snagged the No.2 slot

[GoodTaste]

Does "snagged the No.2 slot" mean "secured the second place"?

Searching yields little clue for "snag the slot" except "snag the spot", by which I guessed as above.

======================
Why Senegal is outpacing the US in tackling COVID
Senegal snagged the No.2 slot in a recent analysis looking at how 36 countries have handled the pandemic. The United States landed near the bottom.

Source:USAToday homepage
The article is here with a different title:
Senegal's quiet COVID success: Test results in 24 hours, temperature checks at every store, no fights over masks
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...al-outpacing-us-tackling-pandemic/5659696002/

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Does "snagged the No.2 slot" mean "secured [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] second place"? . . .

Yes. Exactly!

 

[GoodTaste]

Yes. Exactly!

If "the" was used in the phrase "nagged the No.2 slot", then why should the "the" in "secured thesecond place" be deleted?

 

[emsr2d2]

"First/second/third etc place" are set phrases, with no article.

 

[Tarheel]

If "the" is used in the phrase "snagged the No.2 slot", then why should [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] "the" in "secured the second place" be deleted?

There is a meaningful difference in the two phrases. (I could say more, but a bagel is waiting for me. )