Hawkins awaits Wilson in German Masters final
Hawkins reeled off six straight frames to reach his first German Masters final (PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)
Barry Hawkins will play Kyren Wilson in this year’s German Masters final following an inspired turnaround against Yuan Sijun on Saturday.
The Hawk is through to the showpiece at the Tempodrom in Berlin for the first time in his career, after reeling off six successive frames from 2-0 down against his Chinese opponent.
His reward is a showdown with Wilson, who was also a 6-2 winner over Xiao Guodong earlier in the day.
It will be the third final contested between the players on German soil. Hawkins won 4-3 at the invitational Paul Hunter Classic in 2019, though Wilson was a dominant 9-3 victor in the 2022 European Masters showpiece.
The Hawk was appearing in his third German Masters semi-final, having fallen at this stage in 2013 and 2021.
Meanwhile, this was only the second appearance in the last four of a ranking event for his opponent, who was fresh from deciding-frame victories over recently crowned Masters champion Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson.
Yuan built on that momentum with a positive start, as breaks of 82 and 70 gave him an early 2-0 advantage.
Hawkins, who was runner-up to Judd Trump at the UK Championship exactly two months ago, responded with 213 unanswered points to level at the interval.
The four-time ranking event winner then won two scrappy frames to lead for the first time, before two breaks of 83 saw him into his 12th ranking final.
“I think [Yuan] faltered towards the end a little bit,” Hawkins said. “He started strongly and then, when I came back at him, it put him on the back foot. I tried to stay positive and tried to stay calm. I didn’t want to make silly mistakes. To get over the line quite easily, I was delighted.
“It will be an amazing occasion for me against Kyren. Those occasions have been few and far between for me lately. I won the European Masters last season and I’ve had a couple of good results since then. Hopefully, I can keep doing what I’ve been doing and enjoy it.
“Winning tomorrow would be up there with the best moments of my career. I’ve got such a tough game against Kyren, though. He is playing some great stuff and, even when he isn’t, he is so hard to beat these days. I won’t be thinking any further ahead. I’ve still got a mountain to climb.”
Earlier in the day, Wilson was a commanding winner over Xiao, with both players appearing in their fifth semi-finals of the season.
The 2019 champion was quickly out of the blocks, controlling the opening frame before breaks of 88 and 100 put him 3-0 to the good.
Wuhan Open winner Xiao stopped the rot with 72, but Wilson took frame five on the blue before a run of 57 moved him to the brink of victory at 5-1.
The Chinese kept his faint hopes alive with 55 in the next, but the World champion was not to be denied a place in his fourth final of the campaign.
“The crowd were spectacular. The roar is so different to any other venue,” Wilson said. “I was desperate to make the one table set up this week and it is even better now I’m in the final.
“Xiao has had a fantastic season, winning his first ranking title and making the Champion of Champions final. He beat me on the way to his first title in Wuhan. It was nice to get the win back there.”
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German Masters Snooker 2025 | Semi-Final Results
Saturday February 1
Semi-Finals
Kyren Wilson 6-2 Xiao Guodong
Barry Hawkins 6-2 Yuan Sijun