Match Reports from the 888.com World Championship

Maguire eases into semis

Anthony Hamilton 7 – 13 Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire needed just 70 minutes playing time in the final session to progress to his first Crucible semi-final.

Maguire was the better player throughout the match, but Hamilton’s guile kept the lead down to 9-7 after two sessions.

The third session belonged to Maguire, and in the four frames played on Wednesday his opponent did not pot a single ball.

The world number nine immediately set the tone with a 96 in the 17th frame to go 10-7 up, and never looked back.

A break of 48 decided the next, and the 26-year-old ended the match in style.

An emphatic 137 in the 19th frame effectively ended the match as a contest, and it was swiftly followed by a 108 to charge into the last four.

Before this year Maguire had won a single match at the Crucible in three attempts.  Now he has slipped almost unnoticed into the semis with some quiet but convincing victories.

He will play John Higgins in the biggest match of his career.  The pair are old friends, but one of them will be disappointed come Saturday afternoon.

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