On the afternoon of February 10, local time, the 2022 Snooker Players Championship entered the fourth matchday of the game day at Wolverhampton, England, barry Hawkins and Chinese player Yan Bingtao jointly presented a wonderful confrontation, Hawkins won 6-5 to advance to the final four. Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry called the match "one of the best 11 innings and 6 wins I've witnessed" from the commentary table.
Both players in this game showed a 95% offensive success rate, with a total of 10 single shots of more than 50 points, of which 4 were breaking 100. Hawkins, who finished 16th in a single season, narrowly managed to secure a spot, but performed well in both races. In the semi-finals, Hawkins will face Walton, where the two sides met in the semi-finals of the 2013 World Championships, when Hawkins won 17-14. Both players have not tasted the ranking championship in a while, Hawkins last won the 2017 World Grand Prix, and Walton declined due to injury after the 2014 International Championship, and there was no championship in the account.
Yan Bingtao regrettably remains in the 9th place in the single season after the defeat, and he needs to continue to play well in the next events to have a chance to enter the top 8 to qualify for the Tour Championship.
"We all played quite well, both had high singles and didn't make any mistakes." Hawkins, 42, said after the game, "I don't think I've played a few games of this high calibre in 11 innings and 6 wins. ”
In this game, Hawkins scored 86 points, 77 points, 95 points, 126 points, and another 73 points in the decider to lock up the win. Yan Bingtao scored 139 points, 103 points, 132 points and broke the hundred, and there were 54 points and 98 points of consecutive attacks.
"In the whole game, he (Yan Bingtao) broke a long stage, which was the decisive one. He is such a well-rounded player, with good psychological qualities, scoring ability and bench accuracy. He was still very young, and many years to come. Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong are both extraordinary players, and the future of this sport can be expected. ”
Regarding the opening semi-finals that will be played in the early hours of Saturday time, Hawkins looked ahead: "This semi-final is a very important opportunity for us. Ritchie (Wharton) and I grew up together as teenagers and seemed to have been colleagues on the Tour. This is a great opportunity for him, who has just regained his form, and can improve his ranking through this good result. This game is going to be really hard to play. ”