STEPHEN MAGUIRE ate a FLY during his quarter-final loss to David Gilbert at the World Snooker Championship.
Scot Maguire, 43, was bidding to reach a third Crucible semi-final and a first in 12 years.
EurosportStephen Maguire spotted something on the table during his quarter-final match[/caption]
EurosportHe picked it up and momentarily had a look at it[/caption]
EurosportHe then proceeded to put it in his mouth, before he spat it out[/caption]
EurosportMaguire revealed after the match that it was a fly[/caption]
But he came up short against qualifier Gilbert, 42, who sealed a 13-8 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
And Maguire revealed a bizarre moment after the match, confirming he ATE a fly that was on the table, before he eventually spat it out.
When asked what he was doing when he picked something off the table and put it in his mouth, he told journalist Phil Haigh: “Ach, it was just a fly.
“I spat it out when nobody was looking.”
Maguire was also slammed by former world snooker champion Ken Doherty for “jacking it in” early as he conceded his final Crucible frame.
Trailing 12-8 to Gilbert, Maguire was 31 points behind with the six colours – a total of 27 points – left on the table in frame 21.
Requiring one snooker, Maguire potted the yellow but then the cue ball unfortunately nestled against the pink.
Rather than try to hit the green and hide it somewhere on the table, he turned round and shook Gilbert’s hand to say well done.
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And 1997 world champion Doherty said: “One snooker required. Don’t jack it in!
“This is the World Championship. Anything can happen.
“You win that frame with a snooker and the other guy is sort of twitching a little bit. Never give up in a month of Sundays!”
Maguire explained his surprise concession, which came in light of him falling 9-2 behind following a dreadful start to the tie.
The Glaswegian said: “Did you see where the cue ball landed? It was happening to me all through the match.
“I would have had to get the spider out. I was never going to snooker him from that shot. Ah, there was no point, it was just wasting time really.
“I’m very disappointed. I thought I just handed the match to him. As if I said, ‘Dave, there you go, there’s your semi-final.’ Which I hate doing.
“The first session, I don’t know what happened and then it was a long way back.
“I wouldn’t take any positives from that match. Good luck to Dave, he’s a good kid.”
Qualifier Gilbert, 42, is into the semi-finals for the first time since 2019 when he was beaten by John Higgins.
The Angry Farmer said: “It was fantastic when he shook my hand!
“I will buy Stephen a pint if I ever bump into him. I was surprised as much as anybody. I am a huge Stephen Maguire fan. It’s his decision.
“Of course, you want your hand shaken as quickly as you can and get out of there.
“This is a massive achievement. Five weeks ago I couldn’t be even bothered to turn up to play the qualifiers – I’d turn up and take my £10k.”
Maguire, centre, was beaten by David Gilbert at the Crucible on Wednesday afternoonReuters
