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Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional
snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the
2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in 1998 after winning the
IBSF World Snooker Championship
The IBSF World Snooker Championship (also known as the World Amateur Snooker Championship) is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. A nu ...
. He was in the top 16 of the
snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. The ranking lists are maintained by the sport's governing body, ...
for 11 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2016, twice reaching world no. 2. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled more than 450
century break
In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...
s, including three
maximums.
Career
Early career
Maguire turned professional as a
snooker player in 1998.
He qualified for the
1999 UK Championship, where he was defeated 2–9 by
Mark King in the first round. He played in qualifying for the
2000 World Championship, defeating Wayne Brown,
Nick Walker and
Bradley Jones to reach the final qualifying round, where he lost 9–10 to
Joe Swail
Joe Swail (born 29 August 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Ch ...
. Maguire qualified again for the
2002 UK Championship
The 2002 PowerHouse UK Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Barbican Centre in York, England. The event started on 1 December 2002 and the televised stages were shown on BBC between 7 and 15 December ...
, going on to defeat
Fergal O'Brien
Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish professional snooker player who plays on the main professional tour since 1991. Ranked within the world's top 64 players from 1994 to 2022, he has reached his highest position of 9th in the 2000 ...
9–4 in the first round, before losing 7–9 to
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter.
As an amateur, Doherty won the Irish Amateur Championship twice, the World Under-21 Amateur Championship and the World Amateur C ...
in the second.
Two years later, Maguire reached the final of his first
world ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
event, the
2004 European Open. Ranked 41st in the world, he defeated
Peter Ebdon
Peter David Ebdon (born 27 August 1970) is an English former snooker player. The winner of the 2002 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon won nine world ranking events, placing twelfth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addit ...
and
Joe Perry (both 5–4),
John Higgins
John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...
5–3 and
Stephen Lee 6–4 to meet
Jimmy White
James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...
in the final.
He then defeated White 9–3 to win the championship. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
described Maguire as a "surprising winner", and he admitted to being "very surprised how badly everybody has played against me here". At the
2004 World Championship later that season, he qualified for the 32-player competition for the first time. He lost 6–10 in the opening round to
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, ...
, who admitted to being impressed by Maguire's performance and tipped him to be a future world champion.
The following season at the
2004 British Open, Maguire defeated O'Sullivan 6–1 in the semi-finals to reach his second ranking event final. This led to O'Sullivan claiming that he had "never seen anything like that on a snooker table before" and also rated Maguire as "probably the best
layer
Layer or layered may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Layers'' (Kungs album)
* ''Layers'' (Les McCann album)
* ''Layers'' (Royce da 5'9" album)
*"Layers", the title track of Royce da 5'9"'s sixth studio album
* Layer, a female Maveri ...
in the world at the moment". Maguire met John Higgins in the final, but lost 6–9.
2004–2009: UK Championship winner (2004)
At the
2004 UK Championship, Maguire defeated Mark King,
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to:
Entertainers
*Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host
* Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese
*Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
, Stephen Lee, Ronnie O'Sullivan and
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
en route to the final, where he defeated
David Gray 10–1. Players praised the quality of play that Maguire had produced to win his first
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
event. Davis described him as "inspired",
while O'Sullivan suggested that he could "rule the game for the next ten years". In the first round of the
2005 World Championship, Maguire led O'Sullivan 9–7 but lost the match 9–10.
At the end of the season he moved from 24th to 3rd in the
world rankings.
During the
2005–06 snooker season, Maguire only reached one quarter-final, at the
2006 Malta Cup where he lost 4–5 against Ken Doherty.
He won his first-round match at the
2006 World Championship, but lost to
Marco Fu
Marco Fu Ka-chun, MH, JP (, born 8 January 1978) is a Hong Kong professional snooker player. He is a three-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, having won the 2007 Grand Prix (snooker), 2007 Grand Prix, the 2013 Australian ...
4–13 in the second round. However, at the
2007 World Championship the following year, he defeated Joe Perry, Joe Swail and
Anthony Hamilton to reach the semi-finals. He played John Higgins and led 14–10, but lost seven out of the next eight to lose 15–17.
Maguire won the ranking
Northern Ireland Trophy
The Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional snooker tournament.
