Top snooker star ends 5-year wait for victory at the Crucible

Englishman Barry Hawkins ended his five-year streak of defeats at the Crucible in the first round of the World Snooker Championship 2026. Hawkins defeated Matthew Stevens of Wales convincingly with a 10-4 scoreline to secure his place in the last 16.

The 46-year old is the third seeded player to make his way into the second round, as reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong and Mark Allen have also made it through.

- The seeded players are under a lot of pressure, as the qualifiers come into the tournament sharp and hungry. I've had my fair share of early exits here, so it feels good to still be in the running, Hawkins told WST after the match.

Hawkins was known in the 2010's as somewhat of a Crucible specialist. He even made the final in 2013, which was followed by an extremely respectable four consecutive semi-finalist finishes. However, the last couple of years haven't been so kind: in 2023 he missed the tournament entirely, while three first round exits probably didn't bring a smile either.

- Yesterday neither of us really shined, but I felt like I was getting there by the end. Now I'll go home for a few days and try to return fresh, because I still need to step up a lot, Hawkins assessed his situation.

In the next round Hawkins will face one of Mark Williams or Antoni Kowalski. Those two finish their first round match today in the late session, where Williams holds a 6-3 lead.

Also check out: Snooker World Championship: Mark Allen uses beers, burgers and bets to turn around and win first round clash

Below is the schedule, scores and results for the 1st round of the Snooker World Championship.






Source: WST