Champion of Champions snooker 2023 as it happened – Barry Hawkins topples Robert Milkins to book place in semi-finals
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Updated 14/11/2023 at 22:08 GMT
Welcome to LIVE coverage from the Champion of Champions at the University of Bolton Stadium as world champion Luca Brecel takes on Barry Hawkins. The Belgian is yet to win a title since his stunning run to the Crucible trophy in May and faces tricky opposition in European Masters champion Hawkins. Stream top snooker action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
Brecel clinches 'sensational' maiden world title against Selby at Crucible
Hawkins 6-2 Milkins
Hawkins snuffs out any prospect of a Milkins comeback as he picks off a superb break of 83 to get over the line and book his spot in the semi-finals.
A fluke got Hawkins his first red but from there it was impressive stuff as he equalled the highest break of the match with an 83 to win the Group 2 final.
That's all for the evening. We will be back on Wednesday afternoon for John Higgins against Chris Wakelin, and Ding Junhui versus Zhang Anda.
Hawkins 5-2 Milkins
The answer is yes, as Milkins picks off a break of 81 - his highest of the match - to keep his hopes alive.
Hawkins 5-1 Milkins (22-1)
Hawkins makes 21 before missing another simple red. A reprieve for Milkins, but can he take it?
Hawkins 5-1 Milkins (15-1)
Milkins passes up another chance and trudges back to his chair with a resigned look on his face. Big chance for Hawkins to put it away.
Hawkins 5-1 Milkins (1-1)
Milkins thunders in a plant, but misses a simple green to pretty much sum up his evening. The poor play is catching, as Hawkins misses the sort of red he was knocking in for fun earlier in the day.
Hawkins 5-1 Milkins
Milkins misses the final red and Hawkins steps in to knock it in. He drops nicely on the yellow, and picks off the colours.
Very messy frame. Both had numerous chances. Hawkins missed the penultimate red, but Milkins jawed the tricky last red and the Hawk cleared down to the pink to move within a frame of victory.
Hawkins 4-1 Milkins (37-37)
A poor safety from Milkins and Hawkins picks off a long red. He knocks in a good green from a tight angle but misses a red along the bottom rail. Scrappy stuff.
Hawkins 4-1 Milkins (22-20)
Hawkins with an outrageous fluked red, rattles in the jaws of the bottom right and goes across the rail and into the bottom left. But he does not take advantage as a black does not drop.He has started to miss a few balls.
Hawkins 4-1 Milkins
Hawkins gets in first in the sixth, but his split of the pack does not pay off and he breaks down on 21. His safety is poor and offers a starter for Milkins, but he misses the split off the blue and we are in safety mode.
Hawkins 4-1 Milkins
Milkins has something to cling to. After a lengthy safety exchange, Milkins lays a telling snooker. The foul points get him to snookers required and he gets over the line when Hawkins sticks the green over a pocket. Game on? Maybe.
Hawkins 4-0 Milkins
Another awful error from Milkins gifts Hawkins the chance to put the frame beyond doubt and he does that taking a big lead at the interval, needing only two more to win. Can the Milkman regroup?
Hawkins 3-0 Milkins
A 35-break is enough to put the frame beyond Milkins.
Hawkins 2-0 Milkins
A 55-break is enough tot seal the frame for Hawkins. Milkins needs to get his game together - and soon.
Hawkins 1-0 Milkins (10-0)
The last frame is still in the Milkman's head. After Hawkins' break broke down early, Milkins almost played his next shot on the walk and has gifted Hawkins the baton once more.
Hawkins 1-0 Milkins
That is great matchplay form the Hawk! He ekes out a chance with superior safety play and then clears up.
Hawkins 0-0 Milkins (31-52)
Hawkins has his snookers! All to play for now with the green colours and down left on the table.
Hawkins 0-0 Milkins (20-52)
Hawkins needing two snookers with just the baulk colours remaining.
Welcome to the Evening session...
And a fascinating match in prospect between Barry Hawkins and Robert Milkins.
Righto, that's us for the afternoon
Join us again at 6.30pm GMT for the Kins derby: Hawkins v Milkins.
