He burst on to the scene three years ago and looked set to dominate the game after winning the 2004 UK Professional Championship with Ronnie O’Sullivan then claiming Maguire could “rule the game for the next 10 years.”

But only now has the 26-year-old started to fully realise that initial potential and he was the dominant figure for long periods and cast a spell over the Wizard of Wishaw.

Maguire is aiming to become the fifth Scot to win snooker’s most coveted prize after Walter Donaldson, Stephen Hendry, Higgins and Graeme Dott.

He looked the more confident player and an opening 34 followed by a 58 to the pink saw him win the opening frame without Higgins potting a ball.

The 2004 UK champion looked set to win the next after another run of 64 with only four reds remaining but Higgins was poised to pinch the frame with a 50 until he missed a thin cut on the final black.

His opponent thought he had moved two frames clear when he potted the black only for the cue ball to travel the length of the table and drop into the green pocket to earn Higgins a reprieve.

The 26-year-old was unfazed by this setback and went 10-9 ahead with a run of 82.

The final session before the interval was a long drawn-out affair spanning 51 minutes before a superb final yellow into the right black pocket paved the way for Maguire to clear the colours to the black.

Maguire had the momentum and in frame 21 he compiled a magnificent 131 total clearance – his seventh ton of the tournament – after Higgins had missed a red into the right black pocket.

Higgins responded with interest in the next and cleared the tale with a 134 for his sixth hundred of 2007 at the Crucible Theatre.

But Maguire regained control with 32 and 41 in the penultimate frame and then a 53 in the last helped him open up a four frame lead.

The duo had resumed at 4-4 on Friday morning and shared the next eight frames.

Higgins had runs of 90 and 52 – the latter in frame 13 briefly putting him ahead for the first time at 7-6 – while Maguire replied with breaks of 63 and 62.

Higgins will regain the number one spot for the first time in seven years if he goes farther in the tournament than Murphy – the only player who can overhaul him.

But qualifier Mark Selby will go into Saturday’s double session still well in contention to reach his first world final after drawing level at 8-8 with 2005 champion Murphy.

Selby suffered with nerves in the opening session of the one-table format and Murphy would have been disappointed to be only leading 5-3.

But 23-year-old Selby – the youngest player left in the tournament – was clearly far more composed and confident when play resumed in the best of 33 frames clash.

The Leicester potter won three of the four frames before the interval to level the match at 6-6 and shared the final four to set up a thrilling finale in the two sessions on Saturday.

A superb 128 total clearance by Selby in frame 13 was the highlight of the session.

He is hoping to join Terry Griffiths (1979) and Murphy (2005) in becoming only the third qualifier to contest a world final.