Stephen Maguire labelled ‘massive underachiever’ as 'bully' told one key decision he has to make

Scots star Stephen Maguire was back on fire at the Welsh Open as he reached a first-ranking final in over five years - but has now been labelled "a massive underachiever."

The 43-year-old played some superb snooker on his run to a final clash with four-time world champion Mark Selby but came up just short - losing 9-6 to the Jester from Leicester in an entertaining match, that was balanced on a knife-edge at the halfway stage. It was a first ranking final since the UK Championship in 2019 for On Fire, but seven-time world champ Stephen Hendry feels his fellow Scot is capable of so much more.

Speaking on his Snooker Club podcast, Hendry said: "I think dedication to the game was an issue, I think he would admit that. When he first came onto the scene I practised a lot with him when he was younger, and I thought he’d be a top, top player who won lots of majors, World Championships.

"He’s a bully on the table, he doesn't feel anyone. But I think dedication to the game has been his downfall. In my eyes, he’s a massive underachiever." And Hendry believes he knows where the main issue Maguire has lies, and what he could do to get back into the world's top 16, adding: "He literally changes his cues daily, never mind weekly or monthly. It’s daily. We’re all good enough to play with different cues, but if you’re going to have any consistency then you can’t be doing that.

"It’s got to be doing your brain in mentally as much as on the table. If he has got a cue he likes and can stick with it then he can get back in the top 16 for me. I speak to John Higgins a lot about it, and it’s definitely been a negative."

Fellow pro Matthew Selt meanwhile agreed that Maguire is capable of more than he's shown in his career so far, adding: "When