Hamilton turns on the tables

Stephen Maguire, gradually regaining the confidence which gave him the 2004 European Open and UK titles, reached the quarter- finals here for the first time by converting his 11-5 overnight lead over Joe Swail into a 13-8 win which now pits him against Anthony Hamilton with a semi-final place at stake.

This was not accomplished without a twinge of anxiety as Swail, who once won the last five frames to beat John Parrott 13-12 here, briefly threatened to add to his list of notable comebacks, breaks of 82, 72, 56 and 77 reducing his arrears to 11-8.

Maguire, who was within two pots of beating Ronnie O'Sullivan here two years ago, kept sufficient composure to compile a clinching 61 to lead 12-8 and added the next frame to sail through. "I haven't played that well so far but I've played better than the other guy," said the 25-year-old Scot.

Hamilton, one of the game's most talented underachievers, reached his fourth quarter-final here by progressing from 8-8 overnight to eliminate Ian Mc-Culloch 13-8. McCulloch, who ended Graeme Dott's title defence in the first round a week ago, led 40-0 in the day's opening frame only to miss a simple pink to a middle pocket.

Hamilton cleared with 65, went two clear with 111 and produced excellent pots on both pink and black to lead 11-8. He is not the most authoritative clincher of winning positions, but further tightly controlled efforts of 107 and 91 took him past the post in fine style.

So well did he play that there could be no allegation of sour grapes in his opinion of the conditions, widely shared by those not so outspoken: "The cloth isn't responsive and the cushions are pinging." Far from the tallest player on the circuit, he noted that the packing under some table legs to make it level on an uneven floor made it higher in some places than others. "I might have to start wearing platform shoes," he said. His situation recalled that of Fred Davis in the 1974 championship, whose complaint was answered: "The table isn't high, the floor is low."

Whether it is the longer matches or the ambiance, the Crucible extracts the best from Matthew Stevens, who reached the quarter- finals for an eighth time with a 13-9 win over Mark Allen. Stevens has been plagued by wretched form for much of the last two seasons but, in overcoming Allen, confident after his surprise first-round success at the expense of Ken Doherty, much of his assurance returned.

Having lost the first four frames, Allen was always on the back foot. He gamely recovered from 9-4 adrift to trail only 11-9 but his fightback stalled on a missed black in the 21st frame. Stevens pounced with a yellow to pink clearance for 12-9.

Stevens arrived at the Championship stationed a 24th in the provisional world rankings and in obvious danger of being relegated from the top 16 after eight unbroken seasons. However, his place among the elite will be retained should he beat Shaun Murphy next time out.

Allister Carter, the world No 16 from Tiptree, who is training to become a pilot in his life after snooker, secured a 6-2 overnight lead over Stephen Hendry and looks capable, having potted 98 per cent of the balls he attempted, of bringing the seven-times champion to earth today.

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