Maguire exacts revenge
STEPHEN Maguire overwhelmed his fellow Scot Anthony McGill 10-2 to end a winless run at the World Championship in Sheffield that dated back to his 2012 quarter-final victory over Stephen Hendry.
Hendry retired that night, and Maguire went on to lose to Ali Carter in the semi-finals, before enduring four consecutive firstround exits at the Crucible, three of them by a spiritcrushing 10-9 margin.
This time Maguire exacted revenge for his defeat to McGill at the same stage two years ago, and did so in devastating fashion. In the seven-frame burst that took him from 2-2 to 9-2, Maguire limited McGill to just one point while plundering 547 himself.
McGill said of the performance by Maguire: “He looked sharp and he looked a hell of a lot better than me. It’s happened to the best of them, players being drubbed. Steve Davis came here and got drubbed 10-1 so if it happened to him it can happen to anyone. You’ve got to take it on the chin.”
Snooker’s marathon man was way off the pace as Mark Selby made a stunning start to his title defence. Three days after Fergal O’Brien took a staggering two hours, three minutes and 41 seconds to win a deciding frame in the final round of qualifying, the Irish veteran was on the end of a 10-2 Selby onslaught.
Dubliner O’Brien had craved a 10th Crucible appearance, having missed out in qualifying for the last six years, but it could hardly have gone any worse.
Selby had no appetite for going the full distance with 45-year-old O’Brien, whose grin when winning the ninth frame showed his relief at avoiding a whitewash. He picked up a second frame too, but Selby soon crossed the winning line.
Selby modestly said his performance “could have been better”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was given a rocky ride by former taxi driver Gary Wilson. Wallsend cueman Wilson is making his Crucible debut after coming through the qualifying rounds in dazzling style, firing eight centuries over three matches including a 147 maximum break.
O’Sullivan looked en route for the second round when he surged 5-1 ahead, but Wilson plotted his way back into the contest to trail only 5-4 overnight.