Hawk Remains In Crucible Hunt
Barry Hawkins is one match away from securing an 18th consecutive Crucible appearance, after beating David Lilley 10-4 to reach Judgement Day at Cazoo World Championship Qualifying.
World number 20 Hawkins is competing at Crucible qualifying for the first time since 2012, after dropping out of the top 16. It’s a situation he wouldn’t have anticipated at the start of the campaign, having made the final of the European Masters early on. Hawkins suffered a heavy 9-3 defeat to Kyren Wilson in that match and has struggled to recapture his form since.
The Londoner is no stranger to performing at snooker’s biggest event. He made the final in 2013, where he lost out 18-12 to Ronnie O’Sullivan. Hawkins also made semi-finals in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. The three-time ranking event winner now faces Jak Jones to ensure he competes at the Theatre of Dreams this year. Jones earned his Judgement Day slot with a late night 10-9 win over Robbie Williams.
Hawkins struggled to produce his best form today, in a match where he failed to register a single break over 50. However, after leading 6-3 following the opening session, he took four of the five frames this evening to get over the line.
“I’m just pleased to get through. It was a brutal match and each frame felt like it was well over 30 minutes. It was a terrible standard and I didn’t expect to play as badly as that. I’m just delighted to get through the next round and I can improve,” said 43-year-old Hawkins. “Every frame was a pint of blood. David said in the interval it couldn’t get any worse and he was right really.
“I started the season well and didn’t capitalise on the good form. I’ve been winning matches but not going deep in tournaments. I haven’t earned enough ranking points and it is my own fault I am here. Other people have come here and had good runs at the Crucible, so who knows.
“Everybody wants to finish their season off at the Crucible, but it is all good and well qualifying, you want to go there and do well. Just winning one game here and getting bashed up at the Crucible is not what people want. I want to be part of it.”
Scotland’s Stephen Maguire is searching for a 20th straight trip to the final stages and he moved one match away thanks to a 10-4 win over Alfie Burden.
Maguire arrives here off the back of a poor season, which has seen him reach the last 16 on just one occasion at the Northern Ireland Open. However, he looked to be in good touch today and crafted breaks of 67, 72, 56, 52, 63, 58, 72 and 68 on his way to victory.
Next up Maguire faces China’s Fan Zhengyi, who beat the impressive Ukrainian 17-year-old Iulian Boiko 10-8.
Shoot Out champion Chris Wakelin thrashed Aaron Hill 10-2 to secure his place in the final round. His opponent will be Wu Yize who also won 10-2, beating Tian Pengfei.
Jordan Brown emerged a 10-7 victor against Dominic Dale and will play Si Jiahui on Judgment Day. Si scored a 10-5 win against Tom Ford.