History
First contested in 1981 and named ''Northern Ireland Classic''. It was an invitational event held at Ulster Hall, Belfast, and Jimmy White beat Steve Davis in the f ...
in November 2007, defeating Fergal O'Brien 9–5 in the final. His second Triple Crown final came at the
2007 UK Championship. He defeated Joe Swail,
Ian McCulloch,
Mark Williams and
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
to reach the final, where he was defeated by Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–2. At the
2008 China Open, Maguire compiled his first
maximum break
A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible in a single of snooker. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, followed by all six for a further 27 ...
against
Ryan Day in the semi-finals. He won the match 6–5 and then beat Murphy in the final 10–9 on a to win the title. He reached the quarter-final stage of the
2008 World Championship, but lost in another final-frame decider (12–13) to Joe Perry. He ended the
2007–08 season ranked world number two. He retained this position going into the
2009–10 season, after reaching the semi-finals of both the
Shanghai Masters and the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
.
2009–2012: PTC Champion (2011/12)
Maguire began the
2009–10 season by winning the first event of the
Pro Challenge Series
The Pro Challenge Series was a series of non-ranking snooker tournaments held during the 2009–10 snooker season. The events were open to all players on the main tour and were intended to give tour players more playing opportunities. Seven event ...
, defeating
Alan McManus
Alan McManus (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and current commentator who works for Eurosport. A mainstay of the world's top sixteen during the 1990s and 2000s, he has won two ranking events, the 1994 Du ...
5–2 in the final. He followed this by reaching the semi-finals at the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
by defeating
Michael Holt 9–6 in the first round,
Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham (born 21 May 1976) is an English professional snooker player who is a former world and Masters champion. Bingham won the 1996 World Amateur Championship but enjoyed little sustained success in the early part of his professional ...
9–3 in the second round, and
Peter Lines
Peter Lines (born 11 December 1969) is an English professional snooker player. He has reached the semi-finals of one ranking tournament, the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic. He reached his highest ranking, 42nd in the world, in 1999. He is the father ...
9–5 in the quarter-finals, before losing to Ding Junhui 5–9. At the invitational
Masters event in January, he beat Mark King 6–3 in the first round and Ryan Day 6–1 in the quarter-finals, but lost 3–6 in the semi-finals against
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the ...
. He also reached the semi-final stage at the
Welsh Open, beating
Dominic Dale
Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale on 29 December 1971) is a Welsh professional snooker player and snooker commentator and presenter for the BBC and Eurosport.
Career
Dale was born in Coventry, England. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship, ...
5–4 in the first round,
Barry Hawkins
Barry Hawkins (born 23 April 1979) is an English professional snooker player from Ditton, Kent. He turned professional in 1996, but only rose to prominence in the 2004–05 snooker season, when he reached the last 16 of the 2004 UK Championship ...
5–1 in the second round, and Mark Williams 5–1 in the quarter-finals, but he lost 3–6 against defending champion
Ali Carter
Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been the World Championship runner-up, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won four ranking titles and briefly reached numb ...
. Maguire made a poor start to the
2011–12 season, with first-round exits at the opening two ranking events of the year, the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...
and the
Shanghai Masters. He defeated
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...
and John Higgins at the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
to set up a quarter-final with world number seven
Judd Trump
Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...
, but lost the match 3–6. He made three
century break
In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...
s during the tournament, including a 144, which was the highest of the event.
In January 2012, Maguire won his first tournament carrying ranking points for almost four years, at
PTC Event 12 in Germany. After beating Joe Perry 4–2 in the final, he stated that he had not practised at all over the Christmas period.
The result meant that he finished eighth in the
Order of Merit and qualified for the
2012 Finals. He exited the
Masters in the first round for the second successive year following a 4–6 defeat to Mark Williams. He reached the final of the
2012 German Masters, whitewashing both Higgins and Murphy en route. He lost the final 7–9 against O'Sullivan, despite making three consecutive century breaks. At the PTC Finals, Maguire was whitewashed 0–4 in the semi-finals by
Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United ...
.
After a quarter-final run in the
Welsh Open and a first-round defeat in the
World Open, Maguire competed in the
China Open.
He had wins over O'Sullivan and Stephen Lee on his way to the final, where he played Peter Ebdon. Maguire trailed 1–5 before winning seven of the next ten frames to level the match at 8–8, forcing a deciding frame which Ebdon won. At the
2012 World Championship, Maguire defeated
Luca Brecel
Luca Brecel (born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the European Under-19 title at the age of 14 and went on to break Stephen Hendry's record as the youngest player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre. He made h ...
