Maguire on crest of a wave for Crucible
STEPHEN MAGUIRE is aiming to strike while the iron is hot in next month’s World Championship at the Crucible.
The Glaswegian pocketed his biggest ever pay day — a whopping £260,000 — as he claimed his first ranking title for seven years with Friday night’s 10-6 victory over Mark Allen in the Tour Championship final.
Now he heads to Sheffield for snooker’s blue-riband event hungry to try and win the biggest prize of all.
‘I can’t have any more confidence going into the World Championship,’ admitted Maguire after his stunning success in Milton Keynes.
‘Confidence-wise this must be the best I’ve felt going into the Worlds. I’m looking forward to the Crucible now.
‘I definitely thought I’d never win a tournament again, but it’s been good because it’s eased my expectations.
‘I just accepted I might not win titles, it took the edge off desperately trying to be there at the end. I think that adds extra pressure.
‘I’ve just not been beating myself up because of that, but I’ve had a great season and winning this title just tops it.
‘Whatever happens now at the Crucible I can’t complain, I’ve had a good season,’ he stressed.
‘It’s a hell of a lot of money to win in one week, but I’ll definitely not get carried away just because I’ve won one trophy. But it’s a great feeling, unreal.’