Barry Hawkins made it four wins on the spin after beating Alan McManus in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open.

Ditton’s Hawkins followed up his recent victories in the Championship League and German Masters qualifying with a polished performance against McManus, as breaks of 104, 77 and 72 booked his place in the last 64.

World No.21 Hawkins has beaten Ryan Day, Hossein Vafaei and Jimmy White in recent weeks and continued to build momentum ahead of the UK Championship under the Marshall Arena lights.

Hawkins, 41, opened up with a fluent visit of 77 to take the lead before veteran McManus, the 1994 Masters champion, levelled in a scrappier second frame.

The Kent player hit back with another half century in the third, however, before opening up daylight between the pair by racking up 69 points in the fourth.

A 73 of his own from McManus reduced the deficit but Hawkins finished with a flourish as a fine 104 booked a date with Wales’ Michael White in the second round.

2013 World Championship finalist Hawkins has been through the wringer in recent years but is showing signs of improvement this season, reaching the last 16 of the English Open as well as round three of the European Masters.

He previously admitted to cutting back on his drinking and the three-time ranking event winner looked as fresh as a daisy in Milton Keynes in extending his impressive run.

Hawkins will be hoping for a positive week at the second Home Nations event of the season as he gears up for a tilt at Triple Crown glory at next week’s UK Championship.

There he will face world No.111 Riley Parsons, who was one of two players – along with amateur Declan Lavery – forced to withdraw from the Northern Ireland Open after testing positive for coronavirus.

Watch the Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport app, and stream on discovery+

• 'The atmosphere is just non-existent'

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