Hawkins beats Allen to reach UK final against Trump

Judd Trump will be playing in his ninth Triple Crown final, while Barry Hawkins will be appearing in his fourth

Barry Hawkins battled back to win a final-frame decider 6-5 against Mark Allen in the early hours of Sunday morning to reach his first UK Championship final, where he will meet Judd Trump.

World number one Trump had earlier defeated world champion Kyren Wilson 6-2 and would likely have already been asleep by the time Hawkins and Allen’s gripping contest concluded at 00:57 GMT.

Hawkins, 45, came through qualifying and defeated reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the opening round, and trailed 4-2 and 5-4 to world number three Allen.

However, breaks of 57, 84 and 114 helped him force an 11th frame which he emerged victorious from in a tense finale.

"I am absolutely knackered. It was ridiculous, it was so hard from start to finish. I feel drained. At 4-2 I just tried to speed up a bit," Hawkins told BBC Sport.

"It is massive, I have not had a good record here over the years, getting to one semi-final, so to finally get to the final is amazing. I was a nervous wreck, you can miss anything at that stage."

Trump and Wilson’s encounter failed to scale the heights of the expected blockbuster between the top two ranked players in the world.

But the outcome did provide Trump with a small measure of revenge after his losses to Wilson in the finals of the Xi'an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open earlier this term.

Trump had looked slightly out of sorts in the opening two frames, with a purposeful Wilson enjoying a run of 62 to lead 2-0.

But the momentum shifted spectacularly the other way with Trump then reeling off six consecutive frames against an opponent who looked shorn of confidence.

A 43rd century of the season allowed Trump to draw level and with Wilson's play punctuated by loose safety shots, unexpected missed pots and moments of misfortune, he took full advantage.

A run of 65 helped Trump go 5-2 up and he sealed his win with another century break.

"He missed a couple of pots with the rest which he doesn't normally miss and it kind of changed the game," said Trump.

"I was able to pot the long ones after the interval. I was getting in from his break-off and getting a good lead or winning the frame. He didn’t do that much wrong. Overall I am very happy to win."

Trump's success also dashed Wilson's hopes of becoming the first player to win the world and UK titles in the same year since Mark Selby in 2016.

And it ensured that his own earnings for the season will tip over £1m regardless of the outcome of his match against Hawkins.

Table conditions not conducive to classic

After so much, hype, hope and expectation of a classic contest it proved to be a slightly underwhelming affair given the quality of the two players on show.

While Trump made two centuries, there were only two other breaks in excess of 50 and both players struggled to find their normal rhythm despite being presented with numerous opportunities to score heavily.

But while the tournament has reached the one-table set-up stage both Wilson and Trump stressed that early-event concerns over the conditions have not gone away.

"I don't like to drop anyone in it but for me you have to be looking at the table fitters. The tables have been really poor all week. Every time I have played, they have been drifting to the right and even today, with just one table to focus on, it was the same scenario," said Wilson.

"When you lose faith in the table you start to question your technique and wonder if you are putting side on the ball and you play different shots to the ones you would normally.

"If World Snooker want to have these great matches and these great rivalries, they need to be looking at conditions a bit more.

"Something is going on, whether the floor is not quite level... something needs looking at because unfortunately the fans are not going to get value for money. It did not just happen to me, it happened to Judd a few times."

Trump added: “It was tricky. I think there was black I played towards the end that rolled off quite a lot and ended up missing.

"As long as the table is not rolling off it is playable which it was a little bit today."

In response, a World Snooker spokesperson said: "Our table-fitting team work to the highest standards, often through the night, to ensure the best possible playing conditions.

"However, they can only respond to the issues which get reported by players. Only two condition report sheets have been submitted this week.

"We always welcome feedback from players and encourage them to engage with us to make sure that table conditions are as good as they can be."