Prior to the Newport event, Day had only won one match all season, and that was in a non-ranking event, beating Alfie Burden 5-3.

Apart from that, the young Welshman’s efforts prior to Christmas were very poor for a man of his undisputed talent. He had lost five of his six matches and was in serious danger of dropping out of the top 32.

Bring on the Welsh Open. Maybe it is the prospect of playing Crucible legends that fires him up because in beating John Parrott and then Jimmy White he lost only one frame. Day’s performance against White was stunning – he knocked in breaks of 90, 135, 84 and 73 and outscored the six-time Crucible runner-up by 421 points. The 26-year-old was unable to repeat his breathtaking display against Barry Hawkins in the next round but losing to the provisional world number 10 and most improved player on tour is no disgrace.

Thankfully, Day was able to carry the momentum gained in Newport up north to Prestatyn for the final qualifying round of the World Championship. Even though he was 3-0 behind to in-form Stuart Bingham, Day kept his nerve to win 10-7.

On his only trip to the Crucible back in 2004, Day agonisingly lost 10-9 to John Higgins after leading 9-7. He is set to become a father in the summer and what better way to celebrate parenthood by going at least one stage further than on debut.

Prediction: Second-round exit