Robert speaks
Told this must be his best win of the yea,r he notes that it won't be hard. He's not been playing well in matches or practise and knows Mark was poor today, but hopes this win will get his season going.
I enjoyed that
I doubt Bazza Hawkins has played much better than he did in nilling the world champ, and I loved Robert Milkins' twin steals. This is a great competition.
Robert Milkins beats Mark J Williams 4-2!
Rob wins on his Champion of Champions debut! I'm not totally sure how Mark contrived to lose by two, but I am sure that Robert's work punishing him was fantastic. He meets Barry Hawkins tonight, and that shoold be a lot of fun.
Williams 2-3 Milkins (50-64)
No way! Mark J you absolute bounder! Rob leaves pink over left corner so Mark returns to the table needing a snooker ... and gets one immediately! Rob, though, escapes, and the way he cleared last frame, then almost cleared here, speaks volumes about his bottle and temperament.
Williams 2-3 Milkins (50-52)
Lovely work from Rob, who bins the reds, and this is over!
Williams 2-3 Milkins (50-11)
Now then! My SkyGo freezes, but when it returns I see Mark has missed a ball, leaving Rob a decent chance to clinch frame and match! I'll be real, I don't totally back him to seize it because he's got a silly miss in him, but he's played well today so has a chance.
Williams 2-3 Milkins (33-0)
Again, it's Mark in first, and the thing with him is the missed red last frame won't be on his mind in any remote way. I'm not sure there's anyone who's ever played the game with a better temperament than him, and though he'll need to break the pack, he'll have a decent lead when he does.
Williams 2-3 Milkins
Now it's Mark rueing a missed red! Rob goes one up with two to play!
Williams 2-2 Milkins (56-56)
Rob calmly removes balls, and he needs to the pink, colours on their spots.
Williams 2-2 Milkins (56-4)
The split, though, doesn't go well, so Mark plays safe, then when the opportunity presents itself - Robert goes in-off - he nails a trademarked long starter to right corner. That's a ridiculous pot, the blue follows, and he's in among the reds now, gliding a gorgeous oblique one to right-middle; how much will Rob be rueing that missed red at the business end of the last frame?! But what's this?! Mark doesn't fancy one to left-centre, takes it on anyway, misses, and leaves a chance!
Williams 2-2 Milkins (17-0)
Yeah, Robert had his chance - and he might yet get another - but at the start of frame five, Mark gets in, picks at the loose balls as is his wont, and will soon dig into the pack.
Williams 2-2 Milkins
That is going to hurt Robert, a lot. 3-1 and he's favourite, 2-2 and he very much is not.
Williams 1-2 Milkins (28-59)
He's done it again! A poor positional shot on the black leaves Robert a trickier red than expected, but you still expect him to pot it ... but he doesn't! He misses to right corner, and leaves the world!
Williams 1-2 Milkins (22-28)
It's Mark in first in three, but when he breaks the pack off the blue, he sends down a red ... and Rob sends one of his own dead slow to the green bag! If he can register something significant here, the match will be his for the taking, and a lovely shot on the black, which discharges balls from cluster, leaves the frame at his mercy.
Williams 1-2 Milkins
That doesn't last long. Rob, renowned as a potter is doing a really good job of matching - and besting - one of the great safety players in the safety exchanges.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (38-69)
A clever safety from Robert leads to Mark fouling, and when he hits ... the brown saves him! Rob can't get through to pot red in yellow, but another good safety means he soon bins it, and when he runs out of position on the green, Mark returns to the table needing three snookers.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (35-49)
However! A fine safety opens an opportunity for Mark ... but he misses the pot, Rob leaves his attempt on the lip of left corner ... then watches it drop! But a double-kiss off the pink means he's stuck to the final red, and the frame remains in the balance.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (31-35)
Bit by bit, Mark is chipping away at Rob's advantage, a run of 15 eliminating the two side-railed reds and drawing him close. The three other reds are still near black cush, and there aren't many I'd back above Mark to resolve this situation to their advantage.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (16-35)
Again, the safety yields a potting opportunity, but when a cannon leaves nothing on, it's back to baulk. Of the five remaining reds, three are stuck together near black cush and the other two are close to the side.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (1-35)
Mark misses to right-middle - that's eight pots by the wayside now - and Rob sinks a starter then snuggles in tight behind the yellow. Mark escapes though, a few shots later chips a red to right-middle, and though he lands on nothing, the safety facilitates another - to right corner, he catches it gorgeous - then it's in behind the green.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (0-34)
Nice from Rob, who removes balls with precision and looks good to make a frame-winning contribution. But again and out of nowhere, Rob misses, this time a red to right-middle; Mark, though misses one of his own, and is down at 845 pot-success, Rob 87%. Generally speaking, 90 is deemed acceptable.
