Tom Ford said he does not believe the Snooker Shoot Out is worthy of ranking event status. Despite him winning the event.
The Leicester cueman pocketed £50,000 for winning the four-day Shoot Out in his home town.
Victory marked a stunning reversal of fortune for Ford. Prior to the event he had only won two matches all season.
Ford has won minor Player Tour Championship (PTC) events but this is his first major title.
Ford lifted his first ranking title in dramatic fashion in the quick-fire snooker tournament. He beat China’s Wu Yize in a blue-ball shoot out decider after their match was tied.
And later in the final against Liam Graham, Ford turned the match around in the dying seconds to win the £50k top prize.
But the now world-number 19 appeared to question whether or not the Snooker Shoot Out should be a ranking event.
In the post-match presentation, Ford said: “A few years ago I won a couple of PTCs and they were best of sevens. They were more of a ranking event than this, I’m sorry.
“But to win on my home turf and have the crowd (support) has been absolutely brilliant.”
Whether or not the Snooker Shoot Out should be a ranking event has been a matter of debate in recent years.
“I was down in the dumps”
Ford told World Snooker Tour he did not want to play in the event after losing close friend and sponsor Brian Todd recently.
He said: “Brian was with me for eight years. He went everywhere with me.
“I said to my wife before the event that I didn’t want to play, I was down in the dumps.
“She told 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.”
Runner-up Liam Graham said: “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.”