10–5 in the first round, Joe Perry 13–7 in the second, and Stephen Hendry 13–2 in the quarter-finals with a . He unwittingly became Hendry's last opponent, as the seven-time world champion retired immediately after the match. Maguire lost his semi-final 12–17 to Ali Carter, and finished the season ranked world number four, meaning he had climbed four places during the year.
2012–2015: Welsh Open Champion (2013)
Maguire lost in the first round of the opening ranking event of the new season with a 4–5 defeat to
Rod Lawler
Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod".
After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tournament fin ...
at the
Wuxi Classic
The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...
and then could not advance out of his group in the
Six-red World Championship
The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion.
History
The event was first held in the 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six-red Snooker Internationa ...
.
His results soon picked up, as he won the second PTC title of his career at the
UK PTC Event 1 by beating
Jack Lisowski
Jack Adam Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he is known for his atta ...
4–3 in the final. He stated after the win that he was going to put a greater emphasis on his play this season. Maguire's form continued as he reached his second consecutive
PTC Event final, but this time he lost 3–4 to
Martin Gould
Martin Gould (born 14 September 1981) is an English professional snooker player from Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. He has appeared in four ranking finals and won one ranking title, the 2016 German Masters.
Career
Gould began his pr ...
. He then lost in the second round of three consecutive ranking events and the first round of both the
Masters and the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
.
In February 2013, Maguire won his first ranking event title in over five years at the
Welsh Open.
He defeated Anthony Hamilton,
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
, Alan McManus and Judd Trump to face Stuart Bingham in the final.
He came back from 5–7 down and eventually won the match with a composed 82 break in the deciding frame to triumph 9–8.
He lost 4–5 to
Ricky Walden
Ricky Walden (born 11 November 1982) is an English professional snooker player from Chester.
Walden turned professional in 2000 and it took him eight years to win his first ranking title at the Shanghai Masters. He has since won the 2012 Wuxi ...
in the second round of the
World Open and, despite finishing third on the PTC Order of Merit to qualify for the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, was beaten 3–4 by Joe Swail in the first round.
Maguire cruised into the semi-finals of the
China Open by seeing off Michael Holt 5–3 and Barry Hawkins and Bingham both 5–1. He played Neil Robertson and led 4–2, but went on to lose 5–6. He faced world number 67
Dechawat Poomjaeng
Dechawat Poomjaeng ( ''Dechāwạt Phùmcæ̂ng'', born July 11, 1978) is a Thai professional snooker player.
Career
Early career
He won the 2010 IBSF World Snooker Championship in Damascus, Syria, defeating India's Pankaj Advani 10–7 in the ...
in the opening round of the
2013 World Championship and became part of "one of the biggest shocks" in the recent history of the tournament as he lost 9–10 to the "charismatic Thai" player.
Maguire's first ranking event of the
2013–14 season was the
Shanghai Masters, where he was defeated 2–5 by
Xiao Guodong
Xiao Guodong (, born 10 February 1989) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He turned professional in 2007 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championships.
Career 2007–2010
Xiao appeared as a wildcard in the 2007 China Open, and beat t ...
in the opening round.
He reached the semi-finals of the inaugural
Indian Open and fought back from 0–3 down against home favourite
Aditya Mehta
Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Meht ...
to level at 3–3 but lost the deciding frame. At the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
, Maguire came back from 2–5 down against Luca Brecel in the second round to win 6–5 and also edged past
Liang Wenbo
Liang Wenbo (; born 25 March 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player based at the Oracle Snooker Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Liang, who plays left-handed, has reached one Triple Crown final, made three Masters appearances, and ...
6–5, before beating John Higgins 6–3.
He lost 2–6 to Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals, with the Australian criticising the playing condition of the snooker table as "absolute garbage" after the match.
Maguire defeated both Joe Perry 6–4 and Robertson 6–2 at the
Masters. He faced O'Sullivan in the semi-finals but lost to the reigning world champion 6–2. He won three matches to reach the last 16 of the
Welsh Open, but relinquished his title by losing 3–4 to 19-year-old
Joel Walker. He then lost in the first round of the next two ranking events and withdrew from the
China Open to enter the
2014 World Championship in poor form.
Maguire produced a comeback from 3–6 and 6–9 down against Ryan Day to send the first-round match into a deciding frame but, despite having a chance to win, he lost 9–10. Afterwards, he described it as "a season from hell for me" and "I just want to forget it". He ended the season as world number 14.
