Stephen Maguire won a 59-minute deciding frame which he described as the toughest of his career to beat Elliot Slessor 6-5 and reach the final stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship.
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Maguire, who lifted the trophy in York 20 years ago, survived a marathon challenge in the final qualifying round in Leicester to get his name in the hat for the last 32 draw, which will take place on Thursday afternoon live during our Judgement Day production.
The Glaswegian led Slessor 4-2 with top breaks of 134 and 85, then his opponent fought back with 78, 61 and 69 to lead 5-4. Maguire levelled with a 71 to set up a decider which developed into a tense tactical battle. It came down to the colours and Maguire capitalised on a safety error from Slessor to convert excellent pots on green, brown, blue and pink for victory.
"That was the toughest frame I was ever played," said 43-year-old Maguire, who won the last of his six ranking titles in 2020. "If I had lost that frame I don't know what I would have done - maybe given up. I was over the edge mentally." Maguire also revealed that he is now working with former Scottish pro Chris Small and has regained his enthusiasm for practice.
Stuart Bingham was the first man to book his place in York as he beat Jimmy Robertson 6-0 with a top break of 79. Bingham is a former World and Masters champion but has never been beyond the semi-finals in York and needs the title to complete the Triple Crown set.
"I scored well before the interval, I feel I am going in the right direction with my game," said Bingham, a semi-finalist at the Crucible last season. "It's great to be going to York to feel the atmosphere. Just to get through these qualifiers is a feat because the players are so good."
Jackson Page, a quarter-finalist at the recent International Championship, kept his momentum going as he reached the last 32 of this event for the first time thanks to a 6-2 victory over Hossein Vafaei, his top break 93. "I have had some results recently and I am feeling good at the table," said Welsh 23-year-old Page. "I love playing in front of a crowd on the main table so I will enjoy York."
Crucible runner-up Jak Jones scored heavily in a 6-3 win over Fan Zhengyi, compiling runs of 64, 74, 59, 135, 72 and 101. Jones broke into the top 16 at the end of last season with his run to the world final, but has had a patchy start to the new campaign and dropped down to 17th. The Welshman will relish the chance to compete on the main stage again.