Stephen Maguire hits 'shot of the tournament' contender with incredible snooker escape at World Championship

Stephen Maguire played a shot that could be in contention to win 'shot of the tournament' during his 10-7 win over Ali Carter at the World Championship.

The Glaswegian cueist had to qualify for the event, having slipped outside of the top 16 in recent seasons.

But he recorded wins over Ashley Hugill and Yuan Sijun to make it to the Crucible for the first time in two years, having missed out entirely in 2023.

Maguire raced into a 2-0 lead in his first round match, but faced a tough challenger in Carter, who reached the Masters final earlier this year.

The pair traded frames for much of the contest, before Maguire won frame 15 to go 8-7 up.

The Scot was on fine form in the last two frames of the contest, seeing out the match in style to reach the second round.

He also played one of the best shots of the tournament so far - even if there was an amount of fortune involved in it.

In the 13th frame, Carter trapped Maguire in a snooker behind the green ball, with the white nestled on the top cushion.

Maguire's only option was to hit the cue ball into the jaws of the pocket, sending it spiralling down the table.

But given where the reds were on the table, he had to play it perfectly to avoid leaving Carter a chance.

The white barrelled off two cushions, before striking the red next to the pink and somehow landing safe at the top of the table.

You can see the shot below.

While there was at least an element of good fortune involved to get the angle off the red, Maguire managed to firstly get the cue ball down the table off two cushions and then avoid leaving his opponent an easy pot.

And while the Scot didn't go on to win that frame, he would win the next four to secure his spot in the last 16 of the World Snooker Championship.

The world number 28 will face the winner of Monday morning's clash between Shaun Murphy and Lyu Haotian in the second round.

Four other players, including world number two Judd Trump, are already through to the last 16, with David Gilbert among them after dumping out reigning champion Luca Brecel 10-9 on Saturday evening.