A beefed-up Barry Hawkins landed a crushing knockout blow on player of the season Mark Allen at the Masters.
World No.5 Allen, 36, arrived at the Masters as one of the title favourites after winning the UK Championship and defending his home Northern Ireland Open title.
But a ruthless Hawkins, 43, a two-time Masters finalist including last year, hardly allowed Allen a sight of a red as he inflicted a whitewash 6-0 defeat at Alexandra Palace.
And afterwards ‘The Hawk’ admitted that he is fighting fit after putting himself through a brutal and punishing regime in the gym to extend his career.
Hawkins said: “I have got right into body-pump…at my age! And I am loving it, it makes me feel good and I am getting to the gym two or three times a week.
“There is a long way to go to get proper toned up but I will keep at it. It’s all weights and squats, and for all parts of your body. By the end of a session I am broken, just a wet mess.
“After the first one I couldn’t move for two days and you can’t overdo it or you can’t even practice. But I am more used to it now.
“And if I look after myself like other players including Ronnie are, there is no reason I can’t go on for a few more years and win another big title.
“The result flatters me a bit – and my safety won me the match really. I created chances that way and kept Mark under pressure and on the back foot.
“And I executed the shots well, didn’t do much wrong, and didn’t make many errors. I felt good out there, and it feels like my game is in good shape too.
“For once I didn’t take much time off over Christmas, and practised bar a couple of days off. I knew this was coming up and this is not a place where you want to be underprepared.
“It is a phenomenal, amazing atmosphere here and by winning you earn yourself another of those experiences. And at my stage of the career, you don’t know how many more there will be.
Allen has now suffered five first-round exits in a row since he won the Masters in 2018.
He said: “I didn’t see a ball for a lot of that match. There were a couple of chances, but along with a match against John Higgins it was the best safety I have seen as a pro – phenomenal.
“So it’s hard to be too harsh on yourself when you haven’t played that badly, however disappointed you are. It’s not often I get whitewashed, that shows how well he played.”
