Championship League snooker: Barry Hawkins enjoys perfect day in Leicester as John Higgins compiles 980th century

Barry Hawkins enjoyed four straight wins on the opening day of Group 5 at the Championship League in Leicester on Friday.

The 2013 world finalist completed victories over Joe Perry (3-1), Ricky Walden (3-0), Fan Zhengyi (3-1) and Dave Gilbert (3-0) to leave himself in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals on Saturday evening at the city’s Morningside Arena.

The champion from each group qualifies for the winners’ group on March 1 and 2, with the other top four players continuing to Group 6 as the bottom two players are eliminated at the end of each group.