HAWK, Barry Hawkins managed to hold on to a three-frame advantage to lift his third ranking title in Preston at the Guild Hall in Snooker's Ladbrokes World Grand Prix on Sunday - 10 - 7.

Hawkins, 37, continues the trend of the mid-thirty to mid-40 players who are winning trophies galore this season.

Even the runner-up Ryan Day was over 35, 36, and seeking his first world ranking title since turning pro in 1998.

Earlier this season, Ali Carter won the World Open in China at 37.

In fact, five players this season above 35 have lifted trophies.

They are: Marco Fu, who lifted the Scottish Open at 38, now 39.

Mark King, 42, who lifted the Alex Higgins trophy in Northern Ireland, and, of course, Anthony Hamilton, who lifted the German Masters, his first in more than 25 years as a pro.

33 is the magic number

After 13 ranking events this season, the average age of the players winning is 33.

With just six ranking events left, there's every possibility that this trend will continue, as for the past six events there has been a player over thirty picking up a title.

In fact, China's number two, Liang Wenbo was the last person under thirty to have lifted a title, the English Open in Manchester last year.

In fact, there has only been two finals this season where there has been at least one player under-29.

Judd Trump and Liang Wenbo met in Manchester, while, Trump and then 40-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan, now 41, battled it out in Romania in the European Masters with the Juddernaut getting the better of the Rocket in that final.

See Barry Hawkins react to the win in the video below...

Ranking Winners Last Season

After the entire ten ranking events in the 2015/16 season, the average age was DRUM ROLL, 33!

That was helped by the likes of O'Sullivan and Higgins winning three of the ten World ranking titles in that season.

So far, this season, the Rocket and the Wizard of Wishaw have not picked up a World ranking title.

O'Sullivan will be defending his Welsh Open title this week in Cardiff, at the Motorpoint Arena as the Home Nations series comes to its conclusion, with six-times World Champion Ray Reardon expected to pass the Ray Reardon trophy onto another lucky winner.

However, with six more ranking events this season, that average age stat is bound to increase.

There seems no fear of a 20-year-old or under from scooping a ranking event, - Yan Bingtao has come close when he reached the quarter-finals in German Masters in Berlin, the 16-year-old lost to Stuart Bingham, the man responsible for the number of older players lifting titles since his incredible win at the World Championships in 2015 at 38.

Anthony McGill, from Scotland, is the youngest so far to have won a World ranking this season at 25.

The oldest, of course, is Sheriff of Pottingham Anthony Hamilton who won at 45.