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Stephen Maguire

Maguire’s only silverware of the 2009/10 season came in the inaugural (and short-lived) Pro Challenge Series. He beat fellow Glaswegian Alan McManus 5-2 in the final of event one.
In ranking events, he showed only occasional flashes of the form which took him to second place in the world rankings, and finished the campaign with a fall of four places to sixth.
The Pukka Pies UK Championship saw Maguire enjoy a run to the semi-finals, beating Joe Perry, Stuart Bingham and Peter Lines before losing to Ding Junhui. He reached the same stage of the totesport.com Welsh Open, knocking out Dominic Dale, Barry Hawkins and Mark Williams only to lose to Ali Carter. And he got to the semis again at the Pokerstars.com Masters, seeing off Mark King and Ryan Day, but once again he was denied a place in the final, this time at the hands of Mark Selby.
Maguire hoped to finish the season strongly at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, but after a 10-4 first round win over Stephen Lee, he fell to Graeme Dott by a surprisingly one-sided 13-6 scoreline.
“I just didn't perform,” he admitted. “There were a few frames when I wanted to be out of the arena, and you shouldn't be feeling that. You should be fighting.”
During the 2007/08 season, Maguire was the only player other than Ronnie O’Sullivan to win two ranking titles. At the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast he beat several other members of snooker’s group of emerging talent. Wins over David Gray, Ding Junhui, Robertson and Murphy put him into the final, where he beat Fergal O’Brien 9-5 to win his first ranking title in three years.
"I went a bit nuts for a while after winning two tournaments in 2004," admitted Maguire. "There was a time when I wondered whether I would ever win a tournament again. Being a father has changed me, I feel completely different. It’s made me try harder. I’ve got a good chance to make a lot of money through snooker and I want my boy to have everything.”
Maguire went on to win the China Open in Beijing, edging out Ryan Day 6-5 in the semi-finals having made the second official 147 break of his career earlier in the match.
The final was a thrilling affair, one of the best matches of the season. Tied 9-9 against Shaun Murphy, Maguire played a brilliant shot on the final yellow to release the green from the side cushion, and cleared up to win his fourth ranking title.
"I’m sure Shaun and I will play in a lot of finals so it’s good to get one over on a player as strong as him. I want to make the other boys a bit frightened of me, and make it harder for them to come back and beat me,” said Maguire, whose fiery temperament engenders a habit of banging his fist on the table and cue on the floor.
The previous season finished in disappointment for Maguire as he lost 17-15 to John Higgins in the semi-finals at the Crucible, having led 14-10…the closest he has come so far to glory at Sheffield.
Maguire made his first breakthrough in March 2004 when he hammered Jimmy White 9-3 in the final of the European Open in Malta to win his maiden major title.
Eight months later he captured a more prestigious crown with victory in the UK Championship, beating David Gray 10-1 in the final.
Former world amateur champion Maguire his first 147 maximum during the pre-TV rounds of the 2000 Scottish Open.
Away from snooker, Maguire enjoys playing badminton and going to the gym. He and Sharon have a son called Finn and a daughter called Faith. A fan of animals, he once kept baby sharks in a tank in his bedroom and now keeps bulldogs.

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