Stephen Maguire shocks World Snooker Championship fans by bizarrely picking up a fly from the table and eating it

Snooker star Stephen Maguire caused a stir at the World Snooker Championship by eating something off the table.

The bizarre incident happened in the 19th frame of Maguire’s quarter-final match against Dave Gilbert at the Crucible in Sheffield.

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The Scot looked at the table, took something between his fingers and put it in his mouth.

Metro journalist Phil Haigh reported on X, formerly Twitter, that he asked Maguire what happened and his response was: “It was just a fly. I spit it out as no one was looking.”

The 43-year-old lost the match 13-8, with Gilbert facing Kyren Wilson or John Higgins in the semi-final.

This isn’t the first time Maguire’s actions in the quarter-finals have raised eyebrows.

Earlier in the match, he hit his hand on the table following a mistake.

This happened when they were down 10-5 and needed to mount a serious comeback to advance to the semi-final.

“He can’t hide his annoyance, his anger,” said Eurosport commentator Phil Yates.

“Why is he doing this? One of these days he will regret it dearly. Yes, show frustration, but not like that.

“I like Maguire’s passion, I just don’t want to see him get injured.”

Speaking after his defeat, Maguire said: “There was no going back after that first session, I gave up the match.

“But fair play, he played better than me and he deserved it.

“I’m never going to lie down, but it’s a day and a half I’d like to forget.

“I feel like I gave it to him – and I hate it.

“There was no fatigue, it was just a game of snooker.

“The 7-1 session is not good enough. If you lose 7-1, you deserve to be beaten.

“It’s just one more quarter-final on my record, it’s not enough.”