Stephen Maguire reached his first ranking event semi-final in four years with a 5-3 victory over Jack Lisowski at the BetVictor Welsh Open - a result which could earn him a place in next month's World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
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Six-time ranking event champion Maguire has had few moments in the limelight in recent seasons and has dropped to 29th in the world, but the 43-year-old has shown fighting spirit this week and is into the last four for the first time since the 2021 Welsh Open. On Saturday night in Llandudno he'll meet Ali Carter, who recovered a 3-1 deficit to beat Joe O'Connor 5-3.
Glasgow's Maguire came into this week needing a deep run to move into the top 32 of the Johnstone's Paint One-Year Rankings and earn a place in Hong Kong in March. As it stands he is in 32nd place, though he could yet be ousted by Luca Brecel if the Belgian beats Mark Selby in Saturday's first semi-final.
Lisowski, still seeking his first ranking title, started strongly tonight as breaks of 85 and 93 put him 2-1 ahead. In the fourth frame he potted eight reds with blacks but then - perhaps chasing a 147 chance - missed a risky red and Maguire pinched the frame for 2-2. The next two were shared before Maguire's run of 66 put him 4-3 up. In frame eight, Maguire led 24-0 when he missed a red to a top corner with the rest, but Lisowski couldn't capitalise as his counter ended on 29 with a failed red to centre. A further 47 was enough for Maguire to reach his 36th ranking semi-final.
"Jack looked brilliant early on, I thought he was going to make a maximum in the fourth frame," said the Scot. "I managed to nick that one and it changed the match. My cueing was a lot better tonight, though I still threw in a few stupid shots and I'm a long way off my best. I'm still fighting. I felt edgy tonight when it was 3-3 because it was a big match for me, it's nerve-racking out there. I'll be excited tomorrow and looking forward to it more, I love the one table set up."
Carter won the first of his six ranking titles at this event back in 2009, and his most recent at the BetVictor Championship League at the start of this season. Despite suffering from illness this week, he has reeled off four wins to earn a 32nd career ranking semi-final. He and Maguire, both known for a fiery temperament, met in the semi-finals at the Crucible back in 2012, Carter winning 17-12 and the world number 15 will hope to come out on top again this time.
O'Connor looked the stronger player in the early stages, and though Carter made a break of 90 in the third frame, he lost the other three before the interval. But O'Connor mustered just 27 points in the last four frames as Carter dominated with top runs of 62, 66 and 91.
"I came here feeling very rough with a virus, I just had to get through the early rounds to give myself a chance," said the Essex cueman. "At the interval I said to my coach Chris Henry that I still felt I could play well and I was just going to go for it. I have played some turgid stuff this week, but that was by far my best tonight from 3-1 down."