By Cameron Crowe Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster: 336 pages, $35
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Cameron Crowe’s charming new memoir is an elegy for a lost time and place, when rock ‘n’ roll culture was still a secret handshake and the music press wasn’t just another publicity tentacle for giant corporations to shill their product (excepting the fine writers at the Los Angeles Times, of course). In fact, the “music press” as a concept is vestigial at best now, the internet having snuffed it out, but when Crowe was writing his features in the 1970s, primarily for Rolling Stone, only a handful of print publications allowed fans to glean any insight about the musicians they admired or to even see photos of them.
Crowe was one of those fans. He spent his adolescence in Palm Springs, a town with “a thousand swimming pools and the constant hum of air conditioners,” in a basement apartment near the freeway. A loner and a nerd raised by a former Army commanding officer and a strong-willed, whip-smart mother who had firm ideas about how young Cameron should conduct himself. Any humiliations Crowe might have suffered as an uncertain teen were for his mother merely speed bumps on the journey to self-actualization, ideally as a lawyer. She had a wealth of Dale Carnegie-esque aphorisms to pump up her young charge, such as “put on your magic shoes,” or “Mind is in every cell of the body. Thoughts are everything.”
“She hated rock and roll,” Crowe writes. “Rock was inelegant, and worse, obsessed with base issues like sex and drugs.”
(Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster)
As we have seen in the 2000 film “Almost Famous,” Crowe’s autobiographical account of his early years, young Cameron cared little about sex or drugs, music being his only lodestar. When his family relocated to San Diego, Crowe found himself in a conservative town with virtually no outlets for music except the local sports arena, where he witnessed his first big-time rock show accompanied by his mom: a post-comeback Elvis, knee deep in Vegas schmaltz, bounding onstage “in a glittering white jumpsuit …. striking karate poses.” A week later, mom and son witnessed Eric Clapton, full of fire with his band Derek and the Dominos. “I understand your music,” Alice Crowe finally conceded. “It’s better than ours.”
San Diego had little pockets of cultural insurrection that Crowe sought out like a moth to flame. When his sister Cindy nabbed a job with the local underground paper called the Door, Crowe wedged his way in, not because he had any interest in radical politics: his hero Lester Bangs, the iconoclastic rock critic whom he had read in Rolling Stone and Creem, had contributed work there.
As he does so often in this book, Crowe pulls the reader in with his keenly observant eye that would serve him so well in his second career as a filmmaker. The Door’s editor Bill Maguire “had a healthy girth, an open shirt with a silver pendant, and rippling brown hair. The kind of character Richard Harris used to play, most of the time with a goblet in his hand.” Maguire and his staff are hippie idealists, wary of sullying their political mission with trivialities like record reviews. But Crowe talks Maguire into letting him weigh in on a James Taylor record, and Crowe’s career is launched. He is 14.
Cameron Crowe, who started his music journalism career as a teen, pulls the reader in with his keenly observant eye that would serve him so well in his second career as a filmmaker.
(Neal Preston)
Crowe would encounter no such resistance as he worked his way into Rolling Stone, whose owner Jann Wenner gladly accepted record company advertising to keep his counterculture publication afloat. Crowe had found his professional home, filing long, admiring features with some of the era’s most important acts.
Crowe’s Dec. 6, 1973, cover story on the Allman Brothers was meant to atone for an earlier profile on the band written for the magazine by Grover Lewis, a brutally honest and often unsavory portrait. Crowe’s do-over feature, in contrast, is anodyne and respectful; the band is even given room to refute some of the facts Lewis included in his story.
Far more interesting is the stuff Crowe left out of that piece that he has now put into his memoir. To wit: Shortly after their perfectly lovely afternoon together, Gregg Allman, clearly in a drug-induced psychotic state, calls Crowe to his hotel room and demands that Crowe physically hand over the tapes of their interview, or else face legal consequences. “How do I know you aren’t with the FBI?” Allman asked Crowe. “You’ve been talking to everybody. Taking notes with your eyes.” It’s hard to imagine Crowe’s mentor Bangs not leading with that scene.
