round, Barry Hawkins 5–1 in the second round, and Mark Williams 5–1 in the quarter-finals, but he lost 3–6 against defending champion Ali Carter. Maguire made a poor start to the 2011–12 season, with first-round exits at the opening two ranking events of the year, the Australian Goldfields Open and the Shanghai Masters. He defeated Stephen Hendry and John Higgins at the UK Championship to set up a quarter-final with world number seven Judd Trump, but lost the match 3–6. He made three century breaks during the tournament, including a 144, which was the highest of the event. In January 2012, Maguire won his first tournament carrying ranking points for almost four years, at PTC Event 12 in Germany. After beating Joe Perry 4–2 in the final, he stated that he had not practised at all over the Christmas period. The result meant that he finished eighth in the Order of Merit and qualified for the 2012 Finals. He exited the Masters in the first round for the second successive year following a 4–6 defeat to Mark Williams. He reached the final of the 2012 German Masters, whitewashing both Higgins and Murphy en route. He lost the final 7–9 against O'Sullivan, despite making three consecutive century breaks. At the PTC Finals, Maguire was whitewashed 0–4 in the semi-finals by Neil Robertson. After a quarter-final run in the Welsh Open and a first-round defeat in the World Open, Maguire competed in the China Open. He had wins over O'Sullivan and Stephen Lee on his way to the final, where he played Peter Ebdon. Maguire trailed 1–5 before winning seven of the next ten frames to level the match at 8–8, forcing a deciding frame which Ebdon won. At the 2012 World Championship, Maguire defeated Luca Brecel 10–5 in the first round, Joe Perry 13–7 in the second, and Stephen Hendry 13–2 in the quarter-finals with a . He unwittingly became Hendry's last opponent, as the seven-time world champion retired immediately after the match. Maguire lost his semi-final 12–17 to Ali Carter, and finished the season ranked world number four, meaning he had climbed four places during the year. 2012–2015: Welsh Open Champion (2013) Maguire lost in the first round of the opening ranking event of the new season with a 4–5 defeat to Rod Lawler at the Wuxi Classic and then could not advance out of his group in the Six-red