Barry Hawkins claimed his first ranking title since 2017 when beating Judd Trump 9-6 in Sunday's European Masters final in Germany.
Trump started the match as heavy favourite but he was on the back foot throughout, Hawkins racing into an early 3-1 lead and controlling matters thereafter.
Trump finally burst into life when registering centuries in frames five and seven, but Hawkins picked his pocket in the final frame of the opening session to establish a two-frame advantage.
The 44-year-old displayed no signs of nerves upon the resumption, winning the first two frames of the evening to move 7-3 in front and close in on victory.
Trump was a long way from his best but still rallied manfully to claw back consecutive frames. Hawkins, however, was unperturbed and secured the fourth major title of his career soon after as he won the next two frames with few alarms.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ! ๐
โ Eurosport (@eurosport) August 27, 2023
Barry Hawkins is the 2023 European Masters Champion ๐#EuropeanMasters | @WeAreWST pic.twitter.com/QKIct2Ko17
Hawkins said afterwards: "It's been a long time coming. I was at a stage where I didn't think I'd ever win a tournament again.
"It just kept dragging on and dragging on. I kept losing in finals and not playing very well.
"I'm absolutely over the moon, delighted.
"Lucky for me, Judd struggled and sometimes you need a bit of help. Judd helped me out for sure.
"My aim at the start of the season was to try and get back in the top 16.
"To come to the first big tournament and win it is unbelievable. I've just got to build on it."
