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Stephen Maguire admits he was 'battered' by Chinese star Xiao Guodong as home hero exits Scottish Open snooker
Dreams of a home winner at snooker's Scottish Open are over after Stephen Maguire was knocked-out of the competition.
Fresh off the back of a dramatic victory against reigning world champion Kyren Wilson, the Glasgow man couldn't repeat his heroics at Edinburgh's Meadowbank - as the world number 32 was on the wrong end of a barrage of big breaks during his 4-1 defeat to Xiao Guodong as his dreams of glory on home soil were crushed. But the veteran insisted he had no complaints at the outcome - even saying he got "battered" by the Chinese star.
“He was too good,” admitted a typically frank Maguire after the match. “There’s nothing you can do when he pots on ball and clears the table every time, you tip your hat to him. Matches like that…you can’t complain when somebody plays like that. It’s an easy one to forget about. I never made four mistakes there and I got absolutely battered. Good luck to him because it was good to watch.”
Maguire was the last Scot standing after John Higgins' defeat to UK Championship finalist Barry Hawkins the night previous, but Xiao opened the match with a break of 82 before Maguire hit back with a run of 79 of his own. The 43-year-old barely got another chance as the Chinese cueman sprinted into the quarter-finals with visits of 94, 114 and 92.
But signs of an upturn in form are there for Maguire - who revealed he hates having to qualify for tournaments after falling down the world rankings - having linked up with former Scottish pro Chris Small in recent weeks.
He added: “I’ll have a little break now with Christmas and missing the Masters. I’ve only won two matches here, I don’t take much from that, but hopefully I can kick off a little bit next year.”
Meanwhile, former world champion Luca Brecel pulled off a mighty comeback to down Ding Junhui 4-3 from 3-1 behind. The Chinese superstar dominated with breaks of 125 and 124, but resilient Brecel — champion in 2021 — never gave in as he reached a first ranking quarter-final since February.
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