Plenty of tournament winners seem to divide fans in snooker. Not Barry Hawkins. It's always smiles all round when that man gets his hands on silverware.
It was that way again on Sunday night, when Hawkins sealed a 9-5 victory over Jack Lisowski to win the Welsh Open in Llandudno.
In many ways, Hawkins still remains one of snooker's unsung heroes. Think how often he gets to the business end of tournaments without even being mentioned, let alone heralded.
We take our cue from the man himself really. He goes about his business in such an endearingly understated way. There's not a trace of ego. He plays so many of his qualities - and much of his success - down.
It's just his nature. There are plenty of good guys in this sport. I honestly think you'll struggle to find a nicer one than Hawkins. There are no sides to him.
Truth be told, Hawkins should probably have double the number of ranking titles he has, which now stands at five. He's been at the top end of the game for around 15 years now, his appearance at the business end of tournaments becoming a familiar one.
It does sometimes seems to be a belief issue with Hawkins, certainly compared with the rock-solid confidence of some of his peers.
Also, it hasn't helped that he's played some of the best players ever in triple crown finals. Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Hawkins 18-12 in the 2013 world final - Hawkins was brilliant in Sheffield that weekend, he would have beaten most in the game.
Hawkins was then beaten comfortably by O'Sullivan in the 2016 Masters final, and was no match for Neil Robertson in the Masters showpiece of 2022.
The closest Hawkins game to glory in a major was in the 2024 UK Championship final, when Judd Trump beat him 10-8.
It would be lovely to think that Hawkins, who will turn 47 next month, could one day land one of the sport's biggest titles before he puts the cue away.
But if he doesn't, this has been a fine and notable career. And he seems to embody everything that's good about snooker.
When he's firing on the table, he's fabulous to watch. It was that way in Wales, as Hawkins saw off Mark Williams, Robertson and Wu Yize to make the final.
Hawkins stormed into a 7-1 lead over Lisowski in the title match and even though he was made to sweat a bit on Sunday night, he finished the job.
The delighted reaction, from his fellow pros to fans everywhere, is the measure of the man.
Lisowski lifting a trophy before the final gave us the wrong optics
In the office for my Saturday job, I've got sport on screens all around me but can rarely concentrate on anything for long.
I thought I had a funny turn when I looked up at one screen and saw Lisowski with a trophy after his Welsh Open semi-final win over John Higgins.
Jack Lisowski hits the Jackpot in Llandudno! 💥
— WST (@WeAreWST) February 28, 2026
He's secured the £150k @BetVictor Home Nations Series Bonus by reaching the final at the #WelshOpen 🙌 pic.twitter.com/g7YadWtBQw
Which bright spark thought that would be a good idea?
Lisowski's victory meant he had sealed a bonus put up by sponsors BetVictor for earning the most money across the four Home Nations events.
I remain to be convinced whether a player should get a trophy for that to begin with.
Even if you can get on board with that being the case, there's no way it should be presented after a semi-final. It has to be saved until after the final.
Lisowski fell way behind to Hawkins and admitted on Sunday night that there was a hangover from what happened 24 hours before.
I can assure you however that I'm not complaining with the benefit of hindsight. I spoke out about the trophy lifting when I recorded a broadcast for my Radio Snooker service on Saturday night.
The optics were all wrong and I hope we don't see a repeat.
O'Sullivan entering World Seniors feels against the spirit of the event
Ken Doherty has long talked about wanting to add the World Seniors title to his world professional, world amateur and world Under-21 crowns.
In the past, he's had every opportunity. Indeed, he reached finals in 2020 and 2024.
Now, he's got about as much chance of winning the title as there is of seeing Halley's Comet above Kidderminster this week.
We already knew former world champions Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham were going to be in the field for this year's event at the Crucible, along with twice world finalist Ali Carter.
Now we find out the greatest player of all time, Ronnie O'Sullivan, is also going to take part.
It's important to clarify that nothing untoward is taking place here. Organisers are perfectly entitled to invite O'Sullivan to enter. O'Sullivan is perfectly entitled to take up that invitation.
Also, even if you believe the qualifying age of 40 for entry is too young - and I do - O'Sullivan is now 50, so he's even age appropriate.
But is it remotely in the spirit of the thing? I thought the World Seniors was about long retired stars aiming for one last shot at glory, or those professionals who never reached the heights and yearn for their day in the sun.
Now, it will almost feel at times like a World Championship repeat, just days after the Crucible marathon has finished.
It doesn't really feel fair that O'Sullivan is in the field. Even though they'll obviously flog some more tickets, I suspect snooker fans will think similar deep down.
