Maguire
again reached the semi-finals last year. He admitted afterwards that he had
taken Ali Carter too lightly and lost 17-10.
However,
this season, after a few frustrating years of knocking on the door, the door
opened again for this fiery Scot. He won a dramatic Welsh Open final in a
decider against Stuart Bingham to capture his first ranking title for five
years.
Maguire
can be a formidable player but also a powder keg of emotion or, to put it
another way, he’s often like a can of pop shaken up, with the inevitable
explosion causing a bit of a mess.
It
is the length of the World Championship which may count against him simply
because in longer matches there is a greater chance of something going wrong.
What is needed is discipline and focus throughout the 71 frames you must win to
become champion.
Maguire’s
Crucible record is not great compared to how good he is. This season, though,
he has been much more consistent, not least because he has played so much
snooker.
He
has also at times played quite superbly at the Crucible. In 2008 he won eight
frames in succession against Neil Robertson and looked so good that he briefly
replaced Ronnie O’Sullivan as the tournament favourite.
Such
spells of snooker come from a player who plays on inspiration with the bit
between his teeth. There’s no one in the game he can’t beat or hasn’t beaten.
To
become world champion he will have to string a series of such performances together
while keeping a cool head to deal with the inevitable disappointments that crop
up.
With
Maguire there is a refreshing lack of pretension or front. He is who he is. He
came from a snooker background. His grandfather built a snooker room in which
could practice. As a teenager he spent long hours observing up close the
majesty of Stephen Hendry.
O’Sullivan
said in 2004 that he would ‘dominate the game for ten years.’ He didn’t, but
neither did anyone else.
Maguire
once said he wanted to be world champion by the time he was 30. He’s now 32.
However, the glory of capturing snooker’s holiest of holy grails applies
whatever age you are.
Maguire
is not as high in the betting as a few years ago but has played well enough
this season to deserve the status as a contender when it all starts again in a week's time.
20 comments:
One of snooker's most extreme underachievers along with the likes of Matthew Stevens, Stephen Lee, Marco Fu etc
He doesn't seem to be playing as well as around 6 years ago although the standard all around him has improved. Not one for my short list personally and he still today continues to show him beating himself up if things are not going his way i.e his cue banging etc. A fantastic scorer and sound safety and tactical game and he did win his first ranking title for a few years in Feb by winning the Welsh Open. With his confidence high following this win, some odd results followed in losing deciding frame finishes to Swail and Walden. He did though have a good recent run in China in losing 5-6 to Robertson in the semis but for me he's 14 points behind bigger contenders.
Good card player.
Maguire's got no chance at Sheffield. He's got a very weak temperament and he'll be horribly exposed in the cauldron of The Crucible. The fact he's on this short-list shows how average the standard is at the very top of the game at present.
COME ON JIMMY !!!
Maguire far too much of a hot-head. Loses control if he has the slightest run of the ball against him or he misses an easy ball. Would like to see the cue banging, table punching protagonists warned. Out of order.
Noticed in the WS site that the White / Milkens match does not have the little tv symbol that indicates which matches will be shown on line.
They can get that changed !
Realistically, I don't think anyone expects White to progress in the championship. The spectacle of his return to the Crucible is what is eagerly anticipated. Would be fantastic to see him there again, even just for a short while. But then again, who knows,
Go on Jimmy !
Dave I get the impression you don't like ronnie at all with your little digs at him. Say what you want about him, he didn't go on to dominate the game but he's still got 4 world titles in the bag more than most players and is up there with hendry and davis as one of the most prolific winners in the history of the game and is still playing. With the talent he's got he could still break all the records hendry set, look at reardon winning in his 40s.
He's in the same situation as Allen and Ding. Whoever comes through that bottom half of the draw will probably have to put out Robbo and Selby: you have to beat the two best players of the season just to reach the final...
Personally I think he's too psychologically weak to win the world championship, and I really don't see him being a major challenger this year.
I haven't made any digs at him.
Apologies dave, I love your blog. Who do you fancy this year?
Hard to say before the draw comes out but Trump, Selby, O'Sullivan and Robertson stand out.
McGuire might just be this years dark horse, but the clock is ticking so he needs to make it happen and keep his temper under control.
You really think Ron has a shot? Aside from the fact he's never defended a world title, it is technically John Higgins' turn to win this year.
We now know 8 of your top ten
No Trump this year mate, even lisowski seems more likely
Good luck Jimmy !
I think his game and his temperament have improved, and he can beat anyone. Based on his recent form, he's definitely in with a chance.
Does Ron have a shot ? Stupid question
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