Following his success at the Paul Hunter Classic, Barry Hawkins’ next season highlight came a few days ago when he completed his third career maximum break in his Round 1 match against Gerard Greene at York. This adds to his competitive tally following his 147 successes at the 2010 PTC and 2015 Champions League.
As the televised UK Championship gets under way, it’s already seen James Cahill beat David Gilbert, John Higgins beats Peter Lines for the first time in 25 years, whilst many other top seeds have already progressed past their first round matches. Hawkins was already 3-0 up in his best-of-11 first round match where probably the most difficult shot of the entire break presented itself.
Hawkins did very well to spot a plant set for left centre but even better to cut against a red below the two to secure it into left centre. The way he was cutting against his initial red was natural to position for the black as a shot-to-nothing. Regardless as to how set the plant was, it was still an impressive shot which was followed by a wonderfully constructed maximum break.
This was one of the few surprising 147s where there were no difficult shots or moments where the player fell out of position. That’s what made Hawkins’ break quite impressive; his temperament was ice cold as he manoeuvred his way around the black spot. I’m honestly picking at straws here but the only slightly difficult shot Hawkins had to face was on the 13th red where he had to lean on the table; but as a left hander, it was no problem whatsoever. Everything else was top positional play and focus.
The match was refereed by top official, Brendan Moore who, I believe has now overseen the most 147 breaks of any referee. It also secured the high break prize of £15000 for Hawkins, unless someone else can match it in order to get a share. Keep your eyes on Bingham. The 2019/20 season has now seen its fourth maximum break in its venture to produce 20 in order to trigger the prize winnings.
A lot of praise has deservedly gone Hawkins’ way since his success and hopefully it’s a start of great things to witness in this year’s edition of the UK Championship. Round 2 has a few matches that will be a great watch, including Fu/Wilson, Bingham/Gould Ebdon/Lisowski, and Hawkins/McManus. The UK Championship produces many classic moments; will this year have anything to offer?