In June 2014, Maguire whitewashed Judd Trump 5–0 to reach the quarter-finals of the
Wuxi Classic
The Wuxi Classic was a professional snooker tournament held from 2008 to 2014 in the city of Wuxi, China. It was a ranking event from 2012 through 2014. For the 2015/16 season, World Snooker reduced the number of ranking events held in China, whi ...
where he lost 4–5 against Martin Gould, despite making the tournament's highest break of 145.
Three months later, he won the
Six-red World Championship
The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion.
History
The event was first held in the 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six-red Snooker Internationa ...
, defeating Ricky Walden 8–7 in the final.
However, he failed to advance beyond the second round in the three major ranking events following Wuxi. After losing 1–4 to Trump in the opening round of the
Champion of Champions, Maguire hinted at retiring from the game. When he came back from 0–3 down against
Yu Delu
Yu Delu (; born 11 October 1987) is a former professional snooker player from the People's Republic of China. He is currently serving a 10 years and 9 months ban for match-fixing from 25 May 2018 until 24 February 2029. The ban was announced on ...
to win 6–4 in the second round of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
, he remarked that he might seek the help of a sports psychologist in the future. He then beat Mark Williams 6–2,
David Morris 6–3 and Marco Fu 6–4 to play in his first major ranking event semi-final in over a year. He again faced Trump and lost the first four frames, as well as being 1–5 behind. Maguire pulled the deficit back to a single frame and had chances to send the match into a deciding frame, but went when escaping a snooker on the colours and lost 4–6. A week later, Maguire continued his resurgence of form to win the inaugural
Lisbon Open, defeating
Matthew Selt
Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player originally from Romford, east London and now living in Chelmsford, Essex. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh on the Pontin's International Open ...
4–2 in the final. During the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
, he stated that he had regained his confidence and it would take "something special to stop him". He needed two snookers in the deciding frame of his quarter-final match with Neil Robertson, which he managed after Robertson accidentally potted the black. In his second consecutive ranking event semi-final, Maguire was defeated 2–6 by Mark Selby. He advanced to the quarter-finals of the
Welsh Open without facing a top-16 player, and lost 1–5 to John Higgins.
In 2015, Maguire qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship for a 12th straight year courtesy of Selby defeating
Robert Milkins
Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player. Considered one of the most naturally talented and quickest players in the game, Milkins has been a mainstay on the tour since regaining his tour card in 1998.
Milkin ...
in the
China Open, which kept Maguire in the top 16. In the opening round of the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, he forced a deciding frame after having been 5–9 down to
Anthony McGill
Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus.
McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He wo ...
, but then lost the decider. This was the fourth time in five seasons that Maguire had lost in the last 32 of the World Championship, and on each occasion he exited 9–10 having trailed and levelled the match. His end-of-season ranking of world number 15 was the lowest he had been in 11 years.
2015–2018: Decline in form
Maguire and teammate John Higgins lost in the final of the
2015 Snooker World Cup to Chinese teenagers
Zhou Yuelong
Zhou Yuelong (; born 24 January 1998) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has been runner-up at three ranking events, the January 2020 European Masters, the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, and the 2022 Northern Ireland Open.
Career
Between 2 ...
and
Yan Bingtao
Yan Bingtao (, born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the youngest player to win the Amateur World Snooker Championship after defeating Muhammad Sajjad 8–7.
Having qualified to compete on the main tour for ...
. Maguire then reached the semi-finals of the first ranking event of the year by thrashing Judd Trump 5–1 at the
Australian Goldfields Open
The Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament. The final champion was John Higgins in 2015.
History
Australia had previously hosted the 1971 and 1975 World Snooker Championships, as well as several other high-pr ...
