Asked whether it was a major setback before the Crucible, O'Sullivan shrugged: "Who knows?"

He gave monosyllabic answers to the rest of the questions before beginning the long trip back home to Essex.

Hawkins, 22, said: "It's got to be the best win of my career.

"When I was 4-2 up I expected him to come out all guns blazing. But he didn't and you've got to try and put it out of your mind that he wasn't playing well.

"Funnily enough when Ronnie started to miss I started to miss a few as well and it's hard to get out of that habit."

World number 85 Hawkins is now guaranteed £9,600 and a match against Dave Harold or Bradley Jones.

His win against O'Sullivan was his sixth of the competition, having achieved four victories in qualifying and then ousting Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the first round proper.

But while Hawkins remains very much an unknown he has already shown good form this season

In October he defeated James Wattana, Fu and Fergal O'Brien before losing 5-4 to Joe Swail in the quarter-finals of the LG Cup at Preston.

There were early signs O'Sullivan was not in the mood for a fight as he scored only eight points in the opening frame and then conceded the second with sufficient points available to draw level.

He made a break of 53 to open his account in frame three and knocked in 65 to stay in touch at 3-2.

But Hawkins made a superb 93 break to reopen his two-frame advantage and whitewashed the world title-holder 61-0 in the eighth after O'Sullivan had thrown himself a lifeline in the seventh.