Maguire admits he’s terrified of what lies ahead
Stephen Maguire last night revealed he’s surprisingly struggling for motivation after scraping through at the UK Championship.
And last year’s finalist is “terrified” of playing in the next round after seeing off world No. 54 Stuart Carrington 6-4.
The current Tour Championship winner bravely battled back from 3-1 and 4-3 down to progress at Milton Keynes’ Marshall Arena.
Maguire was playing in a cubicle in the secondary room, which is a world away from the glitz of the two TV tables.
“It terrifies me that I have to play another match!” admitted the world No. 9.
“I didn’t enjoy any bit of that from start to finish.
“We both made a hundred in the first two frames, but after that I won’t be watching the re-run.
“It’s so hard to tell yourself it’s the UK Championship.
“It’s a little bit easier in the main bit because it looks nice with the lights and there’s a lot of space etc.
“I just find it hard to tell myself this is the second or third most important tournament that it is.
“It’s hard enough on table one and two in the main arena as you call it.
“But it’s so hard in the backroom, it’s like you’re not part of a tournament.
“It’s really difficult to gee yourself up to try your hardest.”
Maguire would like to see top stars like Ronnie O’sullivan and Judd Trump playing in the back room.
But the Scot was delighted to get through with a match-winning 135 clearance after other match breaks of 122, 54, 62 and 67.
The 2004 champion added: “It’d be nice to see some of the other top boys play round there and see what it’s like.
“It seems to be the same boys on table one and table two all the time – there’s no crowd so what’s the point?
“Throw some of the others round there and see how they get on – it’s not easy.
“But I’m through and
that’s all that matters. I can’t believe I got through that – it’s a real bonus.
“Stuart missed so many chances to beat me, he must be devastated.”
It was an afternoon of courageous Scottish fightback as Maguire’s practice partner Anthony Mcgill beat Lu Haotian 6-5 from 5-4 down.
The World Championship semifinalist hit runs of 87, 84, 134, 74 and 50 to reach the last 32.
David Grace credited his dramatic six stone weight loss after dumping out defending champion Ding Junhui 6-5.
The world No. 65 said: “It’s the biggest win of my career.
“I’ve lost six stone since starting Slimming World and I feel amazing.
“It helps in the longer matches because you feel less tired.
“It also helps when you’re on TV and you know a lot of people will be watching.”
But three-time champion Ding slammed the table after surprisingly crashing out.
“The table should be the best it can be but it was club level,” said the Chinese.
“I’ll go home and enjoy my own table.”
Two-time winner Neil Robertson hammered Chris Wakelin 6-1 with three centuries.