UK Championship 2024: Barry Hawkins on Allen’s Slow Play and Facing Trump in the Final

Barry Hawkins produced a stunning comeback to defeat Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen 6-4 in a gripping semi-final at the 2024 UK Championship, booking his place in the final for the first time in his career.

Trailing 4-2 and seemingly out of contention, Hawkins dug deep to claw his way back into the match and edge out Allen in a tense deciding frame. 

The midnight marathon contest lasted nearly five hours and concluded just shy of 1 AM, highlighting the physical and mental endurance required for such late-night snooker battles.

Hawkins will now face world number one Judd Trump in the final, which begins at 1 PM, just 12 hours after his gruelling semi-final concluded.

A Match Marred by Tactics

The pace of the semi-final became a focal point, with Allen’s deliberate and methodical style drawing criticism throughout the week. 

Fellow professional and commentator Shaun Murphy raised eyebrows during the BBC broadcast, questioning whether Allen’s slow decision-making was a tactical ploy to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm.

“Now, it's completely within the rules. But at what stage do we question whether the amount of time Mark Allen is taking over simple decisions is a tactic to annoy his opponent? I can't see any reason other than that for why he's taking so long,” Murphy said from the BBC comms box. 

Allen had already faced similar criticism earlier in the tournament, with Jack Lisowski labelling him a “grinder” for his defensive approach.

Hawkins Reflects on Allen’s Play

Speaking after the match, Hawkins addressed Murphy’s comments and shared his own perspective on playing against Allen, who has been battling for form this week.

“I know he's been struggling with his form all week and has started working with Lee Walker, and he's been working on his alignment and stuff like that, so it's not natural to him at the minute,” Hawkins told SportsBoom.com. 

“He was getting quite slow, and I think that's another reason why we couldn’t get our rhythm going as well. He was stop, start all the time, and it didn’t help the game, I don’t think.”

Despite the challenging tempo, Hawkins sympathised with Allen’s struggles. 

“When you're low on confidence, as Mark has been this week, it is not an easy game. I could see he was just battling for every ball. He's normally a quicker player than that. Obviously, he's slowed down a little bit over the last couple of years, but he's normally quicker than that.”

When pressed on whether he believed Allen was intentionally slowing the game to disrupt his rhythm, Hawkins dismissed the suggestion outright.

“No, I don't think so at all. I think he's just struggling with his game. I think he was just trying his pint of blood in every shot. I don't think he's like that. But yeah, it didn’t help. The speed of the game was a bit slow already.”

A Showdown with Judd Trump

Looking ahead to the final, Hawkins reflected on his previous ranking final encounter with Trump at the 2023 European Championship, where he emerged victorious.

“I can remember playing well against him, I think nothing special, but I was solid against him and didn’t make loads of mistakes. I played pretty well,” Hawkins recalled.

“I think he started off quite slowly, which helped me, obviously. But yeah, I've got a lot of experience behind me now. I know what to expect. I just need to go out there and enjoy it.”

With little recovery time before facing Trump, Hawkins remained focused on the task at hand.

“Settle down and play my game. That’s what I've got to do. That’s the aim. Hopefully, like I say, I can give him a good game, and we both put on a show for the crowd.”

As Hawkins gears up for his fifth Triple Crown final, all eyes will be on York this afternoon to see if he can defy the odds and claim one of snooker’s most prestigious titles.