Barry Hawkins reacts to shock UK Championship win over Ronnie O'Sullivan

Yesterday at 12:27 PM

Barry Hawkins claimed a huge win at UK Championship as he knocked out defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the opening round.

Hawkins, who had to come through qualifying to make it to the Barbican, came from 4-2 down to win 6-4 to claim his first win against O’Sullivan since the 2016 World Championship.

The defeat extends the Rocket’s poor run of form in recent months. The 48-year-old has now lost the first-round match in three of his last four competitions.

‘It has been eight years since I’ve beaten him so that win has to be right up there for me,’ Hawkins reflected after his win.

‘It’s a massive win. So many times I’ve played him and he has done well and other times he has been there for the taking and I’ve crumbled and could not take advantage.

‘He looked sharp to me, but I felt strong at the end to get a win. Hopefully this gives me a lot of confidence and I can take that into the next round, but I can’t get carried away.’

Despite his poor form, O’Sullivan, an eight-time UK Champion and top seed this week, started confidently with breaks of 128 and 114 to take a 3-1 lead into the interval.

A mistake from O’Sullivan after the break allowed the Hawk to close the gap to 3-2 with a break of 60 but the Rocket quickly re-established his two-frame lead with a break of 69 to lead 4-2.

Hawkins, though, knowing a win would massively aid his bid to qualify for The Masters, quickly answered back to close the gap to just one again.

And the 45-year-old did not look back from there, reeling off three more frames in a row to secure a 6-4 win and his safe passage into the second round where he will play the winner of Xiao Guodong vs Dave Gilbert.

‘Obviously this is a great result but there’s no way I will be happy if I beat Ronnie and then lose in the next round,’ Hawkins added.

‘I know I can do it, but sometimes I’ve not turned up, played awful and crumbled, but I’ve now just beaten the best player in the world.’

O’Sullivan, meanwhile, sought to take the positives from his loss. ‘Barry played a good match and deserved his win, so I have to give all the credit to him,’ he said. ‘He played well, was solid and took his chances.

‘I’m just enjoying playing, that’s the important thing. I try to not look back on it and on to whatever the next event is.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.