Ryan Day won Group Six of the Championship League on Thursday to move into March’s Winners’ Group in Coventry.
The Welshman had survived in the event from the very first group in January, reaching the knockout phase in all five previous groups, including a pair of runner-up positions.
On Wednesday, he got off to a bad start to Group Six by losing 3-0 to Mark Selby but managed to squeak through to the semi-finals with three victories out of his six round-robin ties.
In the last four, Day staged an excellent comeback by knocking in breaks of 112, 101, and 53 to beat Ricky Walden 3-2, before adding runs of 80 and 70 in overcoming Martin Gould 3-1 in the final.
Day joins David Gilbert, Anthony McGill, Mark Davis, Barry Hawkins, and Judd Trump in the Winners’ Group, with just one more place up for grabs as the 2017 Championship League nears its conclusion.
It has proved to be a lucrative series for Day, though, who by playing in all six events so far has racked up a tidy sum of money – £23,700 in total.
Day told Championship League Snooker: “I am looking forward to the Winners’ Group, it is good to be in it.”
“The writing was on the cards for me today. My nickname is Doris, with a surname of Day, and storm Doris has blown into town. It’s also my daughter’s birthday today.
“A Champion of Champions place is a big incentive in the Winners’ Group, and the money is good. I managed to get through group one and it has stood me in good stead because it is perfect match practice.”
Gould, Walden, the other beaten semi-finalist Stuart Bingham, and fifth placed Selby have one last shot in Group Seven to qualify.
They will be joined by newcomers John Higgins, Graeme Dott, and Michael Holt as Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams were eliminated.
