Barry Hawkins overcame a tricky qualifier to defeat fellow Englishman Lam Sanderson 4-2 to seal his place in the European Masters in October.

The 39-year-old, who reached the semi-finals of last week’s World Open only to go down 6-4 against David Gilbert, was up against it when Sanderson took a 2-0 lead at the Guild Hall in Preston on Saturday. However, Hawkins responded positively as a break of 51 saw him take the third set to get back into the contest and he went on to win the next three and wrapped the tie up with a break of 71.

Hawkins will now go up against another Englishman in the shape of 100th-ranked Craig Steadman in the European masters first round in Lommel, Belgium, from October 1.

Steadman booked his place with a 4-2 win against Poland’s Adam Stefanow, while Ricky Walden edged out fellow English compatriot Hammad Miah 4-3. Another Englishman, Stuart Carrington will also feature at the European Masters after a thumping 4-1 win against Welshman Jamie Clarke.

It has been the ideal week for the 28-year-old as he bounced back well from a 5-0 drubbing against Yan Bingtao at the recent World Open by defeating Luo Honghao by the same scoreline in the Indian Open qualifier during the week before seeing off Clarke. One of Saturday’s later games sees the former world champion Peter Ebdon in action against Jordan Brown and the 47-year-old is 1.30 to win, while his opponent is 3.20 to come out on top.