Barry Hawkins overcame Neil Robertson to reach the China Open final and was delighted with his win over the former world number one. Hawkins prevailed 10-6 with a dominant performance in the second session, winning five of the final seven frames to book his place in the final alongside Mark Selby. Robertson has endured a tough period and missed out on a spot in The Masters earlier this year after slipping down the rankings.
However, the Australian is back on form and is back in the world’s top 16 so he has secured his spot at the World Championship in Sheffield without having to go through qualifying for the showpiece event at The Crucible. Robertson was level at 3-3 in the early stages of the semi-final and Hawkins felt he needed an “unbelievable” performance to overcome the Triple Crown winner in Beijing. “I think the game was of very high standard, I think we both played pretty well throughout the match. [I’m] absolutely delighted to beat somebody like Neil Robertson,” said Hawkins. Robertson won the World Championship in 2010 and the ‘Thunder From Down Under’ is 14/1 to take the top prize this year.
Hawkins, who finished as runner-up in Sheffield in 2013, is 20/1 to win the World Championship 2018 outright and Selby can be backed at 7/2.