Maguire Breaks Trophy Drought

Stephen Maguire won a tournament carrying ranking points for the first time in nearly four years by beating Joe Perry 4-2 in the final of Players Tour Championship event 12 in Munich, Germany.

Glasgow’s Maguire won the event, known as the Arcaden Shopping Open, with a fine display against Cambridgeshire’s Perry. The World No 9 went 2-0 up with breaks of 105 and 77, before Perry pulled one back with a 63. Maguire fired in a 93 to lead 3-1, and after Perry had won frame five with a 75, the Scot finished off a high quality final with a run of 62 to win frame six and the match.

Victory for Maguire ends a run of 45 months without winning an event carrying ranking points, since the 2008 China Open in Beijing.

“I played really well in the final, that was the best match I played in the event and it’s nice to do that in the final,” said 30-year-old Maguire. “I didn’t practise at all over Christmas so I didn’t expect much coming here, but maybe that’s the secret.

“To win any tournament these days is a good achievement and it gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I’m really looking forward to the Masters next week and hoping I can get a run going.”

The event in Germany was the last of 12 short events in the PTC series. The top 24 on the final Order of Merit now go through to the Grand Final at the Baily Allen Hall in Galway, Ireland, from March 14 to 18.

Maguire finished in the top 24 last season but had to withdraw from the Grand Final because of the birth of his third child. “It was a shame to miss it because I’d put a lot of work into qualifying for the finals, but family comes first,” he added. “I’m definitely going to Ireland this time, I’ll miss my daughter’s first birthday but I’m sure she’ll understand!”

The full line-up of 24 players for Galway will be confirmed on Monday.

PTC12 Results (last 16 onwards)

Last 16

Kurt Maflin 2-4 Andrew Higginson
Marcus Campbell 3-4 Michael Holt
Ricky Walden 4-2 Xiao Guodong
David Gilbert 1-4 Joe Perry
Mike Dunn 2-4 Mark Allen
Stephen Hendry 4-2 Marco Fu
David Grace 3-4 Martin Gould
Stephen Maguire 4-1 David Gray

Quarter-finals

Ricky Walden 1-4 Joe Perry
Mark Allen 3-4 Martin Gould
Andrew Higginson 0-4 Stephen Maguire
Stephen Hendry 4-3 Michael Holt

Semi-finals
Martin Gould 0-4 Joe Perry
Stephen Hendry 3-4 Stephen Maguire

Final
Joe Perry 2-4 Stephen Maguire