Barry Hawkins whitewashes Mark Allen at 2023 Masters in London with consummate display as shocks continue

Barry Hawkins routed Mark Allen in the first round of the 2023 Masters at Alexandra Palace with a consummate display as the shocks continued.

Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Mark Selby have already been knocked out, and Allen now joins them after his heavy defeat at the hands of an impressive Hawkins.

It was a fascinating, topsy-turvy opening frame, which hinted at a classic ahead.

Allen played nicely to take a healthy 55-0 lead, but when he left a red over the right corner, Hawkins was in among them – and set about making his opponent pay.

A clipped pink to the yellow pocket sealed him the frame, and he took an unexpected 1-0 lead.

And that advantage was doubled in relatively quick time afterwards, as Hawkins seemed to take confidence from his comeback to win the first.

He played a nice shot to free up both the pink and black when the balls were spread, and from there knocked in a spectacular double on his way to a 76 break which could have been a ton, but for a missed green.

The next suddenly looked like a must-win for Allen, and it hinged on a foul by Hawkins.

The latter saw the white go in off, and that gave Allen the choice to play or put his opponent back in.

He chose to play, but opted for a strange cushion-first shot which didn’t reach the target ball, and then Hawkins stepped up to rattle a red into the middle pocket.

The in-form Englishman didn’t look back from there, knocking in a stunning 114 to take the frame, and a 3-0 lead.

Allen was motionless in his chair – could he find something in the fourth, the last frame before the interval? It was 41 minutes and counting at the start of the frame since he had potted a ball, and he needed a fast start.

He didn’t really get one though, as within two shots a re-rack was called, much to the bemusement of the crowd.

However, as the frame got underway for the second time, a Hawkins mistake let Allen in, and a straightforward red brought to an end his potting drought – at 46 minutes.

From there, it looked like the typical Allen as he worked his way around the table and opened up a decent lead.

But out of nowhere, he missed a simple red to the middle and a likely 3-1 interval score suddenly looked like being 4-0 as Hawkins got in amongst them.

However he then ran out of position with the scores at 43-40 to Allen, and a crucial period of play lay ahead.

Allen went for a long pot straight off and missed it by a long way, and Hawkins capitalised again.

Allen did however return to the table, but with the frame at his mercy, missed a brown that he really should have made, and Hawkins was able to nab his fourth frame in a row.

Plenty of questions then for Allen at the mid-session interval, but it was the same story after the resumption with Hawkins straight into his stride.

The Englishman accumulated nicely after breaking the pack up, and then a stunning blue into the top corner pocket kept his break going.

He held his nerve thereafter and looked keen to get the match done at the earliest possible opportunity, securing the 5-0 lead with only one more frame needed to knock Allen out.

But it was no quick denouement, as the last frame ticked over the half-hour mark as opportunities came and went for both players.

Hawkins was perhaps nervy as the finishing line appeared into view, while Allen still appeared to be struggling with his lack of table time.

But at 53-39, Allen left Hawkins a simple starter, and with the table open, Hawkins strode through the open door – and into the second round, where he will play either Judd Trump or Ryan Day, who are in action on Wednesday afternoon.

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