Crowe was covering rock music at a time when publicists had not become the human guardrails they are today, insulating their clients from anything that doesn’t celebrate them. There were no record company representatives present when Crowe sat in the lobby of an El Torito restaurant in Mission Hills with Kris Kristofferson, whose wife Rita Coolidge was waiting for the singer with her family in the bar (underage Crowe wasn’t allowed inside). Or when Crowe went long with David Bowie, interviewing him on and off for a year and a half while Bowie was making his 1976 album “Station to Station.”
Camped out with his wife Angie in a Beverly Hills mansion on North Doheny Drive, Bowie is affable and candid, despite subsisting on a diet of red peppers, milk and cocaine. “Over the months, I became acclimated to the normality within his insulated lifestyle,” Crowe writes. “Oh, sometimes there might be a hexagon drawn on the curtains in his bedroom or a bottle of urine on the windowsill.” While showing Crowe the indoor swimming pool, Bowie remarks that the only problem with the house “is that Satan lives in that swimming pool.”
Such weird scenes inside this once-mysterious world have been totally effaced, now that every musician can curate his own image on social media. Reading “The Uncool,” which touches on Crowe’s Hollywood career without delving too deep into it, reminds us of what has been lost, the myths and mystique that fueled our rock star fantasies and gave the music an aura of magic.
Weingarten is the author of “Thirsty: William Mulholland, California Water, and the Real Chinatown.”
Manchester United condemned Liverpool to a fourth successive defeat as Harry Maguire’s late goal sealed a 2-1 win over the spluttering Premier League champions.
After losses against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea, Arne Slot’s side endured their most painful setback of the season at the hands of their bitter rivals on Sunday.
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Bryan Mbeumo put United in front after two minutes and although Cody Gakpo equalised in the 78th minute, Maguire grabbed his club’s first win at Anfield since 2016 with an 84th-minute header.
Maguire’s goal also secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in Ruben Amorim’s tenure as United boss.
The defeat leaves Liverpool four points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table and Arne Slot still searching for answers on how to get the right balance after splashing out nearly 450 million pounds ($604m) on new players in the transfer market.
United close to within two points of their historic football rivals and up to ninth in the table to ease the pressure on Amorim after his biggest win in nearly a year in charge.
After three consecutive defeats for the first time in Slot’s reign, Liverpool could barely have imagined a worse start on Sunday.
Mbeumo sped past Virgil van Dijk with ease before firing past Giorgi Mamardashvili from Amad Diallo’s pass after barely a minute.
The home side and support were furious that play was not stopped in the build-up after Alexis MacAllister went down with a head injury, inflicted by his own captain, van Dijk.
Slot left big-money signing Florian Wirtz on the bench for the second consecutive game as he looked in vain to find the right balance between defence and attack.
Gakpo should have levelled for the defending champions when he hit the post from Mohamed Salah’s through ball in Liverpool’s one flowing move of the first half.
Bruno Fernandes then spurned a glorious chance to double the Red Devils’ lead when he hit the outside of the post when unmarked from the edge of the area.
At the other end, Senne Lammens was rarely troubled in the first 45 minutes, but produced a big save when called upon to deny Alexander Isak his first Premier League goal since joining Liverpool for a British transfer record 125 million pounds ($168m).
A Gakpo deflected cross then came back off the post and the Dutchman rattled the woodwork for a third time early in the second half.
Slot turned to his near 200 million pounds ($268m) in forward options off the bench as Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike were introduced on the hour mark to join Salah, Gakpo and Isak in a five-man attack.
Salah has scored more goals than any other player in this fixture, but his lack of form showed in a wild finish to slice wide with just Lammens to beat at the back post.
Liverpool’s wealth of attacking talent finally broke the door down when Federico Chiesa, who had replaced Isak moments earlier, drilled in a low cross that Gakpo converted from point-blank range.
Yet, their defensive frailties meant parity only lasted six minutes as Maguire was left unmarked to head in Fernandes’s looping cross.
Gakpo should still have rescued a point when he headed wide with the goal gaping from Jeremie Frimpong’s inviting delivery.
But Liverpool fell to their first league defeat at Anfield in over a year in another blow to their hopes of usurping United with a record 21st English top-flight title.
