Home favourite Mark Williams is a two-time winner of the Welsh Open

Home favourite Mark Williams bemoaned his "frightening kicks" as he was edged out of the Welsh Open quarter-final by Stephen Maguire at Newport Centre.

World number two Williams was among the favourites to lift his third Welsh Open after his German Masters triumph.

But Scot Maguire came from 3-2 down to knock out the Welshman 5-3 in the best-of-nine last eight showdown to set up a semi-final with Englishman Mark Selby

"It was a bit scrappy, there were a lot of kicks out there," said Williams.

"It was frightening some of the kicks."

The double World Champion was snooker's form player going into his clash with Maguire, who won the last of his four ranking titles at the 2008 China Open, after winning the German Masters earlier this month.

Williams then demolishing both Marco Fu and Jamie Cope 4-0 in his opening rounds in Newport as the 35-year-old was tipped to secure back-to-back ranking event titles.

But he pipped by the Glaswegian despite going into a 3-2 lead. Williams won a total of just 38 points in the final three frames as Maguire edged into the last four.

A break of 105 brought Maguire level at 3-3 and he moved to within one frame of victory with a run of 68.

I just missed a few balls today that I have been potting recently so I mustn't grumble too much World number two Mark Williams

Maguire, in four scoring visits, left his 35-year-old opponent requiring a snooker in the eighth frame. But it was Williams who was put in trouble, with the white tucked in behind the green and just one red left on the table.

But a defeated Williams said afterwards: "I was 50 in front and had an easy red to go 3-1 in front but had a kick off the table.

"Even in the last frame, I had a long red and I knew it was in but I had one of the biggest kicks I've ever had to let him in.

"But that is the way it goes. If you look back at the last few months, there are a lot of kicks other people have had against me when they looked liked beating me.

"So it has just happened in reverse so I'll take it on the chin. It is not the end of the world.

"I lost to probably the slightly better player, it was a case of a few nudges here and there.

"And I just missed a few balls today that I have been potting recently so I mustn't grumble too much."

Williams, after his German Masters victory and rise back to number two in the world, was among the favourites to end his 12-year barren spell at the Welsh Open and lift his home trophy just 15 minutes drive from his home-town of Cwm in the Gwent Valleys.

But Williams insisted: "I never thought it was my year, you can't do that with the players around nowadays."

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