Barry Hawkins expressed deep regret after a costly error sealed his 13-11 quarter-final defeat to Mark Allen at the World Snooker Championship.
Dramatic Final Frame Decides Match
The high-quality encounter featured exceptional scoring, with Hawkins compiling two centuries and 10 half-centuries. Allen responded with three centuries and six half-centuries, ensuring several frames ended decisively while building intense drama toward the conclusion.
In the pivotal 24th frame, Hawkins fluked the final red before attempting a roll to the pink to snooker Allen behind the yellow. The shot fell short, leaving him snookered on himself and conceding six points. Although he escaped to pot the yellow, it remained on, allowing Allen to clear the table and secure victory.
Hawkins Reflects on Painful Exit
“Disappointing way to lose,” Hawkins said. “I had a massive slice of lady luck fluking the last red, unforgiveable not reaching the pink, horrible way to go, really.”
He added: “I was obviously nervous, but no more than I have been before. It’s unforgiveable not reaching it. I was worried about over-hitting it, believe it or not, I didn’t want to twitch, throw a quick one in and push the white past. But I just didn’t go through the ball and it was a bit of a killer, really.”
After the mishap, Hawkins felt immediate despair: “I was just thinking ‘that’s it, game over.’ I was gutted, obviously. What a way to lose! It’s a horrible feeling, knowing that you’ve played an absolutely terrible shot. If anything I over-hit them things, it’s just gutting, a sinking feeling. I was trying so hard after a long match and playing well for the most part.”
Allen’s Perspective on the Thriller
Allen admitted the tension: “I wouldn’t have fancied going 12-12, my heart sank a little bit when he fluked that red out of the snooker and that summed up the match for me.”
He praised Hawkins’ form: “Barry played very well but every bit of run went his way, I played 24 frames and I don’t think I had to say sorry once, so when that red went in I wasn’t overly surprised. But if you could have seen inner Mark when he didn’t reach the pink, you would have laughed because he was doing somersaults!”
“Barry’s scoring was very good and he never looked like missing,” Allen continued. “But as the match went on he started looking edgier as well. He missed a few as the match went on and I started feeding off that a little bit, knowing he wasn’t at his best as he was yesterday. Just to beat a player of Barry’s quality given how well he played in a best of 25 gives me lots of positives.”
Hawkins Defends Allen’s Approach
Hawkins dismissed suggestions of negativity in Allen’s game: “He didn’t play negative against me, he played most of the right shots and played them very well. Had me in trouble loads of times, he went for the balls I thought he would have gone for, scored as well as he normally does, great in the balls. I wouldn’t say he was negative at all. There’s a lot of pressure out there and he handles it well.”
Allen advances to his third Crucible semi-final, awaiting the winner of Wu Yize versus Hossein Vafaei. The semi-finals begin Thursday evening.
