Snooker World Championship: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. 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.
The all-Scottish clash was the first between the pair since Maguire beat Burnett 9-3 in the Maplin UK Championship at Telford in December.
That is a result which is under investigation by Strathclyde Police’s economic crime unit and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
Bookmakers alerted snooker chiefs to what they claimed were unusual betting patterns prior to that match, and Burnett was criticised by commentators when he missed a black ball which would have won him a fourth frame.
Burnett and Maguire have both been interviewed by police this week.
Neither man has been charged with any offence, and both have denied any wrongdoing and pledged to comply with the investigations.
Fate pitted them together in Sheffield, and theirs was the last of the 16 first-round matches to start, with the winner to face Mark King in the last 16.
Maguire notched his first century with 101 in the seventh frame to go 6-1 in front but Burnett hit back and cleared up the colours in the next frame before finishing the session in style with a break of 76. The concluding session takes place tomorrow evening.
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.
Robertson, 27, had been troubled by a shoulder strain until recently but his game looked in good shape.
He confirmed he had experienced no discomfort from the injury he sustained while lifting heavy luggage on his return from the China Open.
Davis, 51, endured a disappointing 29th visit to the Crucible but he will try again to qualify next year.
The veteran managed only one break above 50, and said: “It was disappointing not to play to any standard at all.
“Obviously it became quite easy for Neil in the end, although he still played some astonishing stuff which would have been good to watch, had it not been me sitting in the chair.”
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.
Day’s top break was an immaculate 120, which would have been a total clearance but for the black staying out.
Lee, who has slipped outside the top 20 rankings, had his shot at glory when he potted six reds and blacks at the outset of the 13th frame.
He only had eyes for a 147, which would have secured him up to #157,000 in prize-money, but an attempted double on the next red failed to find the pocket. He lost the frame.
Shaun Murphy set up a second-round showdown with Marco Fu after denying Andrew Higginson a dream debut.
Murphy fought back from 7-4 down to prevail 10-8 and his next match will be a repeat of December’s UK Championship final — which he won 10-9.
Murphy revealed he was suffering flu-like symptoms, saying: “I’ve been at home for the last few weeks and just getting up to go practising and then coming
home and resting.”
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 tomorrow.