Hawkins edges ahead of Ding in last-eight clash

snooker: Trump leading Scot Higgins

Barry Hawkins claimed the upper hand after a hard-fought opening session of his quarter-final against Ding Junhui in the Betfred World Championship last night.

Hawkins compiled breaks of 64, 82, 50 and 60 to take a 5-3 lead in the best-of-25 contest at the Crucible in Sheffield, while Mark Allen and Kyren Wilson ended the session locked at 4-4.

Making his sixth consecutive appearance in the last eight, Hawkins settled quicker than his opponent and led 3-1 at the mid-session interval before Ding reduced the gap with a fluent 76.

Hawkins re-established a two-frame cushion by winning the next and, although Ding again hit back with the help of a break of 67, Hawkins enjoyed a useful slice of luck in the eighth frame.

The left-hander miscued when attempting a plant, but the red still found the middle pocket and a break of 60 eventually proved enough to clinch a deserved 5-3 advantage.

On the other table, Wilson recovered from losing the first frame to compile breaks of 52, 125, 90 and 83, but was unable to shake off a determined Allen in a repeat of their Masters final.

Allen, who beat Wilson 10-7 at Alexandra Palace in January, won the fourth frame with a superb long pot on the black and claimed the final frame of the session with a break of 78.

The remaining quarter-finals were equally tight, with Judd Trump taking a 5-3 lead over John Higgins and Mark Williams and Ali Carter level at 4-4.

Breaks of 58, 100 and 71 helped Trump move 4-1 ahead of an off-form Higgins, who had thrashed Trump’s good friend Jack Lisowski 13-1 in the previous round.

Higgins finally found some rhythm with a break of 74 to make it 4-2 and won a scrappy seventh frame as well, but 77 from Trump in the final frame of the session gave the left-hander a deserved advantage.

PA. Judd Trump at the table in his match against John Higgins.