Stephen Maguire advances to the Semi Finals at the Welsh Open

By Tom Lea

STEPHEN Maguire advanced to the semi-finals at Celtic Manor after conquering defending champion Shaun Murphy by 5 frames to 4.

After Murphy had taken a scrappy first frame in which neither man seized control, the Scot registered the first century of the match in frame two to level the clash.

The Magician opened frame three with a promising break of 46 but a poor positional shot would allow Maguire back to the table. He seized the opportunity with both hands, knocking in a marvellous break of 86 to take the lead.

The man from Glasgow started frame four strongly, putting 55 points on the board before rattling a red in the jaws of the pocket. Murphy needed to respond and he did so imperiously, clearing the table to level the tie at two frames apiece.

Frame five started with a poor mistake from the Englishman, hitting the black and allowing Maguire to open up a lead of 38. Murphy looked to claw his way back into the frame but missed a close red at a crucial point and allowed the Scot to seize control again.

Maguire wouldn’t let his position of dominance to slip in this frame, knocking in the remaining reds and a vital yellow to retake the lead.

After a tense start to the sixth frame, Murphy thundered in a fantastic long-range red which enabled him to register a masterful 81 and once again level the match.

Frame seven started strong for Maguire as he registered a solid break of 37 but a safety error offered the defending champion a glimmer of hope. He responded with a nerveless 58 and then an imperious green to leave Maguire needing snookers.

He was unable to get them however and Murphy calmly picked off the remaining colour to move within one frame of the semi-finals.

Maguire didn’t want to take any chances as the match reached the eighth frame, knowing that one mistake could result in his elimination from this years tournament. He kept his composure as he knocked in a chanceless 90 to take the frame 101-0 and force the match to a decider.

Maguire had been relentless all game and this continued into the final frame as Murphy missed an early red and the Scot took control. A composed break of 133 would follow as the Glaswegian ensured that Murphy wouldn’t be retaining the title he won 12 months prior in Cardiff.