, but he lost 1–6 to Martin Gould. He began his fourth-round match against Neil Robertson with a 118 break, but it was the only frame he could win in a 1–6 defeat. He was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
1–5 by
Graeme Dott
Graeme Dott (born 12 May 1977) is a Scottish professional snooker player and snooker coach from Larkhall. He turned professional in 1994 and first entered the top 16 in 2001. He has won two ranking titles, the 2006 World Snooker Championship a ...
and the first round of both the
Welsh Open (3–4 to
Martin O'Donnell) and the
World Grand Prix (0–4 to Higgins). He failed to qualify for the
PTC Finals after finishing 42nd on the
European Order of Merit
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
. This meant that Maguire needed a strong run at the
China Open to avoid having to qualify for the
2016 World Championship at the end of the season. He achieved this with four wins to the China Cup semi-finals, but he was then whitewashed 6–0 by Trump. Despite his automatic qualification for the World Championship, Maguire stated that he felt embarrassed at being unable to motivate himself for the event, after losing 7–10 to Alan McManus in the first round. His 18th-place campaign was the first time that Maguire finished outside of the top 16 since 2004.
Maguire beat Barry Hawkins to make the quarter-finals of the
Indian Open where he lost 1–4 to Anthony McGill. He made a 147 and two other centuries in his 5–0 wildcard win over Xu Yichen at the
Shanghai Masters. He then whitewashed Shaun Murphy 5–0 and defeated Hawkins 5–3 and
Michael White 5–1 to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 3–6 to
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 14 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (200 ...
. He lost 3–6 to Luca Brecel in the fourth round of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
and was then defeated 1–5 against Mark Selby in the quarter-finals of the
China Open. Maguire was unable to break back into the top 16 during the season and so needed to win three matches to qualify for the
2017 World Championship. Victories followed over
Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn (; born 16 December 1988 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a Thai snooker player. He was the Asian Snooker Champion in 2016.
Career
At the 2014 Six-red World Championship Lertsattayathorn defeated defending champion Mark Davi ...
,
Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond (born 15 November 1965) is an English former professional snooker player.
Bond competed on the main tour from 1989 to 2022, and was ranked within the world's top 16 players between 1992 and 1999, peaking at 5th for the 1996–97 s ...
and
Li Hang Li Hang is the name of:
* Li Hang (footballer) (李行, born 1989), Chinese association footballer
*Li Hang (snooker player) (李行, born 1990), Chinese snooker player
See also
* Li Gang (Song dynasty) (李綱, 1083–1140), regional commander se ...
and he faced McGill in the opening round. From 2–2, Maguire scored 447 points without reply and went on to triumph 10–2 in his first match win at the Crucible since 2012. He then thrashed
Rory McLeod 13–3 with a session to spare to reach the quarter-finals and came from 1–5 down to draw level with Barry Hawkins at 6–6. However, from 9–9 Maguire lost four frames in a row to be beaten 9–13.
Maguire's form continued to improve in the
2017–18 season. He reached the final of the
Riga Masters in June, but lost 2–5 to Ryan Day. In December, with wins over
Yuan Sijun
Yuan Sijun (Chinese: 袁思俊; born 29 May 2000) is a Chinese professional snooker player.
Career
Yuan started to play snooker at the age of 10 and played as a wildcard in many professional tournaments between ages of 13 and 16. Yuan first drew ...
,
Jak Jones, Liang Wenbo, Graeme Dott, and Joe Perry, Maguire advanced to the semi-finals of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
again, but was defeated 4–6 by the eventual champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. Shortly after the UK Championship, he reached the quarter-finals of the
Scottish Open but lost 2–5 against Judd Trump. In February, Maguire progressed to the semi-finals of another ranking event, this time at the
World Grand Prix, but lost 4–6 to O'Sullivan despite leading 4–2. He qualified for the
2018 World Championship after beating
Allan Taylor,
Hammad Miah
Hammad Miah ( bn, হাম্মাদ মিঞা; born 6 July 1993) is a British professional snooker player of Bangladeshi-origin.
In May 2013, Miah qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi- ...
, and
Hossein Vafaei
Hossein Vafaei ( fa, حسین وفایی ایوری; born 15 October 1994) is an Iranian professional snooker player. He is the first professional player from Iran. He won his first professional title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out, beating Mark ...
, and faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round. Despite leading 4–0 and 6–3, Maguire lost seven of the next eight frames in the second session and eventually lost 7–10.
