Maguire takes control
Stephen Maguire is closing in on securing a quarter-final spot in the World Championship after going 11-5 up against Joe Perry.
Last Updated: 27/04/12 7:18pm
Stephen Maguire is closing in on securing an all-Scottish showdown in the Betfred.com World Championship quarter-finals after going 11-5 up against Joe Perry.
The 31-year-old Glaswegian won six of eight frames in the second session and now needs just another two to set-up a last-eight clash with either Stephen Hendry or John Higgins.
Maguire did not have to hit top form on Friday afternoon against Perry, who despite defeating Graeme Dott 10-1 in the first round has produced only flickers of the form that saw him reach the semi-finals of the tournament twice.
Perry made the only century of the session, but the run of 103 came with him 10-4 behind and when Maguire completed a slick 75 clearance in the next frame the contest looked as good as over.
Welshman Ryan Day is in good shape to reach his third Crucible semi-final as he took a 6-2 lead in the first session of his second-round contest with Cao Yupeng.
A major dip in fortunes has seen Day slip from a high of sixth in the rankings to his current 35th place but he seems to be on the comeback trail after knocking out the strongly-fancied Ding Junhui in round one.
Day is putting in off-table work to strengthen his mental fortitude and it is so far paying off against Ding's less well known Chinese compatriot Cao.
Breaks of 53, 87, 62, 48 and 46 made the difference for the 32-year-old against a player 11 years his junior.