Stephen Maguire feels he has not had the career he should have had so far, picking up more tales to tell than titles over the years.
The Scot is back at the UK Championship on Monday, 20 years after he lifted the trophy in York and appeared to announce himself among the elite of the sport.
That triumph saw him beat the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Stephen Lee on his way to the trophy, but it is not so much as a distant memory as not really a memory at all.
‘People remind me, I don’t really look back, I honestly can’t remember. I can’t remember the matches. I know I won it,’ said Maguire.
‘I don’t remember the games that I played, I don’t remember much about it. I’d like to be able to draw on those memories, but I’ve just not got it.’
Maguire has six ranking titles to his name, but has not added any more Triple Crowns to his CV, despite O’Sullivan tipping him to ‘dominate the game for a decade’ after the initial promise he displayed.
Asked if he’s satisfied with what he’s achieved since that UK glory 20 years ago, he said: ‘No. Och, no. I’ve not had a good career.
‘Without a doubt I’ve not won what I think maybe I should have won. I don’t care what anybody else says, but I think I’ve left a few tournaments out there and that’s probably my own fault.’
Maguire suggested that it has been choices off the table that have cost him silverware, saying: ‘As me and Matthew Stevens say, we’ve got stories. Not a lot of the boys have got stories, they’ve got titles but they’ve not got stories. Maybe it’s a good thing, I don’t know.
‘Looking back. I think maybe I probably should have knuckled down from 2005, maybe that seven or eight year period. I should have maybe knuckled down a little bit more. Och aye, it’s away now. I’m still here, I’m still breathing.’
Maguire is still capable of producing world class snooker, reaching the World Championship quarter-final earlier this year and he has qualified for the UK Championship, where he will face Kyren Wilson on Monday afternoon.
With Mark Williams lifting a title already this season at 49 years old, the Scot could have a number of years left in the game yet.
‘Brilliant. Just brilliant,’ Maguire said of Williams’ win at the Champion of Champions. ‘He’s special, but there’s a few of them that are special. Obviously the three main ones [Williams, O’Sullivan and John Higgins].
‘Listen, all I can do is try, I can just show up and try and worry about me.’
Maguire has been working with former pro turned coach Chris Small in recent weeks, which seems to show that he retains the hunger to get better and return to title-winning ways.
‘I think so. I still despise getting beat,’ he said. ‘I enjoy winning but I despise getting beat more.
If that’s the reason that is ticking me over then maybe, it still hurts the same as 20 year ago.’
