Day reaches Malta Cup semi-final

After flattering to deceive on many occasions, Ryan Day has booked his long awaited debut in the semi-finals of a world ranking event.

The highly-rated but until now under-achieving Welshman entered uncharted territory with an impressive 5-1 victory over Mark King to reach the quarter-finals of the £200,000 Malta Cup at the Portomaso Hilton Conference Centre.

“It’s always a good feeling to go further in a tournament than ever before but I’m also really happy with the way I played to get there,” said the 26-year-old from Pontycymmer, near Bridgend.

“Every time Mark made a mistake I stepped in and made a big break. That always boosts your confidence.”

When Day missed a long straight blue in the opening frame King powered in a run of 95 but from that point it was one-way traffic.

World number 17 Day, with a deserved reputation as one of the game’s heavy scorers, rebounded well, knocking in breaks of 86 and 93 before going into the mid-session interval 3-1 ahead thanks to stealing the fourth frame on the blue.

And there was more of the same on the re-start as Day forged into his first semi-final in eight years as a professional with additional contributions of 96 and 55.

Asked why he was only now beginning to fulfil his potential, Day did not hesitate.

He said: “The birth of my daughter, Francesca, was a life-changing experience. She’s

six months old today and ever since she’s been around I’ve been leading a much more settled life.

“I’m really content with my girlfriend, Lynsey, and it’s given my so much more focus on my game. I used to be a bit of a jack the lad going out most weekends but not anymore.”

Day’s progress here – he has already beaten Matthew Stevens and former British Open champion Fergal O’Brien – is in stark contrast to last week when he was whitewashed 5-0 by Jamie Cope in the final qualifying round of the China Open.

“I’ve changed one part of my game technically since then and I can’t believe I haven’t done it before. I picked up on it myself and its definitely working,” added Day.