Barry Hawkins swoops to Welsh Open title triumph

Claiming this particular crown for the first time - going one step further from being runner-up in 2018 - Hawkins collects a £100,000 top prize and The Ray Reardon Trophy.

It is the 46-year-old’s first ranked accolade since success at the European Masters in Germany in August 2023, and his first triumph on UK soil since the 2017 World Grand Prix over nine years ago.

Prior to his trip to Llandudno, Hawkins was having a very consistent, albeit uneventful season, with three ranked quarter-finals and six last 16 finishes to his name. His initial participation in north Wales was doubtful due to struggling with a back injury, but ‘The Hawk’ will certainly be very pleased he made the decision to play.

Following a deciding frame win over David Lilley in his opening round, Hawkins eliminated Pang Junxu and home hero Mark Williams. Despite being outscored by his opponent, he defeated Neil Robertson 5-3 in the last eight before resisting a surge of breaks from Wu Yize to deny his young peer, 6-4, in the semi-finals.

His opponent in Sunday’s title match was reigning Northern Ireland Open champion Lisowski, who came into the tie on a huge high having pocketed the seasonal £150,000 Home Nations Series order of merit bonus prize only the night before after a final frame victory over John Higgins.

The all-English final had the makings of being a very close affair, but it transpired to be the opposite during the afternoon’s programme.

Having made only one century break earlier in the week, Hawkins began his 13th ranking event final in style with a 105 in the opening frame before Lisowski levelled up in the next.

Lisowski was looking good to take the lead, but missed a black whilst on a run of 47 and going into the reds in frame three. His opponent punished with a counter clearance of 67 to nudge back in front.

That erroneous black from Lisowski seemed to be symbolic, as an impressive Hawkins capitalised on mistakes, opportunities from his peer, taking all five remaining frames of the first session - along with breaks of 102, 76 and 88.

Returning a few hours later for the evening’s play with a commanding 7-1 advantage, Hawkins was only a couple of frames from the finish line. Lisowski needed a fast start to stand any chance of a huge comeback, and that’s exactly what he got with back-to-back century breaks of 112 and 102, before securing a protracted frame 11 to reduce his arrears to three at 7-4 - the gap had been halved from the start of the night.

However, Hawkins steadied the ship by depositing frame 12 with the help of a 68, and although his opponent took the next after the final mid-session interval, he got the job done in the fourteenth to avoid a nervy finish.

Hawkins becomes the 23rd player in professional snooker history to have claimed five or more world ranking event titles, and draws level on five on the all-time list alongside Ray Reardon, Stephen Lee, and current world champion Zhao Xintong.

The six-figure winner’s purse that Hawkins banks pushes him up five places in the updated world rankings from 14th to 9th. It also zips him up into eighth on the one-year/seasonal list, surely guaranteeing him a spot for the 12-player Tour Championship in Manchester in a few weeks time.

He will almost certainly claim him a place at the Champion of Champions invitational later in the year, too.

Next up for the World Snooker Tour is the main venue stages of the 2026 World Open in Yushan, China, held between March 16-22.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Welsh Open, visit here.