in November meaning he would be in the main draw in the Masters for the first time since 2007. Neil Robertson beat him 6–2 in the UK Championship and in the Masters he was 5–4 up against Judd Trump but missed two pots when well placed to win the match and instead went to lose 5–6, a result which left Hawkins "devastated". He bounced back at the next ranking event, the German Masters, by seeing off Dechawat Poomjaeng 5–2, Mark Allen 5–1 and Mark Selby 5–1 to reach the semi-finals. He lost 4–6 to Marco Fu in a long match which finished after midnight local time and included a bout of safety which lasted almost an hour. Hawkins failed to get past the second round in the World Open, China Open or Welsh Open. He played in eight of the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events with his best result being a semi-final defeat by Joe Swail in the first European Tour Event. Two further quarter-final defeats saw him finish 15th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals, where he lost 1–4 to Robertson in the second round. World Championship final At the World Championship, he put Jack Lisowski under sustained pressure with his superior safety game in a 10–3 win to face Mark Selby in the second round. Hawkins was 7–9 behind to the world number one after the second session but came back to triumph 13–10 in a win he described as the best of his career. In his first World Championship quarter-final he defeated Ding Junhui 13–7 to progress to the semi-finals, where he played Ricky Walden. Hawkins struggled for form during the first two sessions, playing some gritty snooker to trail only 6–8 with a high break of just 36 and received ironic cheers and a punch of the air from Hawkins when he made 47 in the next frame. He went on to fall 8–12 behind but then began to find his game, as Walden's deteriorated, to win eight successive frames with two centuries in the process. Despite a brief fightback from Walden, Hawkins won the match 17–14 to set up a clash in the final with defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hawkins saying he had nothing to lose now. Hawkins fought gallantly throughout the final making breaks of 127 and 133, his highest ever at the Crucible, but every time he applied pressure