SNOOKER FANS CALL SHOT OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER JUST TWO DAYS WITH AMAZING ESCAPE

Fans reckon Stephen Maguire has already played the "shot of the tournament" in his first-round win over Ali Carter at the World Snooker Championship.

During his comeback victory, Maguire was snookered with the cue ball positioned directly behind the green, tight against the cushion. However, Maguire rattled the white in the jaws of the pocket and was able to hit the ball without it striking the green and saw it rebound into a red before nestling right in front of one of the pockets.

The shot earned rapturous applause from the Crucible crowd and fans on social media were also left stunned. "Unbelievable from Stephen Maguire," wrote one. A second added: "Shot of the tournament already this will not be beaten".

While a third wrote: "Shot of the championship simply for enraging the Skipper [Carter]". Maguire went on to beat Carter 10-7 and he will now face either Shaun Murphy or Lyu Haotian in the second round.

The 43-year-old is a twice semi-finalist, but this was his first World Championship appearance since 2022 after he came through qualifying with wins over Ashley Hugill and Yuan Sijun.

Reflecting on his victory over Carter, Maguire said: "His safety was better than mine but I felt I had to take on balls that I didn't want to and if I get involved in safety matches he would be too good for me.

"I'm not just going to go out there and just give it to him. There was a time on Saturday where I felt flat and he was getting on top. I smashed the table, I did it on purpose and I felt better - I would rather go out fighting."

Carter, meanwhile, said Maguire was a "stinker of a draw" and admitted he found the build-up to the tournament "really tough". The twice finalist, who entered the tournament as the ninth seed, said: "I didn't play well and it was a disappointing end to a reasonable season. I found the build-up really tough being 45.

"I was a contender 15 years ago but now it takes too much out of you so I will stick to the shorter events. Stephen is a stinker of a draw. He's going to be a match for anyone and he wanted to beat me badly. I really don't want to play snooker for a couple of months."

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2024-04-22T09:57:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd