Red-hot Hawkins to the fore at Crucible

Barry Hawkins recorded four centuries in the space of six frames as he surged into a 6-2 lead over Kyren Wilson in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

Hawkins rattled in breaks of 105, 130, 136 and 137 in a high-quality contest at the Crucible, with Wilson also making 111 in the fifth frame to finally get on the scoreboard.

Wilson won the final frame of the session but faced an uphill battle when the match resumed last night, with 13 frames required to book a place in the quarter-finals.

Hawkins, who lost to Ronnie O’sullivan in the 2013 final and has reached the semi-finals in four of the last five years, had the chance to record a maximum break in the second frame but missed the black as he tried to get on the final red.

China’s Zhou Yuelong also produced some heavy scoring to take a 5-3 lead over former finalist Ali Carter after their opening session.

Breaks of 67, 106, 105 and 64 took Yuelong into a 5-1 lead before Carter battled back to take the final two frames with the aid of breaks of 62 and 60.