Judd Trump moved a step closer to an unprecedented clean sweep of all four major titles as he hammered Barry Hawkins 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Johnstone's Paint Masters.
Results / Tickets / How to Watch
Having already won the new Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and Victorian Plumbing UK Championship this term, Trump needs to add the title this week and then the World Championship in the Spring to become the first player to land all four in a single season. On today's evidence he will be hard to stop as he swept past Hawkins in just 106 minutes.
He is just one match away from a new record for prize money in a single season, as his tally for 2024/25 stands at £1,260,200, just shy of Ronnie O'Sullivan's target of £1,265,500 set last season. If Trump beats Ding Junhui on Friday at Alexandra Palace to reach the semi-finals, he will bank a further £35,000 and set a new record with four months of the campaign still to come.
The world number one is also setting a new bar for consistency as he has now reached at least the quarter-finals of 19 of the last 20 tournaments he has contested. Clearly the man to beat, he is aiming for a third Masters title having previously lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2023.
Hawkins, who lost narrowly 10-8 to Trump in last month's UK final in York, had first chance in the opening frame today but, leading 14-0, knocked in a red when splitting the pack off the blue. Trump took control and a 3-0 lead with top breaks of 59 and 47. Once again in frame four, Hawkins was on 33 when he opened the pack and a red dropped in, and again his opponent punished him with a 60 clearance for 4-0.
In the fifth, Hawkins was on 12 when he missed the pink to a centre pocket, and Trump's 56 helped him extend his lead. World number 12 Hawkins at least avoided a whitewash thanks to a run of 70 in the sixth. But a rapid 112 from Trump in the next completed the scoreline.
"I was expecting a really tough game, 6-4 or 6-5 either way," admitted 35-year-old Trump. "Barry and I have had some great battles here. Today I didn't do a lot wrong and punished his mistakes, I didn't miss anything easy. In those games it's important to keep your foot down, keep your concentration and not give away any easy chances.
"This event keeps getting better. More people see it on the TV and want to experience it live. It makes the players feel so important, everyone wants to play their best. It's probably my favourite event on the calendar, I get excited about it for a month before.
"It's great for snooker to have Ding back somewhere near his best. There have been times when he has struggled a bit, he has the weight of China on his shoulders so it's not easy to do what he has done. Every game he plays at the moment seems to be a thriller but I hope it's not too close when we play! I love playing him, he's one of the nicest people on the tour."
Hawkins said: "I didn't think I had done that much wrong in the first four frames. Judd is playing some great stuff and every time I made a mistake he capitalised."
Trump: Masters Is My Favourite Event