Shaun Murphy is the new Malta champion after he beat Ryan Day 9-4 in yesterday’s final in front of a capacity crowd at the Portomaso Hilton Conference Centre.

Murphy crowned an excellent week of snooker with a magnificent performance which gave him his first silverware after he won the world championship in 2005.

In the first session after which he had built a 4-0 lead over Ryan Day in the best of 17 frame match.

Day won the fifth frame, but then Murphy took the next three frames to take a 7-1 lead at the end of the first session.

Day started the second session by pulling back one frame but Murphy hit back to win the 10th frame to make it 8-3. Although Day fought back gallantly with good breaks of 102 and 83 to win the next two frames, it was Murphy who eventually triumphed in the 13th frame after Day missed a pottable black.

At the end of the match, Murphy said he thought he played quite well, even if it was not a high-scoring match some people thought it might have been. “I have worked hard in the last couple of years and I have the silverware to prove it,” he said.

Murphy paid tribute to the organisers of the tournament in Malta. “I am speaking on behalf of all the players when I say that we simply love to be playing here. It is a well supported event. We always have a good time and I am glad that, at least, I will be back next year,” said the new Malta champion.

Finalist Ryan Day, who was playing in his first ever ranking tournament final, said it had been a good week. “I am happy to have reached this stage. The crowd has been fantastic and it helped a lot to a make the tournament a success,” he added.

Day said he was now looking forward confidently to the next event, next week’s Welsh Open. “I hope to have another successful run thus carrying on where I left here in Malta,” he said.