Ryan Day recovered from 4-0 down to beat Stuart Bingham 10-8 in the final of the Romanian Masters, securing back-to-back titles in the process.
The Welshman started his 2017/18 campaign with victory in the season-opening Riga Masters, and following a semi-final run at the UK Championship went on to bag the Gibraltar Open last week.
And despite losing the first four frames of Sunday’s clash with former world champion Bingham, Day added another piece of silverware to his collection thanks to a stirring fightback.
Trailing 4-0 after the first mini-session, Day ensured that the match would remain wide open heading to the evening as he fought back to a 5-4 deficit, before taking the lead for the first time soon after.
Bingham edged back in front at 7-6 and again at 8-7, but Day had one more rally left in him and took the following three frames, sealing the title on a re-spotted black after Bingham had bravely kept his hopes alive in frame 18.
Day held firm, however, and while this was not a ranking event, with the likes of John Higgins, Judd Trump and Mark Selby in attendance, it was a title of significance. Higgins was among Day’s victims en route to the final, where his 5-0 demolition of Kyren Wilson confirmed that favourite Bingham would face stern opposition.
So it proved, and on this evidence Day will hope to be a factor at the World Championships in April, where he’s a three-time quarter-finalist. Dafabet make the in-form 37-year-old a 100/1 chance, with Bingham on offer at 40s.