LONDON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Stephen Maguire defeated world No. 1 Judd Trump 9-6 on Wednesday to reach the final of the Snooker Tour Championship.
Sharing the first eight frames at 4-4 in the afternoon session, Trump edged into a 6-5 lead in the evening session, but Maguire claimed the following four frames to take the win.
The competition, which features the top eight players on the one-year ranking list, is the first ranking tournament since the snooker season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maguire replaced Ding Junhui for the event in Milton Keynes, as China's top player decided to pull out of the competition to avoid extensive travel from China to the U.K..
The 39-year-old Scot defeated Australia's Neil Robertson on Saturday to reach the semifinals and is now one victory away from his first ranking title in seven years.
"It would mean everything to win the title," Maguire told the World Snooker Tour website. "It would get me back in that winner's enclosure, against the top boys. Especially this tournament, this is a proper event. Leading up to the World Championship, it would give me mega confidence."
Maguire will play the winner of the other semifinal between three-time world champion Mark Selby and Mark Allen. Enditem
