10/01/09 02:42 GMT
  Latest Odds £50 Free Bet Sky Poker Sky Casino Sky Games Video Competitions Mobile
 
 SNOOKER CALENDAR

MAGUIRE CLAIMS FIRST TITLE

Click here for tournament results in full

Stephen Maguire spoiled the Jimmy White party by landing the European Open title with a stunning 9-3 victory over the 'Whirlwind' in Malta.

Maguire resumed leading 7-1 after the first session and kept his head to deny White his first ranking event title since he captured the 1992 UK Championship.

Victory for Maguire makes him the youngest winner of a ranking tournament since John Higgins clinched the 1998 Embassy World Championship.

And the Glaswegian, who turns 23 next Saturday, picked up £48,000 for winning the first major title of his five-year professional career.

"I've never been past the last 16 of a ranking tournament before but I always knew I was good enough to win one, it was just a case of doing it for the first time," said Maguire, the world number 41.

"The semi-finals were a big stumbling block because I was under so much pressure but I felt really good for the final."

White, who pocketed £24,000 as runner-up, defeated Stephen Hendry in the second round and local hero Tony Drago in the semi-finals but was outclassed for much of the final.

"He gave me a good bashing," White admitted. "He outplayed me in safety, potting and position so he deserved to win.

"I'm pleased for him because he's a nice lad but I'm disappointed because I didn't compete."

Maguire fired in breaks of 96, 74 and 137 to build a 3-0 lead, added the fourth and went five frames clear with a run of 103 in the fifth. He then pulled away to 6-0 after being given the sixth frame when White was called for three successive misses.

Maguire had been lucky to leave the cue ball in the jaws of a corner pocket. Rather than roll to the five remaining reds, and therefore almost certainly leave one on, White twice attempted to hit them off the side cushion.

After twice failing, he was informed by referee Jan Verhaas that he must make contact a third time or face losing the frame under snooker's 'three misses and you're out' rule.

White chose to play the slow roll but missed again and faced the prospect of suffering only the second whitewash in a ranking event final 15 years after Steve Davis beat Dean Reynolds 10-0 to win the 1989 Grand Prix at Reading.

However White finally stopped the rot by claiming the seventh on the black, although Maguire would have won it had he completed an audacious pot by sending the cue ball the full length of the table, off the top cushion, and back towards a centre pocket where the black was hanging in the jaws.

White looked set to reduce his arrears to 6-2 in the last of the afternoon but missed a red leading 50-0 and Maguire cleared to the pink with 62.

White was appearing in his 23rd ranking event final and his first since finishing runner-up in the 2000 British Open.

He won the first frame of the evening session with a run of 78 and fashioned 125 to close to 8-3 but Maguire won the 12th frame in two visits to prevent any further recovery.

Maguire becomes the fifth Scot - after Hendry, John Higgins, Alan McManus and Chris Small - to win a ranking title.

He was made to work hard just to get to the final, recovering from 3-0 down to beat Peter Ebdon 5-4 and from 4-1 down to edge Joe Perry in a decider.

In the quarter-finals, he beat Higgins 5-3 before scraping over the line a 6-4 winner against Stephen Lee in the last four.



----------------------------------------------------------------
Part of 365 Media Group

Sports News & Entertainment
Sporting Life | TEAMtalk.com | Sportal | Football365 | Cricket365
Golf365 | Fixtures365 | Extreme365 | Rivals.net | Planet F1
Planet Rugby | Sky Sports

Betting & Gaming
Bettingzone.co.uk | Sky Bet | Sky Poker | Sky Vegas | Sky Bingo
Oddschecker - Casino Poker Bingo | Free Bets

Mobile, Fun & Games
Sky Games | Sports.co.uk | 24-7 Football
Fantasy Football | Fantasy Cricket
----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Email Your Comments - Advertise With Us - About/Contact Us
Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - RSS


2008-2009 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Shanghai Masters
Royal London Watches Grand Prix
Maplin UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2007-2008 Season
Roewe Shanghai Masters
Grand Prix
Northern Ireland Trophy
Maplin UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
Beijing China Open
888.com World Championship
2006-2007 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Grand Prix
Travis Perkins UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2005-2006 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Grand Prix
Travis Perkins UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2004-2005 Season
Grand Prix
British Open
Travis Perkins UK Championship
Welsh Open
Malta Cup
Rileys Club Masters
Failte Ireland Irish Masters
China Open
Embassy World Championship
2003-2004 Season
LG Cup
British Open
Travis Perkins UK Championship
Welsh Open
The Masters
European Open
Citywest Irish Masters
Scottish Open
Embassy World Championship
2002-2003 Season
Regal Masters
LG Cup
B & H Championship
British Open
UK Championship
Regal Welsh
B & H Masters
European Open
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship
2001-2002 Season
Champions Cup
Regal Masters
British Open
LG Cup
European Open
UK Championship
Regal Welsh
Benson & Hedges Masters
China Open
Thailand Masters
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship
2000-2001 Season
British Open
Grand Prix
Regal Masters
Champions Cup
Benson & Hedges Championship
Liverpool Victoria UK Championship
China Open
Nations Cup
Regal Welsh
Benson & Hedges Masters
Thailand Masters
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship