Ronnie hadn’t lost in the first round at the UK Championship since 2010, but he lost today to Barry Hawkins by 6-4 , from 1-3 and 2-4 up. Ronnie has a great record over Barry but the last time Barry had beaten him was also in an high profile match. It was in the second round of the 2016 World Championship.
I wrote yesterday that I had little confidence in Ronnie winning today and, unfortunately, I was proven right. Ronnie’s long game has not been the best over recent times – it was never his strongest asset anyway – and, in this match, it cost him. He didn’t play badly by any means but … he wasn’t good enough against an in-form Barry who came into this match having already secured two wins in qualifiers and, with it useful ranking points. It’s not that Ronnie doesn’t care, or doesn’t want it badly enough. He recently started working with Lee Walker, Willo’s coach and close friend. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t care. He looked really up for it in the short video he shared yesterday. The truth I’m afraid is that, at nearly 491 age, and with it decline, are catching up with him… And yes, I do feel sad about it, but that’s life. Nothing lasts forever and we have to accept it.
Barry Hawkins scored his first win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in eight years, prevailing 6-4 and knocking out the defending champion at the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship in York.
Hawkins has historically struggled against the record eight-time UK Champion. Today’s victory leaves him 18-3 behind in the head-to-head. He last beat O’Sullivan back in 2016, with a memorable 13-12 win at the Crucible.
The world number 16 had to run the gauntlet at qualifying to be here, having dropped out of the top 16 this season. Hawkins beat Alfie Burden in the last 80, before a Judgement Day win over Wang Yuchen earned him a slot at the Barbican.
The draw for the final stages provided a tough assignment for Hawkins, facing last year’s winner O’Sullivan. The 41-time ranking event winner lifted the famous trophy here in York 12 months ago, after a 10-7 defeat of Ding Junhui in the final. However, having appeared fleetingly on the circuit this season he is yet to hit top form.
The early signs this afternoon appeared to show that the Rocket was starting to click into gear. Breaks of 128 and 114 helped him to move into a commanding 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.
When play resumed they traded frames, before a pivotal seventh. O’Sullivan punched the table in frustration after a missed red. The Hawk pounced and went on to move within one at 4-3 after a break of 73.
That missed ball from O’Sullivan started a sequence of 320 unanswered points, which moved Hawkins to the verge of victory. He won the next two frames with breaks of 75 and 88 to lead 5-4. A run of 60 then helped him to take the tenth and wrap up a famous victory. He now awaits either Xiao Guodong or David Gilbert in the last 16.
“It wasn’t looking good at 4-2. Luckily Ronnie missed a red to the middle and that was maybe the turning point. I can understand everyone saying Ronnie was going to beat me. I’ve crumbled so many times against him in the past. I didn’t today. I’ve finally got one over him after eight years.”
Barry Hawkins
Four-time Ranking Event Winner
Hawkins added: “I felt good and I thought I was going to win the match. When I got the chances and felt strong. If I can take that forward into the next rounds then I will be dangerous. Sometimes that bottle just empties. When you are in the zone, you don’t feel like you are going to miss.
“Everyone knows what he has done in the game. Every time you can get a win over him is great. I know he prepares really hard for these events. He looked sharp at the start of the match. It is easy to fall over and let him walk away with it. I’m pleased with how I stood up at the end.”
4 thoughts on “The 2024 UK Championship – Ronnie, the defending Champion bows out top Barry Hawkins in the opening match”
In his post match interview he said that he plays well in practise for a change but couldn’t take his practice form to the match table. And he said that he is enjoying his snooker again. These are all good signs and great for Ronnie. We all know that it will get harder as one gets older. But talking about the end of his career because of his latest result is going far too far in my opinion. In his his last two matches he played two decent matches, but almost didn’t get a shot for the last for frames because his opponents played exceptionally well. Odds are that this won’t happen forever. With the form Ronnie has shown recently I am pretty sure he will be in the business end of tournaments soon again. But most importantly – if he enjoys his snooker, we will have the pleasure to see him play snooker for a few more years to come.
The video posted yesterday by kalacs in the comments and the first frame from Ronnie today showed someone who was extremely determined to do well in this tournament. The body language was very good. Barry Hawkins did not miss to punish one mistake.
I didn’t knew about Lee Walker, but I didn’t need to know that either. He clearly was prepared. He is not in a crisis, like some here stated. If he prepares for a tournament, he is still the biggest favourite.
“If he prepares for a tournament, he is still the biggest favourite.”
he is prepared…
He was extremely determinated at the first half of the match. Something went really bad after the MSI. Maybe that missed red to the left middle? I don’t think so despite everyone mentions that miss
He was prepared indeed and, this season, he has lost matches whilst playing well enough. Maybe, as he is getting older sustaining the required level of concentration becomes more difficult? Maybe those defeats in matches where he played well and was prepared affect his confidence? Who knows? Maybe even he doesn’t fully understand where the issue is IF there is an issue at all. IF, because what I have seen this season is an extremely high level from players in the 40-17 bracket and yesterday Barry played extremely well after the MSI. His long potting in particular was scary. What I am now convinced more than ever before is that when it comes to players development the tiered system is far superior to the senseless brutal straight knock-out combined with seeding. Barry Pinches often argued that it is “unfair” because lower ranked players have to win more matches to win the tournament. My answer to that is that 1. yes they need to win more matches but they face more “winnable” matches in early rounds 2. playing more matches against various opponents is what young players need to develop.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
In his post match interview he said that he plays well in practise for a change but couldn’t take his practice form to the match table. And he said that he is enjoying his snooker again. These are all good signs and great for Ronnie. We all know that it will get harder as one gets older. But talking about the end of his career because of his latest result is going far too far in my opinion. In his his last two matches he played two decent matches, but almost didn’t get a shot for the last for frames because his opponents played exceptionally well. Odds are that this won’t happen forever. With the form Ronnie has shown recently I am pretty sure he will be in the business end of tournaments soon again. But most importantly – if he enjoys his snooker, we will have the pleasure to see him play snooker for a few more years to come.
The video posted yesterday by kalacs in the comments and the first frame from Ronnie today showed someone who was extremely determined to do well in this tournament. The body language was very good. Barry Hawkins did not miss to punish one mistake.
I didn’t knew about Lee Walker, but I didn’t need to know that either. He clearly was prepared. He is not in a crisis, like some here stated. If he prepares for a tournament, he is still the biggest favourite.
“If he prepares for a tournament, he is still the biggest favourite.”
he is prepared…
He was extremely determinated at the first half of the match. Something went really bad after the MSI. Maybe that missed red to the left middle? I don’t think so despite everyone mentions that miss
He was prepared indeed and, this season, he has lost matches whilst playing well enough. Maybe, as he is getting older sustaining the required level of concentration becomes more difficult? Maybe those defeats in matches where he played well and was prepared affect his confidence? Who knows? Maybe even he doesn’t fully understand where the issue is IF there is an issue at all. IF, because what I have seen this season is an extremely high level from players in the 40-17 bracket and yesterday Barry played extremely well after the MSI. His long potting in particular was scary. What I am now convinced more than ever before is that when it comes to players development the tiered system is far superior to the senseless brutal straight knock-out combined with seeding. Barry Pinches often argued that it is “unfair” because lower ranked players have to win more matches to win the tournament. My answer to that is that 1. yes they need to win more matches but they face more “winnable” matches in early rounds 2. playing more matches against various opponents is what young players need to develop.