The main stage of the 2023-2024 World Snooker Championship ushered in the second round of the showdown. April 26, 2024 (Beijing time). The World Snooker Championship ushered in the meeting of old rivals, and the two sides were Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy. The pair have met 28 times before, winning 14 of their respective matches.
The overall strength of the two can be described as equal, Murphy is in, the last two seasons are in excellent shape, both have won the championship of the ranking tournament, and the number of ranking tournaments this season has come to 12 and Ding Junhui's 14 There is only a gap between two ranking tournament championships, and now starting again, Murphy is also looking forward to going further on the stage of the World Championships. Stephen Maguire has also won six ranking tournaments in the past, but his form has slipped in recent seasons, but he is still at the top level. Although there has been no championship in recent seasons, Stephen Maguire is still ranked in the top 30 in the world with his experience performance, successfully entered the World Championships, and defeated the strong in the final round of the qualifying round. The defeat of another seeded player in the first round also gave Stephen Maguire a greater hope for the quarter-finals. Once it is in a hot state, Stephen Maguire will also be out of control.
The last two seasons have not been successful, and the World Championships two years ago were the most recent encounter between the two sides, and in the first round of the World Championships, Stephen Maguire eliminated Murphy with a score of 10-8. In the last three meetings between the two sides, Stephen Maguire has won three in a row. And the encounter between the two sides at the World Championships also ushered in the second meeting. Although Maguire has not performed as well as Murphy in the world rankings and single season in recent seasons, Stephen Maguire still maintains a certain psychological advantage in terms of head-to-head records, and is expected to continue to move closer to the quarterfinals.
Maguire was upset in the first round of the World Championships, and Ali Carter was also impressive. In addition, Maguire needs to use his own attack to destroy the opponent's defense if he wants to successfully defeat his opponent in the competition, and Shaun Murphy won a championship at the beginning of the season, the league title, and the performance in the rest of the season is not satisfactory. Maguire is also expected to continue the good work he has been playing in the upper half of the class as a qualifier. And with the continuous end of the seeded players in the top half, it is also a certain opportunity for Stephen Maguire to usher in the championship.