October 19th 2023.
Ryan Day was set to take part in the Macau Snooker Masters exhibition that has caused a stir in the snooker world, but he decided to pull out and will be playing in the Northern Ireland Open this Sunday instead.
The World Snooker Tour (WST) had an issue with the exhibition running at the same time as the Northern Ireland Open, feeling that it would damage the reputation of the Belfast competition. Day, who is 17th in the world rankings, felt that the possibility of punishment from WST made him reconsider his decision and switch to Belfast.
Day told The Agency: “I was planning to play in Macau. I emailed World Snooker to withdraw from Northern Ireland, then emails came through to the players reminding us of contracts and whatnot. We thought as a group that we might not have been in breach of contract clauses. They thought that we were.
“I looked at it a bit more closely, and I’m right on the bubble of the top 16. Maybe not qualifying for the UK [Championship], the Masters and along with the potential of sanctions from World Snooker if I did go and play, I phoned the promoter and pulled out, then re-entered Northern Ireland.”
The problem was that the contract between professional players and WST was not clear on the situation and did not specifically cover the Macau event. However, there is a clause which covers a range of possibilities as it bars players from doing anything that could undermine or damage the reputation of World Snooker events. Day suggested that this part of the contract should be changed and made more clear in future to prevent any future disagreements.
Day has had an excellent 2022/23 season, winning the British Open, but he admits that he has been struggling to find the inspiration to play. He said: “The World Championship was probably my lowest ebb. But it’s an ongoing thing, to be honest, I’m finding myself turning up and not really enjoying it.”
He continued: “I’m not playing with freedom and with enough fire in my belly as well. Just turning up and going through the motions. I’ll play until I can’t, but I need to try and find a way of enjoying it as I once did. The fire in the belly is what I need to get back. If you’ve got the fight and determination about you, it’s gone missing for whatever reason, I’m just trying to find ways of getting it back.”
Day is still ranked 17th in the world, but he even feels that his position in the rankings is a little false. He said: “You feel a little bit like a fraud. I’m not saying I’m a terrible player, but I’ve won the British Open last year and that keeps me up the rankings for a couple of years.”
Day plays Ma Hailong in the opening round in Belfast on Sunday morning and hopes to find some inspiration on the table. He said: “I’m finding it very difficult to concentrate properly, that’s in and out all the time. Not wanting to be there as much as I should, it’s a work in progress trying to find the key to unlock the box.”
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