Maguire has no fears at the Crucible

Stephen Maguire insists he has no fear about who he plays in the Betfred World Championship after making his first quarter-final since 2012 with victory over Rory Mcleod.

The Scot resumed 6-2 up in the Crucible and kept his foot firmly on the Englishman’s throat, winning 13-3 with a session to spare to earn a day off today.

Maguire is now set to face either fellow Scot and 2006 champion Graeme Dott or Barry Hawkins in the last eight.

But for Maguire, twice a Sheffield semi-finalist, the duty now is to focus on his own game to reach new ground – with the last-four heartbreak against John Higgins a decade ago still a bone of contention.

“Rory had a lot of chances and I wasn’t in top form, so it could have been a different game if he’d taken just half of those,” said the world No 24. “I don’t fear anyone and if I play the game that I want to play then I fancy winning.

“I let the match slip against John, that was the year I perhaps should have won it.”

In Sunday afternoon’s other match, defending champion Mark Selby maintained his four-frame lead against Xiao Guodong. The world No 1 had led 6-2 with the pair sharing the eight frames in the session to leave Selby three away from victory. lwatch the Snooker World Championship Live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player, with Colin Murray and analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.