Stephen "Livewire" Maguire

Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9-6 in the final qualifying round before losing 10-9, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen Lee in the first round of the UK Championship in 2002.

Maguire was the surprise winner of the 2004 European Open. Ranked 41 in the world at the time, he beat well established top-16 player Jimmy White 9-3 in the final. It was in that same season that he qualified for the World Championship for the first time, losing 6-10 in the first round to Ronnie O'Sullivan. After losing 6-9 to John Higgins in the final of the British Open, Maguire then went on to win the UK Championship on 28 November 2004 with an emphatic 10-1 victory over David Gray in the final, after having knocked out world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan earlier in the tournament.