Kyren Wilson Calls German Masters Victory Over Barry Hawkins a ‘Fitting’ Tribute to Former Manager Brandon Parker
Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins played the first German Masters to be decided on the final frame on Sunday night in Berlin, with Wilson winning the tournament for the second time in his career. Wilson said afterwards that the victory was a particularly meaningful one as the trophy for the competition is named after his late manager Brandon Parker.
Kyren Wilson said he was “really pleased” to win the German Masters final against Barry Hawkins on Sunday night in Berlin, paying tribute to former manager Brandon Parker.
The world champion secured the ranking title to go some way to make up for the disappointment of his Masters final defeat against Shaun Murphy.
The opening stages were balanced as they fought to four frames all in their best-of-19 match-up in Berlin.
In the opening exchanges of the ninth frame, Wilson needed the rest to take on a red close to the pack, and his powerful shot rattled in the jaws and left just that red open as it missed the others.
Hawkins attempted his own effort with the rest, but missed what looked to be an easier opportunity. However, he was given the chance to build a serious break, and a fine century took him 5-4 ahead at the end of the first session.
Wilson levelled things after the restart as there was little to separate the pair. However, following the opening frame, Wilson appeared to have an issue with the tip of his cue.
That did not prevent him from compiling an excellent 93 break to go ahead in the following frame, but he failed to hold his nerve in the 12th as Hawkins stole in late to go neck and neck once more when Wilson overcut a pink.
Wilson retook the lead when he hit his second century of the match in the 13th, but once again he was reeled in by Hawkins with a second ton of the contest of his own in the 14th.
The contest continued to see-saw but an outstanding break of 61 from Hawkins took the scores to 8-8, but a four-cushion red from Wilson was the difference as he moved a frame from victory, only for Hawkins to scrap back to force a decider.
The telling moment in the decider came when Hawkins made a mess of a safety, catching a red much too thick and seeing the white crash into the cluster. It did not look an easy table, but Wilson made 59 and held off Hawkins to secure the title.
Speaking after the win, Wilson paid tribute to Hawkins, as well as Parker, who managed both finalists.
“I felt like we both could have played better,” Wilson said on Eurosport. “But I felt it was a really good, dramatic final. It had a bit of everything, a couple of misses, a couple of really good breaks.
“Barry is a fantastic competitor, he was unlucky to go in-off [in the final frame when attempting a comeback]. I just had to hold myself together, pot a couple of big balls, just to get over the line.
“I mentioned it at the start of the week: the trophy is named after both of our previous manager, Brandon Parker. I felt whoever was going to win today, it was going to be really fitting, because he worked with both of us. Really pleased I managed to win it now it’s got his name on it.”
Wilson explained the problem with his cue, adding: “When I played [a] red, my cue tinged, and I’ve had the problem at the World Championship before.
“I felt if I tightened it would be OK, but sometimes it became loose. It served me right for being rubbish with my positional play.
“I just had to put it out of my mind. Playing against such a class player as Barry, you can’t allow any negative thoughts to come into your head. Just managed to stay positive and get the job done.”
