Barry Hawkins holds off stirring Judd Trump fightback to win 2023 European Masters in Germany

Barry Hawkins held off a late rally from Judd Trump to win the European Masters 9-6 in Germany on Sunday night.

Trump was trailing 5-3 after the first session as the pair chased their first ranking trophy of the new season.

Hawkins was a runner-up at this tournament last year, while Trump could point to his 2023 World Championship as a reason to believe he may start the new campaign well.

The win for Hawkins may banish memories of two losing final appearances last year, at that aforementioned 2022 European Masters, and also the Players Championship.

Two more losing finals, in the 2018 Welsh and China Opens, have given rise to the notion that Hawkins is unable to produce the killer instinct when most needed.

While Trump was trailing by two frames before the restart, the former world No.1 had two centuries to his name, with Hawkins not able to move into three figures in a single visit.

In the second session, Hawkins scrapped to win the first frame 62-55 before a half-century break of 53 took him to a 93-1 win, moving him three frames from victory.

Trump pulled one back in the following frame with a 52-break helping him to close it out, and then he put the pressure on Hawkins when he pulled the scores closer to trail 7-5.

The margin was then cut to a single frame after another scrappy frame saw Hawkins still three frames from victory after losing three on the bounce.

Trump said after his semi-final win over John Higgins that he might not have produced his best snooker at the Metropol Arena this week, but his determination had carried him through to earn wins he missed out on last season.

World No. 3 Hawkins then managed a relatively straightforward penultimate frame to calm his nerves, before landing another in the decisive moment, holding on to secure the £80,000 prize money.