 

His best world ranking came in 2009 when he was ranked no.6  Since then his ranking has dropped quite a bit, and he is now ranked no. 18. Although this is his highest ranking for a few years. 

Final Thoughts

Ryan Day is a well known snooker player, who has achieved a lot in his career since he turned professional back in 2002. This Welsh player has shown his face in most of the big name tournaments and took on many of the best players in the world and beat them. 

He has had to work on his concentration over the years, to help him improve his game. A lot of people like watching Day, since he is known for making great comebacks if a game doesn’t start his way to begin with.

We hope this article has been helpful. Now you should get a better insight into Ryan Day.