World number one Judd Trump wins second UK Snooker Championship title

Victory for the 35-year-old Englishman represents his fifth Triple Crown event trophy and his 30th ranking title overall; the latter achievement means he moves one title behind third-placed John Higgins in the all-time list of most decorated ranking champions.

The world number one also significantly strengthens his advantage at the top of the world rankings, he is now over £650,000 clear of reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson who is in second. Already this 2024/25 season, Trump has amassed well over £1.1 million in prize money alone, with several big money events still to come this campaign.

Trump won the opening session of the final, 5-3, with the help of breaks of 73 and 102.

However, world number 20 Hawkins - who had to win two qualifying matches in Leicester in order to reach these televised stages - showed great battling qualities, pinching frames four and eight with cool counter clearances after his opponent had accumulated big advantages early on in those frames.

Four-time ranking event winner Hawkins had earlier struck the first century of the final with a run of 116 in frame two.

On resumption a few hours later, Trump re-established his lead, but Hawkins refused to wilt, getting to within one of his opponent at 6-5 and 7-6 down.

The last two UK Championship finals he had played in, Trump lost via a deciding frame. Desperately keen to avoid a close finish again, Trump delivered a purple patch as breaks of 53 and a 133 total clearance put him on the brink of glory at 9-6 up.

However, Hawkins responded in kind, fashioning two almost faultless frames of snooker as contributions of 75 and 82 put him once again just one frame adrift. And it looked like 45-year-old Hawkins was on course to force a decider as he got in first in frame 18, only to see an attempted pot on a red into a middle pocket find the near jaw when in perfect position.

Under huge pressure and having been frozen out for over two frames, Trump capitalised with a run of 67 to leave Hawkins needing penalty points.

Yet that was not the end of the drama as Hawkins successfully got points off one of the required snookers before laying several others. Trump stood up and answered the questions, though, before eventually potting and getting over the line much to his relief and joy.

Trump has now won three titles this season, and it’s the three events with the biggest first prizes of the term, so far - Shanghai Masters (£210,000), Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters (£500,000) and the UK Championship (£250,000).

The road to glory at the Barbican was far from straightforward for Trump, who endured very slow starts before dispatching Neil Robertson and John Higgins in the opening two rounds.

After a sizzling 6-2 quarter-final win over Zhang Anda in the quarter-finals - which saw him make four centuries - Trump recovered from 2-0 down to deny current Crucible King Kyren Wilson 6-2 in the last four. Wilson had previously defeated Trump in their two most recent meetings - at the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open.

Hawkins - who is one of the greatest players ever without a Triple Crown title to his name - came the closest he’s ever been to winning one of snooker’s three biggest accolades. Appearing in his maiden UK Championship final, Hawkins was runner-up at the 2013 World Championship, and twice at the Masters (2016, 2022).

‘The Hawk’ got to his latest Triple Crown final the hard way. After negotiating his two qualifying matches, he eliminated three UK Champions in defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Allen at the main venue. In the last 16, he squeezed past David Gilbert 6-5 after his opponent missed the green when he was within a few balls of knocking him out at 5-4 up.

Despite this narrow defeat, Hawkins can be very proud of his achievements in Yorkshire over the past several days. The £100,000 runner-up prize pushes him back up into the world’s top 16 rankings and he earns an invite to the 2025 Masters in January where he will play Judd Trump again in round one.

Next up on the World Snooker Tour is the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out which takes place between December 4-7. Full information on that event can be found here.

For full details on the 2024 UK Championship, including the draw, results, prize money breakdown, format and how to watch, please visit our tournament information centre here.