Barry Hawkins has been told there must be a reason behind his woeful final record, as the Hawk fell at the final hurdle for the 13th time in his career.
Hawkins had led Kyren Wilson narrowly after the afternoon session. but found himself on the wrong end of a 10-9 scoreline against world champion Wilson during a dramatic evening of play in front of more than 2,000 fans in Berlin. After losing to world No.1 Judd Trump in snooker’s UK Championship in December, it marked another painful defeat for the Hawk – but the feeling was more than a little familiar, with losing in finals becoming an unwanted trademark of his career.
The 45-year-old has now contested 10 ranking event finals, winning just two, whilst also losing in the final of the Masters twice and Shanghai Masters as well as two other non-ranking tournaments. Speaking after his latest defeat in Germany, an honest Hawkins said: “It’s not nice when you keep losing finals” but now former world champion Stephen Hendry has suggested that something more than luck must be behind the form.
Reflecting on the tournament with Mark Watson on his Snooker Club podcast, the Scots hero said: “Unfortunately, it’s been the story of Barry’s career. He’s so consistent, he’s always been one of the best players in the world even if he’s dropped out of the top 16. He’s a top quality player, but for some reason he doesn’t get the job done in the finals.
“It’s happened so many times that it can’t be just bad luck. There is something missing. He was a little bit unlucky in Germany, he potted a good ball in the deciding frame and there was an in-off. He was 50-odd behind at the time, but if he doesn’t have that, then maybe he gets back in the frame.
“Little things have conspired against him, but at the end of the day, there’s always a reason he’s been in so many finals and not converted them. I spoke in the past about Shaun Murphy looking like a good loser, but I’m sure that these guys all hurt in the background. You have to admire that they can put on the face that they are a good loser. When they get back into their own space, you know that they are hating themselves.”