Maguire told Sky Sports that it “meant everything” to get the win.
“It has been a long time coming to come to this ground and pick up three points,” he said.
“The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t – it means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”
Van Dijk told Sky Sports that Liverpool need to stick together to get through such a difficult period.
“It is an interesting time because we have to stick together, not just us as players but as a club and the fans who want us to win,” Liverpool’s captain said.
“We need to stay humble, stay working and keep our confidence as high as possible. When things get tough, it is important we keep the mentality of being there for each other. It is a long season,” he said.
In Sunday’s earlier Premier League game, Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.
The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.
Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.
It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in their first six games of the campaign.
It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.
Morgan Rogers levelled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer.
Everton explore Kalvin Phillips move from Manchester City, Liverpool interest in Adam Wharton, Crystal Palace preparing for Marc Guehi exit and Manchester United ready to spend big for Kenan Yildiz.
Liverpool are among the Premier League clubs interested in 21-year-old Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton. (Mail – subscription required), external
Brentfordare not expected to offer Jamaica international Michail Antonio, 35, a contract despite the former West Ham forward training with the Bees. (Mail, external)
Manchester United remain in talks with Harry Maguire, 32, over a new deal and face-to-face meetings have already taken place between the club and the representatives of the England defender, whose contract expires next summer. (Fabrizio Romano, external)
Manchester United are prepared to offer £78m for Juventus and Turkey forward Kenan Yildiz, 20, who is also being targeted by Chelsea. (Caught Offside, external)
With signing a new midfielder a key target next summer, Manchester United are considering Brighton and Cameroon star Carlos Baleba, 21, and England international Elliot Anderson, 22, of Nottingham Forest. (Sky Sports, external)
Crystal Palace are preparing for Marc Guehi’s exit, either during the January transfer window or next summer, with Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid among clubs who maintain an interest in the 25-year-old England defender. (Express, external)
Napoli are keen on signing Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo on loan in January despite deciding against a move for the 20-year-old England international in the summer. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian, external)
Nottingham Forest and Brazil centre-back Murillo, 23, is one of the names at the top of Chelsea’s list of targets as they look to strengthen defensively. (Football Insider, external)
Chelsea and Spain Under-19 striker Marc Guiu is eyeing a dramatic return to Sunderland during the January transfer window despite the 19-year-old only being recalled from his loan spell at the Black Cats in August. (GiveMeSport, external)
I worked with John Stapleton at Good Morning Britain and every single person loved and adored him, from make-up artists to editors
14:26, 21 Sep 2025Updated 14:26, 21 Sep 2025
Kevin Maguire is Associate Editor of the Mirror and a politics columnist. He is a frequent contributor to Good Morning Britain and other TV shows. He also writes a column for the New Statesman and earlier in his career was chief reporter for The Guardian. He is a Sunderland AFC supporter.
John Stapleton was loved by everyone he worked with(Image: PA)
EVERYBODY, absolutely everybody, who met or worked with John Stapleton absolutely loved the TV sleuth and presenter.
That’s a rare accolade in an often cut-throat trade occasionally marred by monstrous egos yet Stapes was above all else a wonderful bloke
From the make-up artists who’d powder his nose and camera crews framing his face to powerful editors and famous co-stars, Stapes was adored.
And in turn the ultimate professional was encouraging, generous and gracious to all of them including walk-on players like myself and Tory Boy.
Slim and dapper, I never ceased to be impressed how we’d turn up bleary-eyed for Good Morning Britain and its predecessors and Stapes would be bright eyed and bushy tailed, immaculately dressed as if he’d just stepped off Savile Row.
I worked with John at Good Morning Britain(Image: S Meddle/ITV/Shutterstock)
Never one to brag or stand on ceremony, Stapes enjoyed chatting politics and a good gossip.
He didn’t wear a glorious career on his smart sleeve and the easiness of a journalist with much to boast about was central to his appeal.
Oldham born, Stapes remained a Northern living in the South who’d regularly punctuate our conversations with references to what he’d recently read in the Manchester Evening News.
After his family, the great love of his life was Manchester City, a football team supported through thin and thinner before glory arrived to finally overshadow giant neighbours United.
