Barry Hawkins admits that missed opportunities cost him dearly as he narrowly failed to reach the English Open final.

Hawkins had found his form at EventCity, Manchester last week after a slow start to the season but couldn’t get past Judd Trump in the last four.

The Ditton potter made a break of 64 to win the opening frame and a classy 117 in the fifth but Trump clinched the rest as he claimed a 6-2 victory before losing to China's Liang Wenbo in Sunday's final.

Hawkins was in the balls first on plenty of other occasions but consistently failed to post frame-winning breaks and acknowledged that his inability to convert those chances was a source of irritation.

“It was a bit frustrating because I felt I had ample opportunities but kept breaking down on 40 or 50,” he said.

“I’m just a bit gutted because I didn’t perform. I kept losing the white, losing position and making it hard for myself. It’s fractions but it makes a big difference. I was feeling good once I got it back to 3-2. I thought if I could get going, I really fancied winning.”

Hawkins had failed to get beyond the third round of any event this term but in Manchester he began to produce the sort of form that saw him ranked as world No.4 this time last year.

And with a busy period of tournaments before the end of the year, he is adamant there is now plenty to build on.

“I can’t be too disappointed,” he said. “That wasn’t a great performance but overall it has been a good tournament for me and I’ve played pretty solidly.

“If I can keep doing what I’m doing and practising hard then hopefully the results will come.”

The English Open was LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.