'Biggest win of my life' - Ryan Day defeats Mark Allen in incredibly tense clash to win 2022 British Open
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Updated 02/10/2022 at 22:24 GMT
Ryan Day clinched the 2022 British Open title for the first time in his career. Coming up against the pre-match favourite, Mark Allen, Day consistently went back and forth with the Northern Irishman all game, with the two hardly making any mistakes for the other to capitalise on. However, after 7-6, Day was able to take the final four frames to secure his victory.
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Ryan Day secured the final four frames to defeat Mark Allen 10-7 after what was an incredibly tense affair to win the 2022 British Open.
Coming into this showpiece encounter, Allen was the pre-match favourite, having easily turned over Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals.
Day, on the other hand, defeated Robbie Williams in the semis by the skin of his teeth, calling his performance "embarrassing." He came into this final as a former top 10 with something to prove.
In the first frame, Allen quickly got to 50 points with a black to the bottom-right pocket before sinking the red and emptying the table for 126.
Day quickly responded in the second frame by doing the exact same and emptying the table, making it 1-1.
The Welshman quickly built on his good form, taking the third frame after stunning off the blue and freeing two more reds.
In the fourth frame, however, Day was only able to drop in a red to hold for the pink, allowing Allen to get back in it with 75 points.
Allen was then able to put himself in a great position to take the fifth frame by cutting a red into the left middle and bringing the final red out and over the bottom right. He got to 105 points, and it did not matter that he eventually missed the green after that.
Punishing Allen, who missed a straight red, Day nabbed both the sixth and seventh frames in spectacular fashion, shocking the crowd with some great play.
Allen retaliated by taking the eighth frame after Day looked to gamble on a thin red to the bottom right, which didn’t come off for him, forcing him to concede the eighth frame.
The stakes clearly could not have been higher with it being 4-4, and after the break, it was Allen who again cleaned up after Day missed multiple chances to make it 5-4.
The two continued to go back and forth until the 14th frame, when Day took three in a row, scoring heavily and ensuring some breathing space by making it 7-9.
It proved to be too much to overcome for Allen, and while both missed shots in the final frame, it was Ryan who cleared the colours, winning the British Open and his fourth ranking tournament.
"It's the biggest win of my life," said Day, who now moves to 16th from 27th in the world rankings.
"I knew I really had to be on the top of my game. I'm just delighted I finished the match off."
Allen was understandably disappointed with his play, saying: "I just completely lost my action and faith in the table. Ryan adapted better than I did and probably deserved to win."
"My form is decent and I've got my life together off the table too," added Allen, confirming that he backs himself to be back in another final soon.
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