Stapes buying home and away season tickets to follow City around the country and Europe, cheering unprecedented success with son Nick as the titles and cups rolled in, was him living the dream.
The fortitude and good cheer he adopted when first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, vowing to try not be miserable, was the positive outlook of somebody determined to confront adversity.
“In often cut-throat trade occasionally marred by monstrous egos, Stapes was above all else a wonderful bloke,” says The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire(Image: ITV)
But the truth was his eyes beamed less brightly and he looked a few inches shorter after the 2020 death of wife and onetime co-presenter Lynn Faulds Wood.
Understandable when what defined Stapes was his engaging warmness. He was a TV success because of who he was rather than a person forged by broadcasting triumphs
The wave of heartfelt tributes are genuine for a genuine man. Sorry I never had you back to my place for dinner as promised, Stapes. He once joked I should email the invitation after I pretended it must be lost in the post.
But he wouldn’t listen and in the end the manager felt the Argentine youngster was bringing a negative vibe to the dressing room.
And his regular outbursts on social media – as well as the mainstream media – also riled the former Sporting Lisbon coach.
Amorim was looking forward to working with the winger when he took over in November but that all changed after his conduct in Plzen in December.
The coach also tired of Garnacho’s moodiness and temper tantrums when things were not going his way.
So in the end a parting of the ways became inevitable and sources close to Amorim say he has not regretted his stance once.
Could that change if the Carrington graduate inspires a Chelsea win at the Theatre of Dreams this weekend though?
Battle to keep ‘Kid Messi’
UNITED starlet JJ Gabriel continues to catch the eye with his performances both within the club’s academy and further afield.
A host of German clubs are understood to have made their interest in him clear should he and his family wish to follow in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho by leaving England to further his career in the Bundesliga.
The 14-year-old, who recently enjoyed a holiday in Barcelona, is contracted with United until the end of next season, and has produced a string of impressive performances after being promoted to the U18s.
A source said: “The success of the likes of Bellingham and Sancho in Germany is a big selling point for German clubs trying to poach some of the Premier League’s best young talents.
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JJ Gabriel has drawn interest from GermanyCredit: Getty
“They can offer them first team football at an earlier age than a lot of clubs in the UK.”
United remain convinced they gave JJ and his family compelling reasons why Carrington remains the best place for him to continue his development.
The teenager has met with manager Amorim and could well spend time training with the first team squad this season.
His development is being closely monitored by United U18s boss Darren Fletcher.
Under the knife
SPEAKING of Fletcher, his success as U18s academy boss has been noted with four wins out of four so far this season.
It’s all the more impressive given the former midfielder injured himself during a United v Celtic legends game earlier this month raised money for both clubs’ foundations.
Fletcher opened the scoring in the game which ended 2-2 before Celtic clinched victory on penalties.
Fletcher, 41, underwent an operation on his knee this week as a result, but refused to take time off and has been on the sidelines for each game.
A source said: “He’s Scottish. He’s made of tough stuff.”
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Darren Fletcher had surgery after damaging his knee during the United Legends game at Celtic ParkCredit: Kenny Ramsay
Denis Irwin’s sweet return
UNITED fans are invited to engage with three organisations doing big work to improve men’s mental health at Old Trafford this Saturday.
Representatives from ‘Andy’s Man Club’ will be stationed within the Pop-Up Pub by the Stretford End, inviting supporters to learn more about the suicide prevention charity.
The group offers free peer-to-peer support groups across the UK and online, as part of their mission to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health through the power of conversation.
Fans with tickets to the game can enjoy live music, fast pours, local food and a Q&A with club legends Denis Irwin and Gary Pallister.
Salford-based charity ‘Talk About It Mate’ will also have a space in the East Stand forecourt from 2pm before kick-off.
CHIDO Obi enjoyed a meteoric rise last season, signing for United from Arsenal and quickly making his first team debut under Amorim.
The 17-year-old went on to make seven first team appearances but has found himself back down the pecking order after United splashed out £74m on Slovenian target man Benjamin Sesko.
And while Danish international Chido hasn’t been on the bench for any first team games this season, his development – in both size and skill – are continuing at the academy.
A source said: “Chido is still sometimes involved in first team training now but the noticeable development for him is his size.
