In the early morning of January 11, Beijing time, the second matchday after the end of the 2022 Snooker Masters, Barry Hawkins defeated Sean Murphy 6-2, maintaining his record of total victory against former world champion Murphy in the event.
In addition, in the first round of the tournament, the two players have met three times at Alexandria Palace, winning 6-1 in 2017 and Hawkins 6-2 in 2019. Although he had a better performance in the Masters, Hawkins fell behind 4-10 in the overall head-to-head record between the two sides.
Hawkins failed to participate in the last Masters due to a temporary slippage of the world rankings in the top 16. However, the pick-up in 2021 has allowed the player, who once reached the Masters final, to return to the elite ranks of professional snooker with four ranking semi-finals, including last month's British Championship Final Four.
Murphy's results this season are in stark contrast, with the exception of reaching the World Championship final at the end of last season, Murphy failed to even reach the top 32 of the single season before Christmas, and missed the World Grand Prix. Murphy could only find another fighter at the German Masters in Berlin at the end of the month.
In this game, Hawkins scored a single 65 points to go ahead, Murphy tied with 69 points and then rebounded in the first half, and the two sides made it 2-2 in the first half. After halftime, Murphy lost the right-hand pocket ball in the 5th inning with a 54-4 lead, and Hawkins scored a 60-point lead again. The next fixture fell into hawkins' rhythm, and he locked the final score at 6-2 with a single shot of 103 and 69 points.
Hawkins will face the winner between Selby and Maguire in the quarter-finals.
"I've struggled to find rhythm or fluency for most of the season and tonight I played naturally in the game. I picked the ball I saw at first glance to play and increased my speed. It worked out and I felt good about it myself. Hawkins, 42, said after the game.
"I played well tonight and I've played well here. Maybe it was created by the scene. For me it was a game at home, and it was a big scene. Sometimes in games like this I can play at a super level. Sean (Murphy) is a great player and I don't know why I'm 4-10 in total but here I can beat him. ”
"I think everybody likes to come to a sporting event and there's no better feeling than playing in front of a lot of spectators in a big event. Running a game behind closed doors is demoralizing, and this is true for any sport, which requires spectator participation or it is difficult to move forward. ”
Murphy said: "After half-time I felt like he [Hawkins] played like a champion, very good and rarely made mistakes. Losing the 5th and 6th innings left me with no energy, and he sent me away. ”