Stephen Maguire fought back from 5-2 down to knock out his fellow Scot Graeme Dott 6-5 in the first round of the Masters at Wembley today.

Dott looked to be on course for a major shock when he moved to within one frame of victory but Maguire dug in and a polished break of 72 in the deciding frame carried him through to the last eight.

Dott, the former world champion, has suffered a severe dip in form over the past two years and revealed he has been suffering with depression, while a broken arm has been another disruption to his 2008-09 season. But the 31-year-old hinted at a return to form at the UK Championship last month, where he knocked out another former Crucible winner Ken Doherty in the first round.

After the first two frames were shared Maguire turned in a 114 break, the first century of the match, to lead 2-1. But Dott then reeled off four frames in a row, highlighted by a 106 break in the fifth frame, to put himself on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals.

Maguire had appeared out of sorts but pulled back the next two frames, then made it 5-5 after recovering from two careless early fouls in the 10th frame. He then dominated the deciding frame. Maguire's next opponent will be the six-time Masters champion Stephen Hendry or Australia's Neil Robertson.

After avoiding a first-round exit Maguire could return to Scotland for a break before his next match. "I can relax now," he told BBC2. "I think I don't play again until Thursday. "I'm in two minds about whether to head up the road or stay down. I'm just relieved really."

Maguire was impressed by Dott's performance and believes his compatriot is slowly rediscovering his best form. "He never missed a long ball until he was 5-2 up. Then he missed a couple," said Maguire. "He has not won a lot of matches but you can tell he's starting to get more confidence about him. The way he's zipping around the table it's like the old Graeme."