2018–present: Tour Championship winner (2020)
Maguire made a strong start to the
2018–19 season; with wins against Joe Perry and
Kyren Wilson
Kyren Wilson (; born 23 December 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Kettering and a five-time ranking event winner. He has been a runner-up at two of the three Triple Crown events, having reached the final at both the 2018 ...
, he reached the semi-finals of the
Riga Masters but lost 1–5 to Jack Lisowski.
In October, he advanced to the semi-finals of another ranking event, the
English Open
The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...
, but this time lost 3–6 to Stuart Bingham. He performed fairly well at the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
where he progressed to the quarter-finals, but was beaten 1–6 by
Mark Allen. After strong performances over the past two seasons, Maguire returned to the
Masters for the first time since 2015; however, he was outscored 712–190 by his opponent Mark Selby and lost 2–6. He reached his third semi-final of the season at the
German Masters
The German Masters is a professional ranking snooker tournament held at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany since 2011. The 2021 event was held at Milton Keynes in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao Xintong is the reigning champion, h ...
in February, but was defeated by Kyren Wilson 6–1. At the
2019 World Championship, Maguire won both of his first two rounds against
Tian Pengfei
Tian Pengfei (, born 16 August 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He began his career by playing the Challenge Tour in 2004, at the time the second-level professional tour. Tian played on the Main Tour in 2006 and competed on the ...
and
James Cahill, the latter ending in a final-frame decider, but was unable to replicate the same feat against Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, losing 6–13.
In September 2019, Maguire won the
Six-red World Championship
The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion.
History
The event was first held in the 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six-red Snooker Internationa ...
for the second time, after beating his fellow countryman John Higgins 8–6 in the final. In December, he reached the final of the
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
for the third time, his first appearance in the final since 2007. Despite losing the first four frames to his opponent, Ding Junhui, Maguire managed to recover to 3–5 at the end of the first session. In the second session, after making back-to-back centuries, he was only 6–8 behind but lost two more frames and the match 6–10. The highlight of the extended
2019–20 season for Maguire was the
Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
in June, where he beat Mark Allen 10–6 in the final, to secure the £150,000 winner's prize and his first ranking event title since 2013. At the
2020 World Championship, he was defeated 3–10 by Martin Gould.
Maguire began 2021 with a win over Mark Selby at the
Masters, before a 5–6 loss to eventual champion Yan Bingtao.
Rivalry
Maguire has a professional rivalry with
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.
Born in Harlow, Essex and r ...
. In a match at the
2004 Grand Prix, Murphy was involved in one of Maguire's frames being forfeited. As the match was about to begin, Maguire realised he had forgotten to bring his chalk with him so he asked referee Johan Oomen for permission to leave the arena.
Murphy spoke to the referee while Maguire was away; the tournament director Mike Ganley was summoned, and he docked Maguire a frame for not being ready to start at the scheduled time.
Maguire later won the match 5–2.
A few weeks later, while playing in the final of the
2004 UK Championship,
David Gray forgot to bring his chalk into the arena. However, Maguire allowed Gray to retrieve it without a frame being docked. After beating Murphy in the
2007 Welsh Open, Maguire said, "That put the icing on the cake, but we've always had a rivalry. I dislike him and I think he dislikes me. I try hard to beat everyone, but it would have hurt more if I'd lost to him."
Personal life
Maguire has three children with his wife Sharon.
Unlike fellow professionals, he is permitted to play with his collar open and not wear a bow tie in competition because of a neck condition. Maguire was formally detained by Strathclyde Police on 27 August 2009, following allegations that he and fellow countryman
Jamie Burnett
Jamie Burnett (born 16 September 1975) is a Scottish former professional snooker player from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
A journeyman, Burnett was ranked within the world's top 64 players for 20 consecutive years between 1996 and 2016, reac ...
had colluded to produce a 9–3 victory for Maguire at their clash in the 2008 UK Championship; but they were both released without charge.
Performance and rankings timeline
Career finals
Ranking finals: 13 (6 titles)
Minor-ranking finals: 6 (3 titles)
Non-ranking finals: 7 (4 titles)
Team finals: 2 (1 title)
Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)
References
External links
Stephen Maguireat ''World Snooker''
Stephen Maguireat ''Snooker Database''
Profile on Global Snooker(2014 archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Stephen
1981 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Glasgow
Scottish snooker players
UK champions (snooker)
Sportspeople from Coatbridge
World champions in snooker