Home favourite Tom Ford seals emotional first ranking title at Snooker Shoot Out
Ford claimed the first major ranking title of his 23-year professional career
Tom Ford claimed the first ranking title of his career after beating Liam Graham in a dramatic Snooker Shoot Out final on Saturday.
The home favourite was the last man standing at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, where he sealed a dramatic 31-28 victory over the week’s surprise package with just 12 seconds remaining.
Widely regarded as one of the best players yet to win a ranking event, having lost in each of his three previous final appearances, Ford has managed to shake off that tag after 23 years on the pro tour.
Landing the top prize of £50,000 and securing a place in next season’s Champion of Champions, he became the 15th different winner in as many editions of the unique single-frame tournament.
His triumph was all the more remarkable considering he contemplated withdrawing from the event following the recent death of long-term friend and sponsor Brian Todd, whose funeral he attended earlier this week and to whom he dedicated his success.
“Brian was with me for eight years, he went everywhere with me – apart from China,” said Ford.
“I said to my wife before the event that I didn’t want to play, I was down in the dumps. She encouraged me to go because you never know what might happen. The money, the trophy, is not what I was thinking about this week. It has been so hard, but winning the tournament for Brian means so much.
“I’m over the moon. It’s just so weird to win to actually win a tournament in Leicester, because I don’t like playing here.
“When I got a chance in the final, I just tried not to think about anything expect potting the balls. I had to put everything to one side for a few minutes and get the job done.”
Ford, who arrived at this event having won only two matches all season, advanced to his fourth ranking showpiece after beating English Open finalist Wu Yize on a blue-ball shootout in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, world number 100 Graham had enjoyed a career-changing week. The 20-year-old Scotsman, who had never previously progressed beyond the last 32 at a ranking event, had won plenty of new fans with his charismatic style of play, which saw him defeat the likes of Ali Carter, Noppon Saengkham and Mark Selby along the way.
He appeared set to round off a fairy-tale week with glory after building a 28-8 lead with just 90 seconds remaining, but left Ford a tempting red to the top-right corner.
The 41-year-old – a beaten finalist at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic, as well as both the German Masters and International Championship in 2023 – knocked it in and held himself together magnificently, slotting in the match-winning blue with just 12 seconds left on the clock.
A two-time Players Championship Tour event winner, Ford’s emotions were raw as he finally got that long-awaited first ranking title under his belt.
“It has been a great run,” added Graham, who will climb to 85th in the WST rankings. “The red I missed in the final was one of the few balls I missed all week.
“Well done to Tom, he’s a great guy. But I’m gutted for myself because I thought I had it. One ball made the difference.
“It will take me a while to get over it, but I think I will gain confidence from this. Hopefully, I have shown that I have the bottle to win under pressure.”
Snooker Shoot Out 2024 Results
Saturday December 7
Last 32
Neil Robertson 2-48 Liam Pullen
Dylan Emery 8-50 Noppon Saengkham
Zhou Yuelong 38-39 Florian Nüßle
Duane Jones 21-39 Tom Ford
Antoni Kowalski 85-9 Vladislav Gradinari
Andrew Higginson 49-16 Ma Hailong
Wu Yize 42-26 Liam Davies
Zhang Anda 20-36 Elliot Slessor
Mark Selby 26-7 Jamie Jones
Liam Graham 43-37 Ali Carter
Aaron Hill 37-42 Allan Taylor
Si Jiahui 7-51 Martin O’Donnell
Kreishh Gurbaxani 30-10 Ashley Carty
Robbie Williams 49-42 Fan Zhengyi
Huang Jiahao 81-0 David Gilbert
Robert Milkins 56-21 Haydon Pinhey
Last 16
Mark Selby 80-0 Liam Pullen
Antoni Kowalski 18-30 Florian Nüßle
Allan Taylor 3-42 Andrew Higginson
Elliot Slessor 43-46 Wu Yize
Robert Milkins 31-56 Martin O’Donnell
Robbie Williams 11-50 Huang Jiahao
Kreishh Gurbaxani 26-55 Tom Ford
Noppon Saengkham 7-59 Liam Graham
Quarter-Finals
Mark Selby 104-1 Florian üßle
Wu Yize 71-6 Andrew Higginson
Martin O’Donnell 13-19 Liam Graham
Tom Ford 64-23 Huang Jiahao
Semi-Finals
Mark Selby 20-38 Liam Graham
Tom Ford 37-32 Wu Yize
Final
Liam Graham 28-31 Tom Ford