Jack Lisowski has secured £150,000 despite losing the Welsh Open final, having won the Home Nations Series bonus. The 34-year-old beat John Higgins in the semi-final with a sensational break in the deciding frame to overtake Mark Allen in the overall standings after his first-round exit.
Victory at the English Open – alongside semi-final appearances in the Scottish and Northern Ireland Open – had placed Allen in pole position to claim the huge sum, which is awarded to the person on top of the player’s winnings across the four home nations tournaments.
However, that was placed in jeopardy when he was surprisingly knocked out at the first stage in north Wales by David Grace with Lisowski only needing to reach the final against Barry Hawkins to take his place. Following the latter’s dramatic semi-final victory, Allen wrote on social media: « What a break, Jack Lisowski. Fair play.
« [I’m] not sure I’m ever gonna win that bonus. [That’s the] fourth time in six years I’ve been second.” Allen then followed it up with: « I cried myself to sleep after tweeting that. »
The effort put in by Lisowski to reach the final was on display early into his clash for the Ray Reardon Trophy with Hawkins flying into a 7-1 lead after two century breaks on Sunday afternoon.
Lisowski attempted to stage a comeback during the evening session and did win four frames, but Hawkins was ultimately too far in front and went on to win 9-5. Lisowski spoke honestly to TNT Sport following his defeat: « I was gone this afternoon. I was poor.
« Barry was by far the better player tonight, and deserved his win. He’s a great guy. I thought he played fantastic today as well. » Hawkins meanwhile, has secured a major title for the first time since 2023 and also claimed £100,000 in prize money for himself.
Speaking after the win, he said: « It means the world really. I have come close to some big titles but am just so relieved. That man over there gave me a scare, once he starts potting it is hard to stop him. When you are 7-1 up its hard as it could be the biggest collapse ever seen.
The ‘Hawk’ was also reminded during his interview that he was persuaded by Mark Selby and others to even play with the 46-year-old revealing he was texted by the former. He said: « I suppose they want a bit of commission now, Mark [Selby] did message me today saying ‘I’ll just take 10%’. I’ll probably just buy them a few drinks. »
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