Ronnie O’Sullivan was sent crashing out of the UK Championship at the first hurdle by Kent’s Barry Hawkins.

O’Sullivan made two centuries in the match, but was no match for Hawkins who dominated after the interval to claim his first win over O’Sullivan since the 2016 World Championship. 

O’Sullivan has been a fleeting visitor to the table this term. He was beaten in the first round of the Champion of Champions earlier in November, and fell at the first hurdle again as Hawkins rallied from 4-2 down to claim victory over the eight-time UK champion.

The ‘Rocket’ started well with a break of 128, and crafted another century in the fourth, but found Hawkins in an obdurate mood as the world No. 20 claimed his first win over O’Sullivan since the World Championship of 2016 – and kept his hopes of Masters qualification alive.

O’Sullivan arrived in York on the back of an early exit at the Champion of Champions, but showed there were no signs of rust as his opening shot of the event was a stunning long red – and it set him up for a total clearance of 128.

There was a surprise safety error from O’Sullivan in the second and Hawkins steadied any nerves with a run of 57. An O’Sullivan counter failed to materialise, as Hawkins drew level.

It was Hawkins’ turn to make an error in the third, and O’Sullivan crafted 42 before a split of the cluster failed to work out. He retreated for cover and played a string of excellent safety shots before getting the chance to restore his lead.

Both players were guilty of errors in the fourth, with the telling mistake coming from Hawkins, who could ill afford them against a player he had not beaten since 2016. He was made to pay a price for his failure to knock in a red with the rest as O’Sullivan made a break of 114, the 1277th century of his career, as confirmed by Dave Hendon in the Eurosport commentary box, to take a 3-1 lead into the interval.

The frame after the resumption saw a stand-off, but it tipped Hawkins’ way when O’Sullivan missed a long red by some distance.

It was an alarming miss in the fifth, but O’Sullivan shrugged it off by knocking in a similar red in the sixth – albeit with a slight angle to work with. He then stroked in a glorious red to the bottom right with the white tight on the side rail, and it set up a break of 69 to restore a two-frame cushion.

O’Sullivan’s desire was evidenced by a slap of his cue in frustration when he missed a tough red to the left middle in the seventh, and Hawkins took the frame with a 73 to keep himself in the hunt.

Hawkins, who had the added incentive of knowing a deep run at the Barbican Centre was required to stand any chance of qualifying for The Masters, found a superb pot at the start of the eighth and he picked off a break of 75 to draw level.

Momentum was with Hawkins, and he kept his opponent in his seat once again in the ninth. A break of 88 took Hawkins to the front for the first time in the contest, and within one frame of victory.

Having seen Xiao Guodong rally from behind to beat him at the Champion of Champions, the question was asked of O’Sullivan. 

For the second match in a row, he did not have an answer. O’Sullivan went for a tough pot in the 10th but it failed to drop and it left an inviting table for Hawkins.

It was the sort of chance he would gobble up in routine circumstances. To beat O’Sullivan at the UK Championship was anything but routine, but he held himself together superbly with a break of 60. The run of 60 did not get Hawkins over the line, and O’Sullivan snapped a run of 50 minutes without potting a ball when sinking a long red.

He missed a tough red two balls later, and Hawkins took his chance when knocking in a red with the rest – after which O’Sullivan offered a fist bump by way of concession as Hawkins claimed his first win over the 23-time major champion in eight years.