Stephen Maguire famously won the 2004 UK Championship.
In a compelling display, Stephen Maguire secured victory over Joe O’Connor with a 3-1 win in the final of the 2025 Championship League in Leicester, marking his triumph in the season’s inaugural ranking event.
The 44-year-old Scottish player’s recent success marks his seventh career ranking title from 15 final appearances, his first since claiming the 2020 Tour Championship.
The tournament, a multi-stage event that commenced on June 30 at Leicester Arena, featured 128 competitors and culminated in Wednesday’s final showdown between the remaining eight contenders.
Maguire earned his place in the final by dominating Group 2 in a round-robin format. The 15th seed defeated Matthew Selt (3-0) and Ben Mertens (3-0), while experiencing a setback against Pang Junxu of China (3-1).
O’Connor, the 16th seed hailing from Leicester, showcased strong form by only conceding two frames to secure the top spot in Group 1, overcoming Ricky Walden (3-1), Xu Si (3-1), and Tom Ford (3-0).
In the best-of-five frame final, Maguire established an early 2-0 lead, before O’Connor responded with a 99-point break to claim a frame. However, Maguire decisively sealed the title with a frame to spare, delivering a match-winning break of 89.