On January 10, 2024, Beijing time, in the sixth first round of the just-concluded World Snooker Masters, world No. 7 Neil Robertson and the powerful Barry Hawkins ushered in the 29th career meeting between the two sides.
In this game, Hawkins clearly took the initiative in the game. After nine rounds of offensive and defensive battles, Hawkins defeated Robertson 6-3 and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals with a single shot of 54 points, 96 points, 69 points, 57 points and three consecutive games.
After this match, Hawkins ended a four-game losing streak against Robertson. Next, he will face world No. 1 O'Sullivan for a place in the semifinals of this tournament.
Robertson pulled one back to trail Hawkins 3-1
In the first half of the game between Robertson and Hawkins, Hawkins clearly dominated the game, and this situation also made it difficult for Robertson to complete the breakthrough in the game.
In the first game, Hawkins scored 99 points with a single shot of 54 points and multiple opportunities to get started, and won the game 99-9, successfully taking a 1-0 lead and taking the lead.
In the second game, Robertson scored 59 points with his excellent ability to seize opportunities and pulled one back at 59-5 to draw 1-1 with Hawkins, bringing the two sides back to the same running line.
In the third game, Hawkins, who was good at seizing opportunities, no longer gave his opponent any chance to play after scoring the red ball, and he won the game 96-0 with an excellent performance of 96 points in a single shot to successfully take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth game, Hawkins won the game 61-31 with multiple starts, leading Robertson 3-1.
Hawkins won two more games to take a 5-3 lead over Robertson
After the game entered the second half, Robertson's form obviously improved, and this performance also allowed Robertson to gradually put some pressure on Hawkins in the game.
In the fifth game, Hawkins won the game with a performance of 88:37 and led Robertson 4-1, extending the gap between the two sides to three games.
In the sixth game, Robertson finally regained his long-lost touch, and he won the game 117-0 with a single-shot performance of 117 points, thus falling behind Hawkins 2-4 and narrowing the gap between the two sides to two games.
In the seventh game, Robertson scored 110 points with a single stroke and won the game with a performance of 115:2, thus falling behind Hawkins 3-4 and narrowing the gap between the two sides to one game.
In the eighth game, Hawkins won the game 76:24 with an outstanding performance of 69 points with a single stroke, leading Robertson 5-3.
Hawkins sealed the win with a 6-3 win over Robertson
The game came to the ninth game, and Hawkins took the lead in the game to leave a long-range offensive opportunity. Robertson made a mistake in trying to attack the red ball in the right bottom pocket, and Hawkins made a mistake in hitting the coffee ball after hitting the red ball in the left middle pocket.
Robertson scored a red ball in the top pocket on the left side, but he also made a mistake after scoring a 3-pointer and was forced to choose a cue ball to sink into the vault defense. Hawkins scored a combination ball in the left bottom pocket, but due to poor positioning, Hawkins opted for a cue ball to defend with a yellow ball.
Robertson opted to clear the red ball pile to successfully defuse the embarrassment, and Hawkins made a mistake in defense. Robertson made a serious mistake in attempting a combination and was penalized for four points, but Hawkins seized the opportunity to hit the right bottom pocket red ball to get started.
In the end, Hawkins won the game with a single shot of 57 points and 70:23, thus defeating Robertson 6-3 and successfully entering the quarterfinals. Next, "Falcon" Hawkins will compete with O'Sullivan for a place in the semifinals. And this will be Hawkins' biggest test in this Masters.