Stephen Maguire is hoping to end a near five-year wait for a ranking title when he takes on Mark Selby in the Welsh Open final on Sunday, with both players looking to pocket £100,000
Scottish snooker star Stephen Maguire could break his nearly five-year title drought at the 2025 Welsh Open.
He’s set to face off against Mark Selby in the Llandudno final on Sunday, with the winner pocketing a cool £100,000. That’s a drop in the ocean compared to either player’s total career earnings, but it would nonetheless be a welcome boost for both finalists.
The statistics between the two finalists are incredibly tight. Selby – who turned professional a year after Maguire – has a slight edge with 16 victories to Maguire’s 15 (and one draw at the 2008 Malta Cup).
‘On Fire’ has already made a fortune from his snooker career, but both players would certainly welcome a six-figure boost to their earnings. Mirror Sport (via the Daily Express) takes a closer look at Maguire’s career earnings so far, his personal life and his infamous relationship with Shaun Murphy.
Stephen Maguire earnings
Former world No2 Maguire has been among snooker’s elite for more than 25 years – and that level of commitment has its rewards. While major titles have been scarce in recent years, Maguire has consistently brought in substantial paydays.
The Glaswegian has amassed approximately £3.5million in competition earnings alone, not counting any sponsorships or endorsements. This includes a particularly profitable 2009/10 season, where he netted just under £500,000 after reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Open and the UK Championship.
Maguire’s most lucrative win came in the 2020 Tour Championship, where he triumphed over top names like Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, and Mark Allen. Snagging the highest break of the tournament and the Coral Cup to boot, he pocketed a cool £260,000 on that occasion.
Sitting at world No29 currently, Maguire has only managed to rack up £57,950 this season. But a victory against Selby could totally turn around his fortune for the 2025 season.
Who is Sharon Maguire?
They say there’s a strong woman behind every successful man. And Maguire would probably concur given his past applause for his wife Sharon, who’s also the mother of their three children.
Maguire even credited her for helping him curb his temper, noting at the 2011 Welsh Open: “I don’t think I banged the table once with my cue today. I got the missus to record it, just to check.
“I really lost the plot at the Masters at Wembley in January, and she was laughing at me. I’m surprised I had a cue left after that tournament. I was trying to keep calm out there, that’s why I got her to tape it.”
Shaun Murphy dispute
The infamous feud with Murphy actually started in 2004 during the Grand Prix after Maguire left the table to fetch his forgotten chalk. Supposedly, Murphy had a word with the referee Johan Oomen to dock Maguire a frame – which indeed transpired.
“We can’t resolve it because he always says he never said to the referee,” Maguire has said of the dispute. “The poor referee isn’t with us any longer, but [Murphy] did… he knows he did. But I’m over it. We don’t spend time together. I don’t hate him or anything like that. If you asked me 20 years ago I might have said something different, but I can’t be bothered now.”
“We’ve all grown up, he’s got kids, I’ve got kids. We don’t go for meals. But we walk by each other and talk about snooker and everything’s okay.”
Murphy has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was only “guilty of talking to the referee.” Needless to say Maguire doesn’t see it that way.