Trump was clinical in his win over Hawkins, who scored only 59 points in the first five frames – the 45-year-old’s cause not helped by knocking in a red when attempting to disturb the pack while potting the blue in the opening frame.
It was a foul that Hawkins repeated in frame four, by which time Trump was in full control of the match.
Trump, who won the Masters in 2019 and 2023, told BBC Two: “The first frame kind of turned the whole game. He was a bit unlucky. I didn’t see if it was a plant, but a couple of times he knocked a ball in.
“You have to be so careful because, I’m not exaggerating, that just turns the match. If he gets in and makes a break, then he settles down and I miss an easy ball in the next frame, it’s 2-0 or 3-0 the other way.
“The first frame is so important. Whenever I win that first frame I seem to be able to gain momentum. Little things like that can change the game.”
Former world champion John Parrott, working as a BBC pundit, said: “It was a very dominant display – the display of somebody who thinks he’s number one in the world.
“The other thing is there was very little petrol used up. It was a nice 6-1 – you can expect to come here and have a 6-4 or 6-5 and go through the mill a little bit, but [there was] none of that at all. That bodes well for the rest of the event.”
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