'I had no choice' - Stephen Maguire on 'bonkers' drive back to Scotland mid-tournament at World Championship

Stephen Maguire has said he had «no choice» but to fetch a new cue from Scotland, but encouraged others not to do the same. Maguire edged past Shaun Murphy in the first round at the Crucible and, before his match against Zhao Xintong, returned to his home in Scotland to fetch a new cue. Ad/> Maguire then stormed into an 11-5 lead over Chinese prodigy Zhao Xintong on Friday, before seeing off a fightback from his opponent to reach the quarter-finals on Saturday.

World ChampionshipSelby digs in to split opening session with Yan Bingtao19 HOURS AGO And while Maguire said he had «no chance» of winning without the new cue, he admitted it shouldn't become a habit. «I had to,» Maguire told Eurosport after his victory. «There were shots out there that I couldn't go for because I did not know what was happening with the cue.

»That was part of the reason why I had to keep it tight as well and reign it in a little bit. I'm not going to say I'm going to be used to the cue in the next three days because it may take a while. It could have gone either way coming down here with a new cue.

Lucky for me I like it. «It is difficult. I'm not going to lie and say it is okay.

It shouldn't be done. Nobody should do it, but I had no choice. If I didn't change my cue, I don't think there was any way I was winning that match so I thought I might as well change something and see what we can find.