McGill Mauls Maguire
Scottish teenager upset the form guide by destroying world number six, Stephen Maguire in just over an hour to reach the quarter final of the second Star Xing Pai sponsored Players Tour Championship in Sheffield.
McGill’s win was set up with three frame winning breaks in quick succession to open up an unassailable 3-0 lead, closing out the match with his opponent only potting one further ball.
Barry Hearn’s vision for the new PTC series of events was to create opportunities for up and coming players to prove themselves against the sport’s established stars.
McGill is testament to that vision and is now a serious contender to claim the £10,000 first prize.
In the last eight, he will face Northern Ireland’s, Gerard Greene who recovered from losing the opening two frames against Ricky Walden to reel off four in a row and progress through.
Elsewhere, Wales last remaining representative, Andrew Pagett continued his fine run with a comfortable 4-1 win against Leeds’ Peter Lines.
Pagett took the first two frames before adding a break of 83 from a fluked opening red to lead 3-0. Lines rallied by taking the fourth with a run of 87, before Pagett secured a quarter-final place on the black.
The Welshman will face Hong Kong’s Marco Fu who is one of only two players to reach the last eight of both PTC events. Fu beat Scotland’s Alan McManus by four-frames-to-two.
Tournament favourite, Mark Selby eased past Mark Davis with the loss of just one frame and will take on Jimmy Robertson, who ended the hopes of another teenager, Liam Highfield.
The fourth quarter final will feature Norwich professional, Barry Pinches, who also got to the quarter-final in event one, and Basildon’s Stuart Bingham for a place in the last four.
