Barry Hawkins is a former Shanghai Masters finalist and he will be hoping to enjoy another deep run this year, but first he must get past Lei Peifan in the opening round on Monday.
The Hawk reached the final in 2018, losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan 11-9, and he comes into his opening event of the season off the back of a strong end to last term, after following up a title win at the Welsh Open with runs to the quarter-finals of both the Tour Championship and World Championship.
Lei has struggled to kick on since his maiden ranking event success at the Scottish Open in 2024 and he was beaten at this stage of the Shanghai Masters last season, going down 6-3 to fellow Chinese player Xiao Guodong.
The winner of this first-round showdown will face a high-profile clash with world number one Judd Trump in the last 16.
Barry Hawkins v Lei Peifan Tips Summary
Best Bet - Barry Hawkins -2.5 @ 11/10
Alternative Bet - Under 0.5 centuries @ 5/2
Barry Hawkins v Lei Peifan Prediction
Best Bet: Barry Hawkins -2.5 @ 11/10
It was a strong end to last season for Hawkins, who claimed his first ranking title since 2023 with victory over Jack Lisowski in the Welsh Open final and followed it up with his best showing at the Crucible for eight years.
He beat Matthew Stevens and Mark Williams on his way through to the quarter-finals, where he was edged out by Mark Allen.
The 47-year-old has not been seen since his 13-11 loss to Allen but he will expect to hit the ground running against Lei, who has not even taken a frame off Hawkins in their two previous meetings.
Their first head-to-head ended in a 4-0 victory for the Hawk at the 2020 English Open and he followed that up two years later with a 3-0 success in the group stage of the Championship League.
While those meetings both came a while ago, Lei will be wary of facing Hawkins, especially as he comes into this year's Shanghai Masters off the back of failing to qualify for the upcoming China and Wuhan Opens.
Lei also ended last season on a sour note, as despite making it to the main draw of the World Championship for just the second time, he was thumped 10-2 by Wu Yize in his opening match, albeit Wu then went on to lift the trophy.
Since winning the Scottish Open in 2024, Lei has failed to make it beyond the third round of a ranking event and this could be another early exit for the 23-year-old, with Hawkins fancied to win and cover the handicap.
Alternative Bet: Under 0.5 centuries @ 5/2
Hawkins is a solid break builder but perhaps does not produce the same heavy scoring as some of his rivals, with his tally of 29 centuries last season being bettered by 16 players.
The Hawk may also not be at his fluent best ahead of his first match of the season, meaning centuries may be at a premium as Lei only managed 15 himself during 2025/26.
In their two previous meetings, neither player has recorded a century, with Hawkins' highest break being 76 and Lei only producing one knock higher than 50 in a frame he still went on to lose.
This is a match that Hawkins can win comfortably but over a best-of-11 frame format, there may not be much scope for a century to be scored.
Barry Hawkins v Lei Peifan H2H Record & Stats
Barry Hawkins | 2 |
Lei Peifan | 0 |
Key Match Stats
- Barry Hawkins is a former Shanghai Masters finalist, losing out to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2018 showpiece
- The Hawk has won both his previous meetings with Lei Peifan without even dropping a frame
- Since winning the Scottish Open in 2024, Lei has not gone beyond the third round of a ranking event
- Lei has never made it beyond the first round of the Shanghai Masters
- Hawkins claimed his fifth ranking event title at last season's Welsh Open
- The winner of this match will take on world number one Judd Trump in the last 16
Read more snooker betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
