McGuire close to maximum

Stephen Maguire almost made the perfect start to the evening session of his Maplin UK Championship semi-final against Shaun Murphy as he went close to the second maximum break of the tournament.

Trailing 6-2 following the afternoon’s play, Scotland’s Maguire potted 14 reds with 14 blacks before missing out on the 15th red when he failed with an attempted double into a middle pocket.

Ding Junhui of China made a maximum in his second-round defeat by John Higgins, and is in line for bonuses adding up to £30,000 for his feat.

Maguire’s 112 break was his highest of the best-of-17-frame semi-final so far and put him back in the hunt for a place in tomorrow’s final, where Hong Kong’s Marco Fu awaits tonight’s winner.

Fu came from behind to beat Murphy’s fellow Englishman Ali Carter in the first of the semi-finals yesterday.

Murphy followed up Maguire's message of intent with a century of his own, to restore the four-frame cushion.

The 2005 world champion compiled a total clearance of 136 to move to within two frames of victory.

Maguire was in among the balls in the early stages of the next frame and another large break looked to be on the cards until he ran out of position after potting a tricky red, turning to safety play and rolling up behind the green after opening up a 43-0 lead.

A safety battle ensued with points at a premium. Murphy looked to have a decent chance to pinch the frame but missed a straightforward red with the rest.

What had started as a fascinating safety exchange was becoming messy, and Murphy took advantage of Maguire’s misses with a clearance from green to black to go 8-3 in front.

Maguire hit back with his second century of the evening, 115, but at the mid-session interval he was still staring at a likely defeat.