Players to watch in 2012 Shanghai Masters snooker event – Part 5
Proceedings of the major ranking snooker events have paused for now because some minor ranking snooker tournaments are underway. The proceedings will resume in September with the commencement of the 2012 Shanghai Masters snooker tournament where all leading
potters will test their luck once again in order to grab a strong position in the World Snooker Rankings. The competition is definitely going to be one of the tremendous snooker competitions because Chinese soil has always produced superb snooker events.
This year the snooker fans will be watching some important events in China because the snooker governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) announced the launch of a couple of more major ranking snooker events in China.
The Chinese baize has always been attractive for many big guns of the game including the reigning World Snooker Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
However, unfortunately, the champ might not get a chance to play in his favourite arenas because he has not signed the new season contract with World Snooker due to which he will not be able to take part in the 2012 Shanghai Masters. The former four-time
World Snooker Championship winner, John Higgins also did not take part in the first two major ranking snooker events of the new snooker season.
With the absence of both O’Sullivan and Higgins, the chances of winning for new talent increased tremendously and they cashed this opportunity claiming the first two major titles. The 2012 Shanghai Masters might feature a new face as the champion in the
absence of these two legends. There are several potters who are getting ready to put their best in the game and take the Chinese glory back home.
Stephen Maguire
Scotland has always been a rich land as far as the game of snooker is concerned. The Scottish soil has produced some outstanding record holder snooker players such as the former even-time World Snooker Championship winner, the legendary Stephen Hendry, the
Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins, former champ Graeme Dott and young talents like Scott Donaldson.
Stephen Maguire is also one of these names who have gained a lot of respect in the professional circuit. He was outstanding in the previous snooker season as he claimed a couple of minor ranking snooker events including Players Tour Championship (PTC) events.
However, he crashed out of first rounds in many major ranking snooker events but after the half of the season, Maguire bounced back brilliantly and made his way into the final encounter of the 2012 German Masters where he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Nevertheless, this success in the German event gave him a lot of confidence regarding his performance which helped him achieving more victories later in the season. He reached the quarter-final stage of the 2012 Welsh Open snooker event where he lost to
the World Number one Mark Selby by 5-3. The Scotsman did not lose his focus and continued his tremendous game in the season which brought him into the final encounter of the 2012 China Open snooker tournament.
He was up against the former World Snooker Championship winner, Peter Ebdon in the final game. The clash was expected to be the toughest game and it went the same way. After a superb game show, Ebdon was able to defeat Maguire by the score line of 10-9 which
was a close score that brought Maguire back into the game.
Continued in Part 6
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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