Barry Hawkins swept into the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions with two commanding victories on Tuesday, firstly over Luca Brecel and then Robert Milkins.
The 44-year-old whitewashed world champion Brecel 4-0 in the first group match, reeling off two centuries and two more breaks over fifty, before making short work of Milkins in the evening session.
Milkins had earlier beaten Mark Williams 4-2 in a scrappy affair, but the Welsh Open champion was unable to raise his game against Hawkins who has enjoyed a strong start to the season and will surely prove a tough nut to crack on this evidence.
Hawkins edged a close opening frame thanks to a cool clearance from green to black, and it was one-way traffic thereafter as he raced into a four-frame lead at the mid-session interval.
Though Milkins pulled two frames back, he never able to gain a foothold in the match and Hawkins wrapped up victory with a run of 83, adding to his earlier breaks of 53 and 83.
“I’m delighted to get through because all the groups here are tough with tournament winners,” Hawkins told World Snooker Tour.
“They are all great players. It’s a short format in the first match so it could be anyone who gets through.”
O'Sullivan confirms withdrawal
Earlier in the day, defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the event on the eve of his opening match in Bolton.
O’Sullivan had been scheduled to play Zhang Anda on Wednesday, with the winner facing either John Higgins or Chris Wakelin for a place in the semi-finals.
The seven-time world champion, who lost to Zhang in the semi-finals of the International Championship in Tianjin on Saturday, has been replaced in the field by Ding Junhui.
O’Sullivan wrote on X, former known as Twitter: “Hi guys, just wanted to let you know I’m unfortunately withdrawing from the Champions of champions event tomorrow.
“Mentally I feel a bit drained and stressed and I want to look after my mental health and my body. I’m sorry to all the fans but I’ll be back stronger.”
