World Champion Kyren Wilson prevailed 10-9 in a pulsating Machineseeker German Masters final, defeating Barry Hawkins at the iconic Tempodrom in Berlin.
The thrilling victory gives Wilson a second triumph in this event, having beaten David Gilbert in the 2019 final. The 33-year-old from Kettering lifts the Brandon Parker Trophy and receives the top prize of £100,000, bringing his tally of ranking titles to nine, level with Peter Ebdon - his mentor in the early part of his career - as well as John Parrott.
It has been a stunning first season as World Champion for the Warrior. Victory in the German capital sees him pick up his third piece of silverware this term. Wilson was also triumphant at the Xi'an Grand Prix and the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and has now won his last four ranking finals. He still trails Judd Trump by £533,800 at the top of the rankings but will believe he can chase down the world number one position.
Wilson suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in the recent Johnstone's Paint Masters final against Shaun Murphy. The world number two vowed to bounce back immediately this week and he has stayed true to his word.
Defeat for Hawkins will be a tough pill to swallow as he has now lost eight of his 12 ranking finals, including December's Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, where he was beaten 10-8 by Trump. The 45-year-old Londoner earns £45,000 and moves up one place in the rankings to 11th.
A fiercely contested afternoon session went marginally in the favour of Hawkins, who emerged with a 5-4 advantage. Wilson took the first frame of the evening then fired a fine 93 break to move 6-5 ahead. He might have doubled his lead but missed a pink with the 12th frame at his mercy and Hawkins pounced by clearing the colours to steal on the black. Again Wilson recovered quickly and a superb 125 put him 7-6 up at the interval.
A run of 100 gave Hawkins frame 14 before Wilson regained the lead. Hawkins took the 16th with a phenomenal clearance of 61, which included a table length double on the penultimate red, to make it 8-8. A risky plant from Hawkins in the 17th went awry and Wilson pounced to move one from victory at 9-8. However, Hawkins refused to buckle and clinched a 30-minute 18th to force a decider.
Wilson looked to be cruising to victory in the final frame, before a missed plant on 59 gave his opponent a chance. Hawkins was faced with a thin cut red to a top corner, and found the target, only for the cue ball to fly into a centre pocket. Leading by 63 points with five reds remaining, Wilson converted a plant to edge closer to the line, and later sealed the result with a thumping long pot on the penultimate red.
Wilson Winning Interview
"The beauty of it all is that when you've proved to yourself that you can win the biggest event of them all, then it gives you confidence. If you can't use being World Champion as confidence, then what's the point? I'm using it to my advantage. I feel like I'm riding the crest of a wave. I've had a really good season, but there are still a lot of tournaments left so hopefully more silverware is on the horizon."
Kyren Wilson
Machineseeker German Masters Champion
Wilson added: "It just shows how tough the standard is in snooker. Barry is one of the best match players in the game and you have to get past him. I managed to scrape through and I'm proud of how I held him off.
"The fans have been really treated to some great snooker this week and a 10-9 final is probably what they wished for. It is amazing to walk away with the trophy and I'd like to thank everyone for the support.
"I won this event in 2019 and sadly (former manager) Brandon Parker passed away not long after that. He has missed a lot of iconic moments in my career. It is right that his name is on the trophy. If it wasn't for him then we wouldn't have this tournament. I'm so pleased I managed to win it."
Hawkins said: "I felt like I was holding on to Kyren all day. He was playing better than me and was the stronger player. In the end, at 9-9, it is anybody's game. I've had a great week. It has been a great crowd and I've had great support. It is onwards and upwards. Kyren deserved the win."