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‘Can we have a day off and play it Monday?’ – Barry Hawkins jokes after UK Championship semi ends 12 hours before final
Hawkins has claimed he was lucky to make the final
BARRY HAWKINS has joked that he needs a day off after his UK Championship semi-final pressed on into the early hours.
Hawkins saw his 6-5 victory over Mark Allen stretch until 12:57am, finishing just 12 hours before today's final.
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Hawkins will take on Judd Trump in the final at 1pm at York Barbican this afternoon, but he's hoping he could have a little more rest before the pair take to the table.
Speaking after his win, he joked: "Can we have the day off tomorrow and play it Monday?"
Hawkins has toppled Ronnie O'Sullivan, David Gilbert, Shaun Murphy and Allen to earn his spot in the final.
But the 45-year-old reckons that he's ridden his luck a bit to make it all the way to the last pair.
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He told The Sun: "I thank my lucky stars really. Someone's looking down on me this week.
"I should have been out against Dave [Gilbert] and I probably should have been out tonight [against Allen] really.
"I've rode my luck this week, but I'll take it, that's for sure."
Hawkins will face Trump in a major final for the first time since the pair met in the 2023 European Masters.
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The Hawk came out on top that day, beating world number one Trump 9-6 in Germany.
But he's not letting that go to his head, explaining that he reckons Trump may have even forgotten about it by now.
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He said: "Tomorrow is a different day I think. And Judd will have long forgotten about that.
"He's won about 10 tournaments since then so that'll be a distant memory for him.
"He'll just be concentrating on playing well just like I will be really."
One thing Trump will have is an extra eight hours of rest with his semi-final win over Kyren Wilson finishing at a respectable 4:41pm yesterday.
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