Maguire out as Higgins struggles to keep bid alive

Ninth seed Stephen Maguire is out of the World Championship, with fellow Scot John Higgins in danger of following him through the exit door.

Maguire, trailing 7-2 over night, offered little resistance against qualifier Martin Gould, who cruised to a 10-3 victory in the second round at the Crucible yesterday.

Gould built his first win at the Crucible since 2011 on the back of a stunning opening session on Tuesday, and managed to scrabble over the line when play resumed. Maguire’s only bright spot came in the 12th frame when he looked set for a maximum after potting 12 reds and 12 blacks before running out of position, and Gould took the next to wrap up victory.

Meanwhile, Higgins, below, faces a battle to keep his hopes of a fifth world title alive as he trails 5-3 against Kurt Maflin. The Wizard of Wishaw endured a tricky afternoon against the Norwegian qualifier, who rediscovered some of the form that saw him beat world No 12 David Gilbert in his opening match.

Higgins, ranked No 5 in the world, eased past Matthew Stevens in his first round but struggled for fluency as Maflin made a string of impressive breaks to give the Scot an early shock.

Higgins started the contest strongly, a fine opening-frame break of 53 handing him the early advantage. Maflin replied with a 55 in frame two but that wasn’t enough to prevent Higgins from racing into a 2-0 lead, as he made a 69 to put himself in the drivingseat.maflin rallied, however, to level at 2-2 and took the lead for the first time in the fifth frame.

The Norwegian then went 4-2 up but Higgins rolled back the years in style in the seventh to make a brilliant century. But he ended the session poorly as Maflin, born in Southwark but now living in Oslo, made 81 for a two-frame overnight lead.