“I felt unhealthy for Barry, I simply dragged him right down to my stage. It is a humorous outdated recreation.

“I did not really feel any stress in any respect to be sincere, possibly that is why I performed like I did. I believe you want that stress generally to get you motivated.”

O’Sullivan received the opening body with an 88 break, however Hawkins, twice a overwhelmed Masters finalist, replied with runs of 74, 56 and 47 to steer 3-2 shortly after the interval.

Nevertheless, the left-hander missed a string of excellent possibilities to increase his lead additional and O’Sullivan, who has not received the title for seven years, pounced in typical predatory style to progress.

Wonderful breaks of 77 and 60 allowed him to shut out the match in fashion as he moved inside two wins of the £250,000 first prize.

“That is probably the most terrible customary of snooker,” added O’Sullivan. “I simply stated to Barry on the finish: ‘Sorry mate.’

“I’ve simply bought this capacity with sure gamers the place if I play unhealthy, then they play even worse.

“A number of the different guys will punish me, however I’ve simply had all of it via my life.”

Hawkins was hammered 10-1 by O’Sullivan when the pair met within the 2017 Masters remaining and he had not beat him because the 2016 World Championship in Sheffield.

His document of simply three wins from 20 conferences between the pair did not bode properly – and so it proved as O’Sullivan, on no account at his greatest, registered yet one more victory.

“I let him [Ronnie] off the hook – I had sufficient possibilities,” stated Hawkins.

“For some motive your thoughts wanders once you play Ronnie. I’ve bought no complaints.”