By World Snooker Tour

After missing out on the Crucible last year, Stephen Maguire enjoyed the adrenaline buzz of being back on the main stage during a 10-7 victory over Ali Carter in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship.

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The Scot was ever-present at the Crucible from 2004 to 2022, then failed to make it last year having dropped out of the top 16. This time the world number 28 negotiated the qualifying rounds to make it back to the Theatre of Dreams. "There were a couple of frames yesterday when I felt a bit flat, so I smashed the table and felt better," said Maguire. "I'd rather go out fighting. Otherwise I felt the adrenaline flowing all the way through the match. I enjoyed being back here."

With semi-final appearances in 2007 and 2012 as well as five other runs to the quarter-finals, six-time ranking event winner Maguire has plenty of experience and will be a dangerous opponent if he builds up a head of stream. His next match will be against old adversary Shaun Murphy if the 2005 champion can convert a 6-3 lead over Lyu Haotian into a second round berth.

World number nine Carter becomes the third seed to be knocked out on the opening weekend, joining Luca Brecel and Zhang Anda, and another could fall on Monday with Mark Selby 7-2 down against Joe O'Connor.

Maguire trailed 5-4 overnight but took the opening frame today with a tremendous colours clearance, converting a series of difficult pots. Carter recovered to lead 7-6 at the interval but Maguire then grew stronger and dominated the last four frames with top breaks of 55 and 80. 

"It was a tough match, I felt I had to take balls on because Ali's safety is better than mine," added 43-year-old Maguire. "I got away with a few and fluked a few. Sometimes if you are the aggressor things can happen - you don't often fluke balls when you play safe. The clearance I made in the first frame today was one in a hundred and that got me off and running. 

"If I play Shaun in the next round it should be a great game, we both go for everything so it should be very open and I enjoy going toe to toe in matches like that."  

Carter said: "I didn't play well and didn't get the rub of the ball. He had four lashes at long balls, missed them by a mile and left me with nothing. But he played well, he was a very tough draw because he has got his mojo back. We both wanted to win badly. 

"It's a disappointing end to a good season. I'm 45 and maybe this event takes too much out of me now. I had a lot of pressure and expectation. Not ranking or financial pressure, but I felt I had a good chance this year and so maybe I expected too much of myself."