Stephen Maguire lived up to his nickname ‘On-Fire’ on the opening day of group seven, winning three of his four matches at the BetVictor Championship League Snooker to remain the overnight leader.
The Scotsman’s campaign didn’t start according to plan however, narrowly losing to fellow Scot Graeme Dott 3-2 in the opening match on table two.
Maguire bounced back in his next match, taking on perennial Championship League resident and tournament money leader Matt Selt. The former world number two won comfortably 3-1, with breaks of 76 and 45 enough to complete victory.
After the break Maguire faced late group replacement Lyu Haotian and completed his second consecutive 3-1 victory of the group, the highest break of the group so far coming in the opening frame in the form of a 124 total clearance.
The Scot remained on table one and faced off against the second of three Chinese players in group seven, Xiao Guodong. A third successive 3-1 victory went the way of Maguire to remain the overnight group leader, closely followed by the unbeaten Graeme Dott who having played a match less has a lower frames won (9).
BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational sees all seven players face each other once in the round-robin group stage, after which the top four players in the league table progress to the group play-offs. The eventual group champion will complete the Winners’ Group lineup that consists of: Jack Lisowski, Stuart Bingham, Kyren Wilson, Judd Trump, John Higgins, and Neil Robertson.
The tournament carries a prize fund of £205,000 with players earning £100 per frame won with significant bonuses for their final group position and increased prize money in the Winners’ Group. A place in the 2023 Champion of Champions is also on the line with each group featuring seven players with matches being held over two days.
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