Match Reports from the 888.com World Championship
Dark horse Maguire gallops into lead
John Higgins 10 – 14 Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire played some scintillating snooker in a third session that contained everything to move towards a first Crucible final.
The Scot won the session 6-2 to build a lead, and now only needs three more to advance. For much of the evening Maguire was untouchable, and Higgins needed all his graft just to hang on in the match.
After a high quality first session ended 4-4, the players returned on Friday morning for the next batch of eight frames. Neither player was able to repeat the form of the previous evening, but there were some moments of quality.
Higgins lost the ninth frame, but won the next with a break of 90. The players were locked together, and at no stage did the lead get above one frame as the session finished at 8-8.
In the evening, Higgins continued to struggle at times – especially with long potting. The difference was Maguire, who seemed to ‘raise the bar’..
He took the 17th frame, and looked set to pinch the next on the final black after Higgins left it over the corner pocket. Maguire’s long pot was accurate, but he watched in agony as the cue ball came back down the table to disappear in the opposite corner.
It appeared a significant moment. Maguire has a reputation for losing his cool at times, and the way he stormed out of the theatre suggested that he might go into meltdown.
The opposite occurred. In the very next frame Higgins missed a long red, giving Maguire the chance to forget his misfortune. A break of 82 did precisely that and got him 10-9 ahead.
The 20th frame ran to over 50 minutes, which included a fascinating safety exchange. For over 20 minutes the players twisted and turned out of tricky spots without potting a ball.
Higgins eventually broke the drought, but an unintentional kiss on the blue caused him to lose position and miss the pink. Maguire swooped to lead by two at the interval.
If the previous frame was a lesson about tactics, the remainder of the session was a master class in break building.
In the 21st frame Higgins left a loose red from the break-off, which Maguire devoured. Less than 12 minutes later he completed a clearance of 131 to lead 12-9, the largest gap at any stage in the match.
Higgins desperately needed something to stay in contention, and he showed his desire by mirroring Maguire’s efforts. This time it was he who nailed a long red on his way to a break of 134.
The outstanding quality continued, as Maguire got in first in the 23rd frame. He looked on his way to another frame-winning break but ran out of position on 32. The respite for Higgins was only temporary however, as he missed yet another long pot. Maguire in full flow pounced to go three clear again at 13-10.
The final frame took on great importance. Depending on who won it, Maguire’s lead going into the final session would either be four or two frames. The fact that it ended up being the former was largely down to Higgins.
The world number four got in first and looked good only to break down on 42. Maguire then looked certain to win the frame, but relaxed on 53 and missed a straightforward red into the corner. He made no mistake a couple of shots later when a loose safety shot from Higgins let him back in again.
The deficit means that Higgins needs a good start this afternoon to remain in the tournament.
Maguire was a 25/1 shot two weeks ago, but now looks to be in the best form of the semi-finalists. If he plays as well as he did last night, then it will take something truly exceptional from Higgins to prevent him going through to the final.
By David Pritchard
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