Incredible snooker shot at World Championship goes viral… but bitter rival claims opponent just got lucky

SNOOKER fans were left astonished by Stephen Maguire’s brilliant shot against Ali Carter in the first round of the world championships.

But Carter was reportedly less than gracious with his comments about Maguire‘s magical moment.

Stephen Maguire produced one of the shots of the tournament so far on SundayGetty

Eurosport

Ali Carter left Maguire in a desperately difficult position behind the green[/caption]

Eurosport

He managed to fire the cue ball off the jaws of the cushion and into the reds[/caption]

Eurosport

The cue ball ended up in the top left corner pocket following the remarkable shot[/caption]

Carter, who ended up losing 10-7, had perfectly snookered Maguire behind the green at the top of the table with the pair level at 6-6 in the 13th frame.

But with no obvious red on, two-time semi-finalist Maguire found a way out by firing the cue ball into the jaws of the opposite pocket, before it ran down the table, bounced off two cushions and into the reds.

The cue ball then drifted back up beyond the baulk cushion and into the corner beside the green.

It was a remarkable effort, with the commentator saying: “Oh, well, I want to see Ali Carter’s face now. What a shot that was.”

A fan on social media added: “Unbelievable from Stephen Maguire.”

A second said: “Shot of the tournament already this will not be beaten.”

And a third responded: “Shot of the championship simply for enraging the Skipper [Carter]”.

By contrast, reports on social media claim Carter said during his post-match interview that Maguire “bashed the balls about” and “got a few flukes”.

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He then went on to say: “I didn’t play well and it was a disappointing end to a reasonable season. I found the build-up really tough being 45.

“I was a contender 15 years ago but now it takes too much out of you so I will stick to the shorter events.

“Stephen is a stinker of a draw. He’s going to be a match for anyone and he wanted to beat me badly.

“I really don’t want to play snooker for a couple of months.”

Two-time finalist Carter ended up winning the frame, but then lost the next four as Maguire marched into the second round.

He will face 2005 champion Shaun Murphy for a place in the quarter-finals.

After his win, Maguire said: “His safety was better than mine but I felt I had to take on balls that I didn’t want to and if I get involved in safety matches he would be too good for me.

“I’m not just going to go out there and just give it to him. There was a time on Saturday where I felt flat and he was getting on top.

“I smashed the table, I did it on purpose and I felt better – I would rather go out fighting.”

Carter was less than impressed by Maguire’s superb shotGetty