Alfie Burden's celebration of the year at Snooker Shoot Out sees him join exclusive band of ranking event winners - 'A moment I will cherish'

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Alfie Burden celebrated his career highlight when he became a ranking event winner by claiming the Snooker Shoot Out title in Blackpool on Saturday night. A 63-8 victory in the final over Stuart Bingham helped the Londoner, playing under amateur status at the Tower Circus, pick up the £50,000 first prize and join an exclusive band of players to lift a ranking trophy.

Late call-up Burden beats Bingham to Shoot Out crown - then stands on table!

Video credit: TNT Sports

Better late than never.

By his own admission, Alfie Burden has probably not made good on his early promise in potting balls, but his victory at the raucous Snooker Shoot in Blackpool on Saturday night suggests it is never too late to upholster the old CV.

In a year in which he became world seniors champion for the first time with an 8-4 victory over Aaron Canavan at the Crucible in Sheffield, the Paddington-born player, who turned 49 on Sunday, is suddenly a ranking event winner after first turning professional in 1994.

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Having lost his spot on the main World Snooker Tour circuit last season, Burden was a reserve for the one-frame Shoot Out, but was called up at the last minute and managed to reach Blackpool from London in time for his opening match on Wednesday afternoon.

The rest is now part of snooker folklore, with Burden edging David Lilley 49-46 after a frantic dash before ploughing through the field as an amateur, winning seven matches, to realise his childhood dream of carrying off a ranking title.

He finalised a surreal few days by defeating 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham 63-8 in the final, boosted by a swaggering break of 56.

In doing so, he joins an elite band of players to claim a solitary ranking title in the sport, including former world champions Alex Higgins, Joe Johnson, John Spencer and Terry Griffiths, with Burden the 39th player in the modern history of the sport to celebrate one major moment.

'I missed the call' - Shoot Out champion Burden explains how he almost missed entry

Video credit: TNT Sports

Whether or not the random nature of the Shoot Out merits ranking status is a moot point, but it would be churlish to suggest Burden did not merit finding sunshine amid the dark days of winter.

A career highlight? Quite probably with his reaction to winning a true moment to savour, the celebration of the year in snooker, as he jumped on top of the table to celebrate a major victory 31 years in the making.

"I can't believe I have won it," Burden told reporters. "On Wednesday morning, I went for a swim and I only had my phone with me because I have lost my locker key at the gym.

"I was walking out to the swimming pool and I looked at my phone and saw I had a missed call. I rang back and found out I had a place in the Shoot Out.

"I got changed, dashed to the snooker club to get my cue, dashed home to get my trousers and shoes, and then I was on the M1.

"From the start I have played well. Everything fell into place for me. I am a ranking event winner now and that is something I am very proud of. "

Burden once had a promising career with a football at his feet as a winger in his teenage years, but breaking his leg in four places during a spell at Swindon Town forced him to have a rethink.

One of the nice guys in the game, he was also once dubbed the "next Jimmy White", and lost 10-8 to Tony Drago in the first round of the World Championship at the Crucible in 1998 - his only appearance at the iconic venue - compiling two centuries on his debut at the age of 22.

But for whatever reason, it never quite happened for Burden, who has made 131 competitive centuries and a 147, and reached a career-high ranking of 38 a quarter of a century ago.

Burden is also the 10th different winner in 10 ranking events this season, completing victories over Gary Wilson and Noppon Saengkham in his run to the first prize.

He is hoping to regain his spot on the main circuit following his unheralded victory in Blackpool that sees him become the oldest first-time winner of a ranking event at the age of 48 years and 364 days.

"After dropping off the tour last season, I found myself in the wilderness," Burden said.

Alfie Burden celebrates his victory in Blackpool

Image credit: Getty Images

"I have had no motivation to play on the Q Tour, I turned up for a few events in terrible shape having not practised.

"Then a couple of weeks ago I went to the one in Bulgaria with a new cue and got to the semi-finals. Now I am hoping this win will get me back on the tour.

"I was a pro for a long time, I first joined the tour when I was 17. I still have a lot to offer snooker, I am hungry, I love the game and I have people who believe in me.

"I have a great family and friends, a great mentor in Patsy Fagan [the 1977 UK champion].

"It has been a difficult career, I am not going to lie. Snooker is a very tough sport mentally. There have been a lot more downs than ups, but this is a moment I will cherish.

"I can't wait to see my children tomorrow, they have always supported me. This is for them."

'Magic' Mann calls double to wow Shoot Out crowd with cheeky exhibition shot

Video credit: TNT Sports

His win at the Shoot Out saw him pick up £50,000, but it also clears up another source of frustration with a spot in the Champion of Champions next season worth an extra £12,500 after he was almost denied a spot in the event as world seniors champion last month.

Burden returns to action on Boxing Day when plays in the British Seniors Open in Derby.

Ranking event winners with single title

John Spencer 1
Terry Griffiths 1
Alex Higgins 1
Willie Thorne 1
Silvino Francisco 1
Joe Johnson 1
Neal Foulds 1
Tony Meo 1
Mike Hallett 1
Steve James 1
Bob Chaperon 1
Tony Jones 1
Dave Harold 1
Nigel Bond 1
Fergal O'Brien 1
Chris Small 1
David Gray 1
Matthew Stevens 1
Martin Gould 1
Liang Wenbo 1
Mark King 1
Anthony Hamilton 1
Michael Georgiou 1
Jimmy Robertson 1
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 1
Matthew Selt 1
Yan Bingtao 1
Michael Holt 1
Jordan Brown 1
David Gilbert 1
Hossein Vafaei 1
Fan Zhengyi 1
Chris Wakelin 1
Zhang Anda 1
Tom Ford 1
Lei Peifan 1
Jack Lisowski 1
Wu Yize 1
Alfie Burden 1

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