Kyren Wilson denies Barry Hawkins in deciding frame of classic German Masters final

Kyren Wilson edged out Barry Hawkins 10-9 in a brilliant German Masters final which engrossed the crowd beyond midnight in Berlin.

The world champion continues the stunning few months he has enjoyed which started with Crucible glory in May.

Since then he has triumphed at the Xi’an Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Open and now the German Masters, becoming a nine-time ranking event winner.

The contest with Hawkins was a brilliant one which remained tight throughout, despite a bright start from Wilson which saw him win the first two frames with breaks of 67 and 62.

The Hawk won four of the next five but the Warrior made the first century of the match (128) to take the game to 4-4, before Hawkins knocked in a 102 to end the afternoon session ahead.

Wilson came back in the evening at the Tempodrom and looked impressive as he won three of the first four frames, including breaks of 93 and 125.

Hawkins was not easy to brush aside, though, and he stayed in touch, knocking in his second ton as the game reached 9-9 and a decider.

After a re-rack, Wilson was quickly in thanks to a missed red to middle from Hawkins and made 59 before missing a plant to keep the frame alive.

There was great drama as Hawkins immediately potted a red and went in-off, Wilson returned and was not put off by his last miss, knocking in a plant which was match ball.

For Hawkins it is the second final of the season after making it to the UK Championship showpiece, but it is the second time he has finished runner-up.

‘We both could have probably played better, but I felt like it was a really good dramatic final,’ said Wilson.

Hawkins added: ‘I felt like I was just holding onto Kyren all day, I felt like he was playing better than me, he was the stronger player.

‘In the end at 9-9 it’s anybody’s. I’ve had a great week, great crowd, great support, another good tournament so onwards and upwards. It’s been a good season so far. It’s a shame I didn’t get the win but Kyren deserved the win, he played better than I did.’

In a message to the packed Tempodrom crowd, Wilson said: ‘To reiterate what Barry said, thank you so much to everyone, you made that such an amazing atmosphere to play in.’