Welsh Open Champion Barry Hawkins fought back tears as he dedicated his tournament win to two friends who he has recently lost. He also sent a dedication to his father who is ‘going through a hard time’.

Hawkins took a commanding lead in Sunday’s final against Jack Lisowski, coming out of the afternoon session 7-1 ahead in a best-of-17 encounter. He did, however, face somewhat of a comeback from his opponent, who won the first three frames of the evening session, including a tight 11th frame full of safety exchanges.

But the 46-year-old was able to curtail the comeback, taking two of the next three frames to seal his victory 9-5. The win is the player’s first major tournament victory since 2023.

Speaking after the match, Hawkins took the chance to send an emotional message at the end of his interview.

“One more thing, I just want to dedicate this win to a couple of people that we’ve lost,” he said, clearly emotional. “Les Church who we lost a couple of years ago, and we lost a good friend Izzy in October, so it’s dedicated to them really.

“And to my dad who’s struggling as well really, he’s going through a hard time at the moment. Hopefully this picks up his spirits and gives him something to fight for, so this one’s for you dad.”

Later in the TNT Sport studio, Hawkins explained further: “I got choked, I knew I would, my friend Marcel’s here now, he lost his wife in October, he’s my wife’s best friend and we done so much together – so young, 47, two young kids, so he’s been going through hell, so it’s a tough one you know.”

The Welsh Open victory will mean that Hawkins goes into the World Championships in Sheffield full of confidence. He also sent thanks to four-time world champion Mark Selby, along with Neil Robertson, for persuading him to take part in the tournament.

“Mark did text me and said I’ll just have 10% (commission), that’s what he said. I’ll buy them a few drinks I’m sure.

“I was that close to pulling out, they said, ‘just give it another couple of hours, take some painkillers,’ and thankfully it started easing up as I was playing. Thank god I stayed.”

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