Stephen Maguire and Dave Gilbert were full of praise for each other as players and people ahead of their World Championship clash, but they will be ready for battle at the Crucible.<\/p>\n Both men are former semi-finalists but had to come through qualifying after disappointing results over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n However, they have shown their quality so far at the Crucible, with Maguire beating Ali Carter and Shaun Murphy, while Gilbert has downed defending champion Luca Brecel and Rob Milkins.<\/p>\n With the clash set for the quarter-finals, it will be a contest that has been played out ever since their junior days, and they are still going at each other in their 40s.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve been a Stephen Maguire fan since we were kids,\u2019 Gilbert told Metro<\/strong>. \u2018He was the one I looked at and thought would win everything. I\u2019m amazed he\u2019s never won a world title. <\/p>\n \u2018If I wasn\u2019t playing him I\u2019d probably be hoping he did go on and win one, but obviously not this year. I think he\u2019s a top lad, he\u2019s always been straight with me and he\u2019s like that with everybody. He\u2019s a good guy.\u2019<\/p>\n Maguire added: \u2018It\u2019s mad isn\u2019t it. To play Shaun and then Dave back-to-back, you\u2019re talking 11-years-old playing in junior tournaments. Young, ugly kids running about trying to pot balls. It\u2019s mad that we\u2019re still here 30 years later.<\/p>\n \n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/stephen-maguire-dave-gilbert.png?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=644%2C361\")
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