I really hope meeting my mate at the Crucible is off the table
Maguire prays draw’s good to him
SCOTTISH snooker star Stephen Maguire is desperate to avoid stablemate John Higgins in today’s draw for the World Championship.
The two-time semi-finalist, 42, drowned his sorrows after his run of 19 successive Crucible appearances was ended last season. But the Milton maverick is back in the big time after two wins in qualifying and ready to do some damage on the game’s grandest stage. In previous years Maguire has drawn practice partner Anthony McGill in the first round and he is keen to avoid the “nightmare” of playing pal Higgins this time.
He said: “Last year I was blotto with a bottle of Jack Daniels after not qualifying so I didn’t miss it!
“It’s nice to be back at the Crucible, you don’t want your season to end in the qualifiers.
“But I don’t want to play John. There will be a bit of banter but that would be a nightmare.
“I’m going back to Glasgow to practise and I imagine John’s in the unit practising so I want games with John.
“He’s not playing until Wednesday so if by chance I avoid him and don’t play until later in the week then we can get a few games in.
“If I draw him then I doubt we’ll be playing each other.
“I don’t want to draw Ronnie (O’Sullivan) either. I’ve played him three times in the first round and in a quarter-final a couple of years ago as well.
“They’re the two players I want to avoid.”
But Maguire doesn’t fear any of the top seeds in the draw.
He has made three Crucible quarter-finals in his past six appearances, with two of them coming as a razor-sharp qualifier full of confidence.
He said: “I don’t fear anybody. I’ve played the game long enough. They’re all tough matches. I’ll be the underdog no matter who I play so we’ll see what happens. I know my limits, I know my standard.
“If I hit it good and the other guy hits it bad I’ve got a chance. I found something there in qualifying and it’s about whether I can continue that now really.
“I’m at a stage now where I can play really well one day and then the next I look like I’ve never played the game before.
“Losing in the qualifiers, you don’t want to be here for a start so when you do lose here it’s hard to take. It wasn’t nice missing it last year.”
Scott Donaldson’s dreams of a Crucible return were dashed last night as the Perth potter suffered a crushing 10-9 defeat to Ryan Day.