Maguire puts family first

World number six Stephen Maguire has given up the chance to land a £60,000 jackpot to be present at the birth of his third child.

Maguire has pulled out of the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals, which begins in Dublin on Wednesday, to ensure he will be at wife Sharon's side.

The Glasgow cueman was scheduled to play Stuart Bingham in the first round, but Bingham now has a bye through to a last-16 clash with another Scot, Marcus Campbell.

The £200,000 prize pot in Dublin, topped by the hefty winner's cheque, is reward for players who have taken part in the PTC events through the season, with the top 24 in the order of merit earning a place in Dublin providing they played in at least six of the 12 tournaments.

Shaun Murphy headed the tour money list after playing in all 12, but Ronnie O'Sullivan participated in just two, so is not involved this week.

Resurgence

Matthew Stevens, the Welshman who reached two World Championship finals before suffering a dip in form which has taken him outside the world's top 16, is in the line-up.

Stevens is on a high after qualifying for the Crucible with a nail-biting 10-9 victory over Fergal O'Brien - a Dubliner - in Sheffield on Sunday.

He faces Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene in the first round of the Grand Finals, and then heads to the China Open later in March before making a return visit to Sheffield next month after missing out on the last two World Championships.

Stevens, 33, said: "I've got three tournaments left now. The other two tournaments would have been hard to go to if I'd lost that match against Fergal."

The clash with O'Brien went down to the final black of the final frame, as Stevens came from 59-1 to win it 60-59, a result he recognises could prove a turning point in his career.

"Hopefully," Stevens added. "I've been playing great and practising hard and I kept myself together at the end on Sunday, so I'm proud of myself."