Stephen Maguire prevailed 13-9 over 20-year-old rival Shaun Murphy to reach the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship. The relationship between the two has been strained over time, and the confrontation that ended yesterday only confirmed this.
Stephen and Shaun had disliked each other since juniors, but things reached another level 20 years ago at the Grand Prix when Maguire left his chalk in the changing room. He immediately went to get it, but apparently Murphy told the referee that the rules clearly state that leaving the game table without consent is penalized with a lost frame. On returning to the arena, the Scot was informed by the referee that the Englishman was leading 1-0, although the game had not yet started. Later, the former world champion denied that he had interfered with the referee, but the incident went down in snooker history as “Chalkgate”, forever damaging the already fragile relationship between the two.
The tensions between the two were, as such, also evident in this year’s Crucible clash, with Maguire going on a rampage at the end of the second session after making it 10-6. The Scotsman admitted he overacted, but believes he was provoked, with Murphy having an inappropriate attitude when he reduced his handicap to 6-3.
“It’s not in my character to act like that, I usually go “wild” when I lose. But some things happened at the gaming table, he was ostentatiously happy and I got angry. Good thing I got out of the arena before I broke something.
I think he provoked me, yes, but I also think he was wrong. He knows me very well to know that such moments motivate me even moreMaguire told Eurosport.
Maguire, for the 8th time in the quarters at the World Championship
A specialist at the Crucible, Maguire is in the quarter-finals of the World Championship for the 8th time, in two of the times managing to reach the “ace box”. Now, standing between him and the semi-finals is David Gilbert, who knocked out world champion Luca Brecel in the first round.
The Scot is dreaming of his first World Cup final, but is aware that he has “a mountain to climb” for the biggest performance of his career.
“I think the first two sessions were very important in determining the winner between me and Murphy and I think it was the safe play that made the difference.
I’m very happy to be in the quarters again, I have my chance, but I still have a lot of work to do to go far. I have to keep my head down, be humble and give my best“, said the Scotsman.
12-12 is now the score of direct meetings Murphy – Maguire, with the Scotsman winning the last 4 matches.
Today, the final set-up for the quarter-finals is set, with the last 4 players to qualify for the last 8. Based on the following scores:
- Ryan Day – Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-10
- Joe O’Connor – Kyren Wilson 6-10
- John Higgins – Mark Allen 7-9
- Jack Lisowski – Stuart Bingham 7-9