“He is a tall boy but has started to put on some significant muscle on his frame, which he needs.”
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Chido Obi is continuing to develop in the academyCredit: Getty
Chido is working under the guidance of United’s sharpest academy coaches who regularly provide updates to Amorim.
United’s U21 boss Travis Binnion said earlier this season: “We have not even scraped the top of the iceberg with him yet. There is loads to come.
“He is dying to be a footballer. He is hungry. He is learning the game. He is learning how to project himself and how to play in a team.
“For us, he is a priority. He is 17. He needs to understand this is a golden period to develop his game.”
Hitman tribute
RICKY HATTON may have been a Blue, but United’s players, staff and fans were equally as devastated by news of his passing before Sunday’s derby.
Many of the first team had met the boxer at big fights and were admirers of his hugely successful career, which delighted fans from both sides of Manchester.
The club intends to mark his tragic passing in the programme for the clash against Chelsea.
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Ricky Hatton was found dead in his Manchester home last Sunday
Arsenal make contract offer to defender William Saliba, Benfica want Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Besiktas close in on signing Jota Silva from Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal have offered France defender William Saliba a five-year contract extension as talks continue with the 24-year-old, whose current deal runs out in 2027. Real Madrid are monitoring the centre-back’s situation. (FootMercato – in French), external
Liverpool are confident they are leading the race to sign England defender Marc Guehi, 25, next summer when the Crystal Palace defender’s contract expires and are looking at an £87m deal to sign Bayern Munich and France winger Michael Olise, 23. (Caught Offside), external
Benfica presidential candidate Joao Noronha Lopes wants to sign Manchester City attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva in January if he is elected and has already held talks with the 31-year-old Portugal international, who will be out of contract next summer. (Record – in Portuguese), external
England defenders Harry Maguire, 32, and Luke Shaw, 30, are both under assessment at Manchester United as the club look to bring in possible defensive reinforcements next summer. (Teamtalk), external
Besiktas are closing in on a deal to sign Portugal winger Jota Silva, 26, from Nottingham Forest.(Fabrizio Romano), external
Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 28, wanted to leave Liverpool last summer and the Reds proposed swapping him withthen-Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, 25, but the Argentine joined Atletico Madrid instead, while Diaz is now at Bayern Munich. (Telegraph – subscription required), external
AEK Athens are keen to offload France striker Anthony Martial, 29, and have offered the ex-Manchester United forward to a number of Mexican clubs. (FootMercato – in French), external
Martial will travel to Monterrey for a medical after being given permission to do so by AEK Athens.(Fabrizio Romano), external
Juventus are looking at Atalanta’s 27-year-old forward Ademola Lookman as a leading candidate to succeed 25-year-old Serbia international Dusan Vlahovic, who is expected to leave the Serie A club. Manchester United and Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee, 24, is also an option. (Tuttosport – in Italian), external
Inter Milan remain interested in France midfielder Manu Kone and their ambition to sign the 24-year-old could be helped by Roma’s need to raise money to meet Financial Fair Play rules. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external
Chelsea’s 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder Dario Essugo has had an operation on a thigh injury and could be out for a minimum of 12 weeks. (Athletic – subscription required), external
Mason Greenwood is on course to return to international football – but not with England.
The disgraced former Manchester United winger made his Three Lions debut in a Nations League clash with Iceland back in 2020.
Benjamin Sesko latest as United step up interest
Manchester United are growing confident that Benjamin Sesko wants a switch to Old Trafford, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The Reds have tabled a €75m (£65.3m) bid — with a further €10m (£8.7m) in add-ons — to land the RB Leipzig hotshot.
Newcastle have offered more cash, but the 22-year-old’s preference could prove decisive.
Harry is a man in demand
Manchester United have rejected a stunning FIVE approaches for Harry Maguire this summer.
The future of Maguire, 32, had been uncertain this summer as United eyed a clearout following their worst-ever Premier League season that saw them finish a lowly 15th place.
Sesko gave United what they needed before bid was placed
Manchester United are looking to close the deal for Benjamin Sesko.
But according to reports, the move was only possible after the club confirmed that the RB Leipzig striker wanted them just as much as they wanted him.
