Barry Hawkins admits an arduous tournament finally caught up with him after his quest for a maiden World Snooker Championship title ended at the semi-final stage in Sheffield.

The Ditton potter was on the brink heading into Saturday afternoon’s final session trailing 16-8, and opponent Shaun Murphy swiftly wrapped up a 17-9win.

Hawkins did show his trademark grit to make a 103 break in frame 25 but Murphy’s run of 83 sealed the deal in the next.

The world No.5 required final-frame deciders to see off Matt Selt and Neil Robertson as well as grinding out a 13-11 win over Mark Allen en route to the last four.

Those wars appeared to take their toll as 2005 world champion Murphy raced into a 14-3 lead at one stage, although Hawkins believes that even at his best he would have struggled to live with his opponent.

“Shaun was phenomenal for the first couple of sessions – he put so much pressure on my safety and then he was clearing up at every opportunity,” explained Hawkins.

“He was playing some of the best snooker I have seen – his long potting was a joke and he completely outplayed me.

“A few people were saying I was a bit hungover from the Neil Robertson match but it’s the semi-final of the World Championship.

“It doesn’t matter how tired you are, you’ve got to be able to focus. Obviously I was tired but you have to expect that – it’s a long old two weeks.

“I just didn’t deal with it as well as I should have and maybe that affected me.”

The match was Hawkins’ third semi-final appearance at the Crucible Theatre in as many years, but his run to the last-four belies a disappointing season, with a number of early exits.

Reaching the quarter-finals of last month’s China Open did mark something of a return to form for the 36-year-old and he concedes it’s a case of mixed emotions after his displays in Sheffield.

“I’m really pleased with my attitude over the last few months because I really struggled in the middle part of the season,” added Hawkins.

“I’m pleased with myself the way I got my motivation back and played with the right attitude.

“I’ve had some good runs here at the Crucible over the last few years but you don’t think about that when you’re out there, you want to go on and win it.

“I probably would have taken reaching the semi-finals before the tournament but once you’re in the semis, you want to go on and win it.

“So I’m a little bit disappointed although I have to take the positives.”

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