Williams 1-1 Milkins (0-5)
As I was saying, Mark plays a fantastic safety, off a red and behind the yellow, not tight but with very few options left for Rob, who rolls onto one, leaving a pot to right-middle. Except Mark misses it, Rob drains one to the same bag, and again there are plenty loose reds awaiting his attention.
Williams 1-1 Milkins
A run of 89 and we're all square. Mark is so so so good.
Williams 0-1 Milkins (53-36)
Mark does what Mark does; what we thought he'd do in the last frame - and this is going to be 1-1, no difficult balls left.
Williams 0-1 Milkins (13-36)
Just as he looks in control, Robert goes in-off, and Mark takes the opportunity to get his hand on the table.
Williams 0-1 Milkins (0-13)
Now then. Mark misses to right corner - by plenty - and now Robert can score once more. He'll have to dig into the pack at some point - assuming he's still at the table when it becomes necessary - but there are a fair few loose reds at which he can go.
Williams 0-1 Milkins
The underdog hits the front, but he'll have to play better than he did in that frame to stay there.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (30-63)
This has been a very un-Williams-like frame. He leaves the yellow, Rob sees it away, and that'll see him home.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (30-55)
Here we go! Mark gets a nice angle above the difficult red, caresses it from behind ... and down it goes. With the colours on their spots or close to them, this looks like being end of frame ... but instead it's end of break, Mark unable to get position on the yellow! So he plays a terrific safety, it yields another chance ... and he misses it to the green bag! I didn't see that coming, at all, but he doesn't leave it.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (19-55)
Oh, Robert. Oh mate. He misses a simple pink to right corner - behaviour that pockmarks his career - and must now sit in his seat looking to the heavens as Mark plans his heist. There is, though, a red in the middle of the baulk rail, so clearing up from here will be tricky.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (7-40)
Very quickly, Robert accumulates, and I'd be surprised were he not to secure the frame at this visit.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (7-17)
It's Rob in next, but when he goes into the pack off the blue, though he hits them nicely, he's left with nothing. No matter: he soon glides an acute starter into left-middle - it's a glorious effort - and the way the balls are spread, this is a chance for him to score points - plenty of them.
Williams 0-0 Milkins (7-0)
Robert has changed his life over the last couple of years, winning the Gibraltar Open in 2022 and the Welsh Open this term; Mark J, a three-time world champ, qualified by winning the British. And what a starter he finds, easing from the top rail to right-middle while, in comms, Angles confides that he's got a new shot - a "magic shot" - that Williams showed him earlier and which we'll hopefully see later today. Meantime, though, he jawses a cut-back red along the side cushion ... but gets cover.
We go again!
Bazza speaks
"Bit of a blur really, when you get into that little zone where you keep potting balls," he deadpans. He notes that in a best of seven things can be over very quickly and Luca might've done to him what he did to Luca. Otherwise, he'll eat some food, relax, and get ready for the group final.
Coming up next
Mark J Williams v Robert Milkins
Barry Hawkins beats Luca Brecel 4-0!
A run of 108 seals the deal, and Essex's finest meets either Mark J Williams or Robert Milkins in tonight's group final.
Brecel 0-3 Hawkins (0-100)
Can Bazza finish it with a ton? You bet he can! This is near-perfect stuff, a game that's harder than a diamond spitting through its teeth smoking an Embassy No 1 made to look easy. Brilliant stuff.
