Stephen Maguire wants the ‘garbage’ World Snooker Championship qualifying to be scrapped

Stephen Maguire is displeased with his return to World Snooker Championship qualification, claiming that he wants people fired for the way the tables are set up and calling the format “crap.”

The Scot hasn’t had to qualify for the Crucible since 2018, but after falling to number 40 in the world rankings, he now needs to go through the nerve-wracking hallways of the English Institute of Sport.

Maguire’s primary complaint is that two of the tables are ‘upside down,’ as he describes it, with the black spot at the end where the crowd is.

According to the 41-year-old, he has never seen the tables turned that way in his career, and the transition is difficult for players to adjust to.

He did win his first round of qualifying, defeating Zhang Jiankang 6-3, but he still believes that people should be fired for what he considers to be a major blunder.

‘I just want to know who came up with the notion to turn the table around – and turn it upside down.’ I’m not sure how that’s possible.’ Maguire inquired.

‘How can the throng be where the dark spot is?’ That has never happened in my 20 years as a professional. You’re shooting into the gathering around the black all of a sudden.’ Any kind of movement in the crowd, therefore, was strange. ‘Whoever came up with the notion to turn the tables ought to be fired – it’s that simple.’

Maguire has gone to the Crucible every year since his debut in 2004, and he’ll have to beat Zhou Yuelong in a best-of-19 match to keep his unblemished record.

The matches are now best-of-11 until the final round of qualifying, a change made during the Covid-hit 2020 World Championship that Maguire has never seen before.

He, like many others, wants to see the best-of-19 format return again, and he has some harsh comments for the current format.

‘It feels terrible to be in the qualifications,’ he admitted. ‘Because I’m at the bottom of the rankings, I deserve to be here.’ But if I have to play like this for the rest of my career, I’m not going to do it.

‘This isn’t the World Championship,’ he adds.

“In this tournament, this is the first time I’ve played a best-of-11 frame match.’I’m not sure what’s going on there.’ Last year, they blamed Covid, but that’s no longer the case, and they could have changed it back. If that keeps everyone else happy, they’ll probably keep it best-of-11s for the first three rounds”.

“It’s garbage, garbage. I’m glad I have a few days off to calm and unwind, because I could have easily lost the match if I hadn’t beaten myself”, he remarked.