Baize Betting / Paul Krishnamurty / 20 December 2008 /

Stephen Maguire has abandoned the ridiculous 'Merlin of Miltown' moniker to return to the old favourite 'On Fire Maguire'. High time too, and hopefully this time he won't play so badly that commentators start replacing it with 'Pretty Dire Maguire,' writes Paul Krishnamurty.

So far we've seen both sides of the World No.2. He's scored heavily at decisive times to scrape past Neil Robertson and John Higgins, but at other times in those games he was poor. For my money it's just a matter of focus, an area he's often struggled with over the years, and generally speaking he's in good nick.

I'll be very surprised if he isn't focussed for tomorrow's semi-final though, and not just because he has a golden opportunity to win the second biggest title of the season. Maguire may well have extra motivation for this one, because of a long-term grudge with opponent Shaun Murphy.

Maguire is on record as saying losing to Murphy would hurt him more than any other player, and it shows in their head-to-head record since the initial falling-out. The Scot won their last big match in this year's China Open final, and also this exact corresponding fixture last year by a comfortable 9-5 scoreline. [1.72] about a repeat looks a fair bet.

Recommendation:

Stephen Maguire at [1.72]

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