Barry’s bonus

BARRY HAWKINS put himself in a great position to reach the semi-finals of the World Championship as he took a 11-5 lead over Ding Junhui in Sheffield last night. Ding was the bookies’ favourite for his first title going into the last eight but Hawkins showed the class that has powered him to a sixth consecutive Crucible quarter-final by converting a 5-3 advantage from the morning session into a commanding lead. The match concludes this afternoon, with 13 frames the target. Kyren Wilson is primed to take revenge for his January defeat in the Masters final by Mark Allen — he leads the Northern Irishman 11-5. The winner plays Mark Williams or Ali Carter, who are locked at 4-4 and resume at 10am — as do Judd Trump and John Higgins, with Trump leading 5-3.