Tom Ford wins Snooker Shoot Out and maiden ranking event title on home soil

Victory on Saturday night at the Mattioli Arena in the unique one-frame tournament pockets 41-year-old Ford £50,000.

Ford's triumph was a bittersweet moment, as it came just days after attending the funeral of his long-term sponsor Brian Todd, whose logo he wore on his playing shirt throughout the competition.

Prior to this event, Ford had endured a dreadful first half to the 2024/25 season. He began the campaign inside the world's top 16 rankings, but had recently fallen out of the sport's elite bracket having won just two matches all term long.

The Leicester cueman already had a very decent career record in the Snooker Shoot Out, with top highlights of a semi-final in 2012 and a quarter-final finish in 2023 (January edition).

Opening round wins over Xing Zihao and Paul Deaville put Ford through to finals day of the 2024 staging where he eliminated Duane Jones, Kreishh Gurbaxani and Huang Jiahao to reach the final four again.

There were thrilling scenes at the end of his semi-final meeting with Wu Yize, pipping his opponent on a blue ball shoot out after the young Chinese had tied the scores in the dying seconds of regulation time.

In the title match, Ford faced 20-year-old Graham from Scotland, the world number 100 who was enjoying a fairytale run.

Last year's European under-21 champion had previously been to one ranking event last 32, but victories over Mink Nutcharut, He Guoqiang, Ali Carter, Noppon Saengkham, Martin O'Donnell and then four-time world champion Mark Selby in the last four put him on the brink of one of professional snooker's unlikeliest title wins.

A scrappy first half to the final ensued, but Graham managed to establish a handy lead during the final five minutes.

With limited time remaining, Ford perhaps felt forced to take on a red from long distance which he missed. However, Graham subsequently missed from close range - likely the ball that would have won him the title - and with just over a minute left when he came back to the baize, Ford fully capitalised by coolly amassing the points he required to get in front with just seconds to spare.

A winner of minor-ranked PTC events in the past, Ford had the label of 'one of the best players on tour without a ranking title', but he can now rip that tag up after succeeding in the fourth ranking event final of his career.

The 50k top prize thrusts Ford up the one-year list out of nowhere and in contention to qualify for the big-money, 32-player World Grand Prix in Hong Kong in a few months time.

Graham will feel sore having come so close to the trophy, but he can be very proud of his efforts over the past few days which have earned him an audience of new fans. The £20,000 he deposits is over four times more than his previous biggest payday on the World Snooker Tour, and those ranking points have helped transform his ranking position and give him a real chance of keeping his professional status beyond this season.

Next up on the World Snooker Tour is the 2024 Scottish Open which takes place in Edinburgh between December 9-15.

Full results from the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out can be found on our tournament information page.