Brecel 0-3 Hawkins (0-53)
More extreme competence from Barry, who's got a 97% pot success-rate, having missed just one ball in open play so far today. Luca's barely had a look-in because the onslaught has been relentless, and he'll exit the tournament feeling he's not really been at it.
Brecel 0-3 Hawkins (0-17)
More fantastic behaviour from Bazza, who strokes down another long starter gets onto the black, splits the pack, and looks exceedingly capable of finishing this ere and nar.
Brecel 0-3 Hawkins
Yeah that doesn't last long. Barry is one away, and he's playing beautifully.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins (45-59)
Yup, Barry can't drain the brown, Luca deals with it and the blue, so now needs a snooker on the pink, along with both remaining balls, to steal the frame. Good luck, old mate.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins (36-47)
I said watching his lead evaporate but that's not fair: watching his lead confiscated is more like it because Barry has to pot balls to make it happen and, off the blue, he floats up behind the cushioned red, wobbles it home, and now the only ball standing between him and 3-0 is the brown, marooned on the baulk cushion.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins (36-14)
Luca catches Barry in that nasty corner and he fouls; Barry catches Luca in that nasty corner and, when the Hawk misses the potting opportunity it earns him, Luca has to take on a dead straight, mid-distance diagonal one he'd prefer to ignore, he misses, and is now sat in his chair watching his lead evaporate. The table, though isn't simple and there's a red on the top rail, so there's every chance he returns to it before the frame is over.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins (32-0)
But then he runs out of position, playing safe onto the side rail, and will feel he's in the match. However his decision not to split blue and yellow, near the green bag, costs him ... until he pots another red then, smirking, plays in behind them. Really, he wants to keep the break going, but he can't refuse the opportunity; Barry escapes first go.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins (27-0)
The thing about Luca is that he can seize form from anywhere, and he rams a red down right corner then starts potting balls.
Brecel 0-2 Hawkins
We've been playing less than 22 minutes and Barry leads 2-0; when he misses, Luca doesn't return to the table to get the run of it and his arm going.
Brecel 0-1 Hawkins (0-51)
Luca's escape allows Barry in again, he quickly runs out of position ... so conjures a glorious recovery pot into the heart of right corner, then sends another to left-centre. Bazza is buzzing!
Brecel 0-1 Hawkins (0-27)
Barry pots the broon but not cleanly, doesn't get position, and misses with a plant, leaving nothing. So Luca plays safe, Bazza takes one from centre to right corner - that's lovely - then plays in behind the green.
Brecel 0-1 Hawkins (0-27)
Luca misses a difficult red, Barry despatches a similar one, and off he goes again.
Brecel 0-1 Hawkins
Brilliant Bazza! A total clearance of 128 advises Luca of just what it's going to take to beat him today. Does the world champ fancy it?
Brecel 0-0 Hawkins (0-65)
I strongly fancy Bazza for this one because his bottom level and modal levels are higher than Luca's. Luca has the higher top level but how often does he hit that? Even at the Cruce, he needed Ronnie and Si to collapse out of nowhere so, much as I'd love him to start winning consistently, I just can't see it - for now at least. And as I type, Barry makes the frame safe, a statement made.
Brecel 0-0 Hawkins (0-19)
I'm looking forward to this one; real talk, who isn't? Luca, of course is world champ and one of the flairiest players ever to play our game - or would be, were flairiest a word. Bazza, meanwhile, is one of our finest all-rounders, who's not quite won a biggie - but he's good enough too and probably in the form of his life after failing to qualify for the worlds for the first time since 2005, so. Anyroad, he sends a decent starter to the yellow bag then gets to work.
Our boys baize
And here we go!
Of course
This afternoon's winners meet in this evening's final, Mark Allen having come through from yesterday to reach Friday's last four tie.
For your delectation we have!
Luca Brecel v Barry Hawkins
Mark J Williams v Robert Milkins
Not bad!
Hello there!
And welcome to the Champion of Champions 2023 - day two!
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