Snooker results: Barry Hawkins thumps Mark Allen 6-0 to reach Masters quarter-finals

Twice a beaten finalist including in last year's renewal, Hawkins' record in the Masters is a strong one and backed by the London crowd, he proved far too good for a frustrated opponent.

Allen, player of the season so far in the eyes of many, was far from that kind of form as he struggled in all departments from the very first exchanges of a lengthy opening frame.

Hawkins piled on the pressure with a 114 break in frame three and went into the interval with a commanding 4-0 lead, Allen needing heroics akin to his UK Championship comeback against Ding Junhui to avoid defeat.

The first frame back always looked likely to prove pivotal to any hopes of a genuine contest but Hawkins took it, before enjoying the run of the ball to take the sixth and advance to the quarter-finals.

"Erm, I don't know, was it?" said a typically modest Hawkins when told by the BBC's Rob Walker that he'd produced a magnificent display.

"I think the result flatters me a little bit. My safety won me the match – I kept Mark under pressure and I didn't do that much wrong; very few easy, unforced errors, and that's made the difference in the end.

"For once I didn't have that much time off (over Christmas), kept going up the club. This is not a place you want to come and be underprepared. I thought I'd keep my head down and it paid off.

"You know you've got to come out here and perform. Maybe it helps me focus."

'He was phenomenal'

For Allen, it was another Masters disappointment having failed to win a match in the event since capturing the title in 2018, and continued the theme of upsets at this year's tournament.

After five matches, Allen joins Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and John Higgins in exiting the tournament, with Ronnie O'Sullivan the only winning favourite so far.

Allen credited a tactical masterclass from Hawkins, saying: "To be honest, I probably should've won the first frame, and had a couple of chances in frame four, other than that he was phenomenal. Some of his safety play was ridiculously good.

"I said to him at the end, it's probably one of the best safety performances I've ever played against as a pro. You just have to credit Barry, he completely froze me out. It was a phenomenal performance."

Williams to face Ronnie next

In Tuesday's evening session, Mark Williams beat David Gilbert 6-2 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Williams won the first four frames - with back-to-back centuries in the opening two - and held off Gilbert's fightback at 4-2 to secure the win.

He made breaks of 126, 127 and 95 en route to victory, alongside battling off a disruptive wasp in the decisive eighth frame.