By Elliott West
“If I can get on a roll, I’m hard to beat.”
Barry Hawkins
Introduction
Barry Hawkins has been on the cusp of a big victory but not even he would have thought it would have taken six and a half years to achieve it. Barry who had three ranking in his professional career and Hawkins last won a ranking title in February 2017 at the World Grand Prix when he beat Ryan Day 10-7 in the final. However, with a new snooker season starting, there is always the potential to end a drought and what better way than the European Masters in Nuremberg, Germany? Last year, he lost 3-9 to Kyren Wilson in this tournament. The fourth defeat in a final. Hawkins has been a professional snooker player since 1996 and up until this point, reached six ranking finals.
“I was with him for an hour while the paramedics were working on him. I have never experienced anything like that and I wouldn’t want to go through it again. It absolutely destroyed me for about six months”.
Barry Hawkins
Anyone who knows Barry will tell you that he is one of the most likeable players on the tour. A man who I often see laughing and joking with his good friend, Mark Selby in the Player’s Lounge at tournaments. Yet like with any sportsperson, when the competitive switch is flicked, his infectious smile evaporates and is replaced with an air of hunger to win, prevalent in his eyes and body language. As Stuart Bingham says “winner, winner, chicken dinner”. He is not someone to shy away from a fist pump when things are going well or give the table a wake-up call when they are not. Off the table, Hawkins is a family man, devoted to his wife Tara and son Harrison. A close-knit family who helped him through the dad loss of his brother-in-law sadly committed suicide after suffering from depression. A tragedy that understandably affected Barry’s recent form.
The Victory
Judd Trump should be dubbed the “Comeback King” after a series of wins off a sticky wicket in this year’s European Masters. Although going favourite into the final, he probably didn’t quite prepare himself for the Tour de Force that is Barry Hawkins. Barry ruled the table with an iron fist with some excellent play in the afternoon session and left Trump in a quandary when he finished the session 3-5 down to his opponent. A task that was not impossible as Trump had previously come back from the brink, 4-0 down against Chris Wakelin and 3-0 down against John Higgins, a match he won in a deciding frame.
In contrast, Hawkins impressed in his run to the final, first knocking out the current World Champion, Luca Brecel and then a brilliant win against Mark Selby 6-4. These results were the key clues to his victory and when it came to the evening, Judd simply couldn’t button far enough under Barry’s skin to get the win. Hawkins created a 7-3 lead and although he brought the match back to within a frame at 6-7. Barry then went into a sprint for the finish line, going 8-6, and took the required reds and some to win the match 9-6.
A Moment of Glory
Barry’s winning speech was emotional not only for him but Judd, the audience and the viewers into ovation mode. A victory that was a long time coming and pushes Hawkins up from 19th in the world rankings. Barry had honestly come to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to win another final and described this win as “the best in his career”. The match was scrappy at times but that’s only because both lost focus but it was Hawkins who regained it at the right time. It wasn’t free-flowing but Barry battled hard and rightly deserves the ovation and personal elation. He fell over the line but by a margin that shows a great win. £80,000 richer and a good sounding board for the rest of the season.
