UKPTC1 2012 - On Fire Maguire Beats Lisowski

Stephen Maguire has won his second Players Tour Championship event of 2012 by beating Jack Lisowski 4-3 in the exciting final of UKPTC1 at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester.

PHOTOS BY MONIQUE LIMBOS - RESULTS

Stephen Maguire & Jack Lisowski

Stephen Maguire had won the last PTC event hosted in Europe in Munich last January and today at the first event of the new season he won yet again, beating former Rookie of the Year Jack Lisowski 4-3 in a thrilling final at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester.

Lisowski had already recorded impressive 4-3 wins over flatemate Judd Trump and Mark Williams in the previous rounds and looked determined to win his first professional event. In the final Maguire got off to a great start with a 84 before Lisowski leveled the score at 1-1.

The next two frames were shared again before Lisowski suffered incredibly bad luck and went in-off to give the Scotsman a 3-2 lead. Lisowski nicked the penultimate frame on the colours to force the decider which saw chances for both before the youngster missed the final yellow giving Maguire the chance to clear to black for a 4-3 win.

Maguire takes home £10,000 and 2,000 important ranking points for his efforts and he boosts his chances to win his first full ranking event title since the 2008 China Open.

"I came to this event with a different attitude," said the World No 7. "I was willing to battle and play a safety game if I needed to. This season I'm going to try not to push the boat out too much. If it doesn't work then next year I'll go back to going for everything. 

"I always start the season the same way, knowing that if I can get my name on a trophy I'll have done well. I don't count this in the same way as a ranking event but it gives me confidence and there are plenty of big tournaments to try to win.

"I think everyone has realised now that the ranking points from the PTC events are important. Plus £10,000 is a lot of money to be won in a weekend. It's easy to be up for it on the final day."

The next event on the pro calendar is just a few days away, the Shanghai Masters qualifiers. Some consider this one of the most prestigious Asian events to win as the tournament has been established for many years now. See the draw here.  

UKPTC1 2012 Champion - Stephen Maguire