First it was Kurt Maflin, now it is Barry Hawkins who has lit up the World Snooker Academy with a first career 147 break during the Players Tour Championship…
Having made a break of 129 in frame four of his last 32 match against James McGouran to lead 3-1, Barry Hawkins went one better to seal victory as he compiled the first maximum break of his professional career in frame five.
Topping his previous high break of 145 made at the 2005 Grand Prix, the On-Q Promotions player will not receive a cash bonus for his feat but it is a great achievement nonetheless. He now moves into the last 16 where he will face Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo tomorrow.
Having had something of a quiet season on the 147 front during 2009/10 in which we saw two compiled, we have now already equalled that tally before we have even reached the first full ranking event of the season!
Elsewhere in the PTC meanwhile, Event Two winner Mark Selby kept his impressive run of form going with emphatic victories against Graeme Dott and Ryan Day to join Barry in the last 16 while Judd Trump and Michael White played out a high quality match, Judd eventually emerging a 4-3 victor.
The other men through to the last 16 are Matt Selt, Jack Lisowski, Ian McCulloch and Liang Wenbo.