World No.50, Fergal O’Brien has beaten Barry Hawkins in the second round of the UK Championship in York, with a stunning display of snooker
Fergal O’Brien has been a professional snooker player since 1991, making him one of the eldest players on the tour at 44 years of age. Formerly a British Open champion (1999) and Masters finalist (2001) the Irishman has been in the background of snooker for over ten years due to poor form.
Lately Fergal has shown signs of improvement. Most recently he potted his first competitive 147 at the age of 43, making him the oldest player to make the maximum.
Tonight in his match against Barry Hawkins, the York crowd was treated to a magnificent display of snooker from both players, and by far the best match of the tournament so far.
Fergal O’Brien wouldn’t be a player noted for his break building skills, but tonight he potted 5 centuries in this historical match to beat Barry Hawkins. The Hawk played his part in the match too; Breaks of 74, 59, 95, 83 and 78 would normally be enough to win a match, but not against the 5 centuries from O’Brien.
At 5-5, the Hawk was first in and scored 20 points before breaking down. Fergal O’Brien came and cleared the table with a break of 113 to move into the last 32 of the UK championship.
After potting the final ball, it was all smiles for Fergal as he packed up his cue. The York crowd gave the Irishman a very warm reception tonight. O’Brien is probably one of the nicest players on the circuit and always receives warm welcomes wherever he goes in the world.
Barry Hawkins will be disappointed with the loss tonight, even though he played very well. Hawkins was recently the finalist in last week’s Northern Ireland Trophy, where he lost out of Mark King.
