A seven-time rating title-winner misplaced his head earlier than seeing his World Snooker Championship possibilities disintegrate.
Stephen Maguire vented his frustrations on the desk as he exited World Championship qualifying (Picture: WST)
Former world No. 2 Stephen Maguire noticed pink when he took his frustrations out on the desk in qualifying for the 2026 World Snooker Championship. The Scot was knocked out of the third qualifying spherical by Liam Highfield following a 10-5 defeat on Monday. Maguire, 45, has been a frequent attendee on the Crucible for greater than 20 years.
Nonetheless, he failed to point out the right etiquette when his feelings acquired the higher of him this week. ‘On Fireplace’ was up within the sixth body however trailed by 5 to at least one when he briefly misplaced his head. The veteran did not convert a black when he minimize it a bit too nice and banked his shot off the cushion, giving Highfield a route again into the body. With nothing else round to vent his frustrations, Maguire opted to wrap his proper fist into the wood facet of the desk as an alternative. He went on to rescue the body and briefly minimize the deficit to 4-2, however a late surge from world No. 90 Highfield landed him a spot within the closing spherical of qualifiers.
The highest 16 gamers on this planet are already certified and seeded for the primary attract Sheffield. Nonetheless, 16 spots stay open as a few of the greatest names in snooker look to safe their locations within the World Championship.
Amongst these extra recognisable names vying for a shot at glory are Stuart Bingham, Luca Brecel, Jack Lisowski, Ali Carter, Zhang Anda, Jak Jones and Hossein Vafaei. Nonetheless, a number of these stars might be headed for the exit earlier than the ultimate draw is made on Thursday morning.
It’s not the primary time Maguire has let his frustrations unfastened on his environment when a end result has gone in opposition to him. The Scot hit a wall twice in German Masters qualifying after conceding to Gao Yang when he potted the black and white in the identical shot.
Highfield’s reward for beating Maguire is a fourth-round qualifier in opposition to fellow Englishman and world No. 58 Oliver Strains. The pair will play on Wednesday, and the winner of that matchup will advance to the primary World Championship draw.
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Maguire featured at each version of the World Snooker Championship between 2004 and 2022. And regardless of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 competitors, he has now did not qualify for 3 of the final 4 tournaments.
There was trigger for optimism final summer time when Maguire rolled again the years to assert the Championship League title in July 2025. And save for a semi-final look on the Worldwide Championship in November, he has struggled to construct momentum following such a vivid begin to the marketing campaign.
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