Stephen Maguire was bewildered and happy, embarrassed and yet delighted after achieving a career breakthrough on the Mediterranean island of Malta this afternoon.
The 22-year-old from Glasgow recorded a shock 6-4 victory over fifth seed Stephen Lee in the semi-finals of the £400,000 European Open at the Portomaso Hilton Hotel.
Afterward, a delighted Maguire said: "What a battle. I was starting to get embarrassed at the end but out there it was pressure like I've never known before. I've been very surprised how badly everybody has played against me here, especially Stephen but I'll take it. His long potting is usually top class but he couldn't do anything right. I don't know what happened to him."
Lee, winner of four major titles and a Crucible semi-finalist last year, was all at sea and left the auditorium baffled.
He said: "I've got through to the last four and find that suddenly I've got no game. I had loads of chances and didn't take them. He was there for the taking but if you play as rank badly as I did you don't deserve to beat anyone. It was a blow-up. It gets you in such a state of mind that you can't think straight."
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
