The first and second stages of the World Snooker Players Championship final will be played in the 21:00 and 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on February 13, 2022, and the two sides of the final will be Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson, which is also the second time the two sides have met in the final in less than a month. For Robertson, it was a good opportunity to hit his third title of the season and his 22nd title in the rankings. For Hawkins, it was the perfect time to break the championship drought, but facing Robertson in the final was undoubtedly a bad situation. Hawkins is likely to dream of missing the season's first title in the final again.
Robertson's final against Hawkins is a lot of fun
As the best player of the season, Robertson has won two titles in three finals this season, including the Masters title from Hawkins. For Robertson, his goal is of course to win the championship trophy, because in this way he can not only make himself a veritable first man this season, but also make himself equal to Trump as the world's post-80s ranking brother. For Robertson, it was a great opportunity to break the title and set a record. And for Hawkins, this is also an opportunity to rewrite fate every day. For years now, he has been the background emperor of top players. If he can win the championship, he can not only shame himself but also double his confidence.
Robertson's advantage against Hawkins was clear
In robertson and Hawkins' past record of meetings, the two players have met a total of 27 times, and Robertson has a clear upper hand with 16 wins, 1 draw and 10 losses. In the two sides' last six meetings, Hawkins has won only once. In their last three encounters, Hawkins lost all three, including the experience of being bloodied by Robertson in last month's Masters final. So objectively speaking, Hawkins didn't have much of an advantage over Robertson. But in terms of semi-final status, Hawkins still performed better than Robertson. However, this is also a place of concern, because Robertson's form will only be better in the final, while Hawkins's form will only be worse. In this trade-off, Hawkins' abilities may be discounted to some extent. While Robertson has already won two titles this season, his confidence is good and tactically sound, and it's too difficult for Hawkins to beat this strong player in the final.
Robertson is expected to fulfill his dream of a third crown this season
Whether it is the competitive state of the game or the individual tactical defensive level, Robertson is better than Hawkins, not to mention Robertson's psychological quality is a rare existence in the world stage. In such a situation, Robertson has a high probability of winning the championship trophy, because he has both the advantages of physical fitness and competitive status, as well as the advantages of confidence and psychological quality, which is bound to make him feel good in the final. Hawkins has less of an advantage over Robertson, and in addition to the competitive state advantage in the semifinals, Hawkins is almost at an absolute disadvantage in front of Robertson. Although in theory, the chances of two people competing for the championship are equal, in the face of the absolute strength gap, many statements have no reference significance. Robertson is a player who can adapt to both fast and slow paces, but Hawkins adapts to a more single rhythm. If he can't find the rhythm of the game he adapts to, then he will lose the chance to win. Judging from Robertson's current game, controlling the rhythm of the game has always been something he is good at. So in this duel, Hawkins is likely to become the Background Emperor again! Robertson is likely to win the championship again and continue to set his own great record.