World Champion Kyren Wilson prevailed 10-9 in a pulsating Machineseeker German Masters final, defeating Barry Hawkins at the iconic Tempodrom in Berlin.
The thrilling victory gives Wilson a second triumph in this event, having beaten David Gilbert in the 2019 final. It is his first win in Berlin since the passing of his late manager Brandon Parker, who the trophy is now named in honour of. Parker was instrumental in bringing professional snooker to Germany and instigating this tournament.
It has been a stunning first season as World Champion for the Warrior. Victory in the German capital sees him pick up his third piece of silverware this term. Wilson was also triumphant at the Xi’an Grand Prix and the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
Wilson suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in the recent Johnstone’s Paint Masters final against Shaun Murphy. The world number two vowed to bounce back immediately this week and he has stayed true to his word.
Defeat for four-time ranking event winner Hawkins will be a tough pill to swallow. It follows a loss in his only other final appearance this season against Judd Trump, at the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, where he fell short 10-8.
A fiercely contested afternoon session went marginally in the favour of Hawkins, who emerged with a 5-4 advantage.
The opener this evening went the way of Wilson, who immediately got back on level terms, but it looked like it had come at a cost. In between frames he appeared to be concerned at the state of his ferrule and passed his cue to his opponent to inspect the issue. The brass underneath the tip had come loose, it was not a quick fix and he had no choice but to play on.
However, it didn’t seem to deter the Kettering cueman, who fired in a fine 93 break to move 6-5 ahead. Just as Wilson appeared to have the momentum, he missed a pink with the 12th frame at his mercy. Hawkins pounced by clearing the colours to steal on the black and draw all square. Again Wilson recovered quickly and a superb 125 saw him head in for the mid-session ahead at 7-6.
Hawkins came out firing after the break and made a contribution of exactly 100 to restore parity. Wilson regained the lead, before a phenomenal clearance of 61 from Hawkins, which included a table length double on the penultimate red, made it 8-8.
A risky plant from Hawkins in the 17th went awry and allowed Wilson to pounce and move one from victory at 9-8. However, the steely Londoner refused to buckle and clinched a 30-minute 18th to force a decider.
Wilson looked to be powering over the line in the final frame, before a missed plant on 59 gave his opponent a chance. Hawkins cut a red in off the black to a big top left pocket, but sent the white into the right middle. He eventually got another opportunity to come from behind, but fell out of position and a loose safety afforded Wilson an opportunity to close out the match. He cracked in a red from long range and got himself over the line.
Wilson said: “The beauty of it all is that when you’ve proved to yourself that you can win the biggest event of them all, then it gives you confidence. If you can’t use being World Champion as confidence, then what’s the point? I’m using it to my advantage. I feel like I’m riding the crest of a wave. I’ve had a really good season, but there are still a lot of tournaments left so hopefully more silverware is on the horizon.”
Wilson added: “It just shows how tough the standard is in snooker. Barry is one of the best match players in the game and you have to get past him. I managed to scrape through and I’m proud of how I held him off.
“The fans have been really treated to some great snooker this week and a 10-9 final is probably what they wished for. It is amazing to walk away with the trophy and I’d like to thank everyone for the support.”
“I won this event in 2019 and sadly Brandon passed away not long after that. He has missed a lot of iconic moments in my career. It is right that his name is on the trophy. If it wasn’t for him then we wouldn’t have this tournament. I’m so pleased I managed to win it.”
Hawkins said: “I felt like I was holding on to Kyren all day. He was playing better than me and was the stronger player. In the end, at 9-9, it is anybody’s game. I’ve had a great week. It has been a great crowd and I’ve had great support. It is onwards and upwards. Kyren deserved the win.”