Maguire just short of 147 heaven
Stephen Maguire missed out on maximum-break glory and had to settle for the consolation prize of a healthy lead over Jamie Burnett at the Betfred.com World Championship on Wednesday night.
The Glaswegian potted 12 reds and 12 blacks in the fifth frame but was left with a tricky red to middle, and the ball bounced back out of the jaws of the pocket.
His £157,000 jackpot hopes were dashed, but by that stage he had already made several tricky pots to keep the break going.
There have been eight 147 breaks at the Crucible, with Cliff Thorburn notching the first in 1983 and Ronnie O'Sullivan claiming three since.
Maguire has notched two in his professional career, so the tension involved was not unfamiliar, however the balls were awkwardly positioned on this occasion.
The break of 96 nevertheless nudged the world number two 4-1 ahead, after earlier runs of 98, 50 and 68, and by the end of the session he had established a 6-3 lead.
Like Maguire, Australian Neil Robertson is a player with world title potential, and he completed a 10-2 drubbing of six-time former champion Steve Davis. Last year's runner-up Ali Carter awaits Robertson in the last 16.
Dark horse Ryan Day passed his first test by steaming past Stephen Lee, beating the former world number five 10-4.
The Welshman will face Peter Ebdon's conqueror Nigel Bond next in a match due to start on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy set up a second-round showdown with Marco Fu after denying Andrew Higginson a dream debut, while two-time former champion John Higgins delighted the Scottish contingent in the audience by fighting back from 4-2 down to lead Nottingham's Michael Holt 5-4. That match resumes on Thursday.