Ruben Amorim’s side are determined to bring in players who genuinely want to play for them — which is why they waited to hear directly from Sesko before making their move.
Forgotten Manchester United star linekd to Al Nassr
Al Nassr have made contact with Marseille over a potential move for Mason Greenwood, according to talkSPORT.
The 23-year-old only joined the French side from Manchester United last summer in a £26.6million deal — but is already attracting big-money interest.
Marseille are reluctant to sell, despite re-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free.
But it’s believed an offer of more than £85m could tempt the Ligue 1 club to the table.
The Saudi giants are watching closely.
United dealt Hjulmand setback
According to Italian paper Corriere dello Sport, Juventus have struck a preliminary deal with Morten Hjulmand ahead of a summer move from Sporting.
But the Old Lady are still haggling over the fee after their opening bid was knocked back.
Juve have reportedly offered a player-plus-cash deal — with Douglas Luiz included — to try and sweeten the pot.
David De Gea made over 400 appearances during his time at Manchester United.
This puts him above some of the club’s biggest legends in the Premier League era.
Here are Man United’s ten most capped players since the start of the Prem…
1. Ryan Giggs – 632 2. Paul Scholes – 499 3. David de Gea – 415 4. Gary Neville – 400 5. Wayne Rooney – 393 6. Roy Keane – 326 7. Michael Carrick – 316 8. Rio Ferdinand – 312 9. Denis Irwin – 296 10. Marcus Rashford – 287
De Gea set for return
Former Manchester United star David De Gea is set for an emotional return to Old Trafford.
The goalkeeper left the club in 2023 after 12 years at the club and is now at Fiorentina.
He will likely be in goal for the Italian side for the pre-season friendly match in Manchester on Saturday.
Rube Awakening
Ruben Amorim will use state-of-the-art technology to find out who isn’t pulling their weight at Manchester United.
Amorim has already banished Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.
And he could be set to add a few more names to his “bomb squad” thanks to the implementation of the most elite fitness apparatus.
Amorim’s troops will this season wear STATSports’ Apex 2.0 GPS performance tracker vests during training and in matches to keep tabs on their respective outputs.
The trackers will provide “real-time kinematics” to the former Sporting Lisbon boss and his staff with a whopping FIVE MILLION data points over a 90-minute period.
The tracker is said to be 100 PER CENT accurate, meaning anyone deemed to be not pulling their weight will have no leg to stand on.
Jackson could leave
Chelsea star and Manchester United target Nicolas Jackson could be on his way out of West London, according to reports.
The Athletic have claimed that the striker is “increasingly likely” to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
He has seen his competition at the Blues grow with the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
He has been linked with mulitple clubs including Man United, Newcastle and West Ham.
BREAKING: Maguire update
Harry Maguire looks set to stay at Manchester United this summer.
The defender has regularly been linked with an exit from the Red Devils over the last two summers.
The Daily Mail have now claimed that offers from multiple Premier League clubs for him.
It is also added that the likes of Monaco and Marseille are both monitoring the England international.
Maguire is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford this season.
What is happening elsewhere?
Follow our transfer blog to see all the latest moved that are happening in the transfer window.
Stephen Maguire has won the first ranking event of the season, beating Joe O’Connor 3-1 in the final of the 2025 Championship League in Leicester.
It is the 44-year-old Scot’s seventh career ranking title from 15 finals and his first since winning the 2020 Tour Championship.
The tournament, which takes place over three stages and began at Leicester Arena on 30 June, reached its finale on Wednesday, with just eight of the 128-strong field remaining.
Maguire booked his spot in the final after topping Group 2 in a best-of-four frame round-robin. The 15th seed beat Matthew Selt (3-0) and Ben Mertens (3-0) before losing to China’s Pang Junxu (3-1).
Leicester-born O’Connor, seeded 16th, only dropped two frames to finish first in Group 1, beating Ricky Walden (3-1), Xu Si (3-1), and Tom Ford (3-0).
In the best-of-five frame final, Maguire took a 2-0 lead before O’Connor pulled one frame back with a 99-point break. However, Maguire produced a match-winning 89 to secure the title with a frame to spare.
