But after his first season covering Monday Night Football (having commented on the title showdown between Newcastle and Man United) Hawthorne worked alongside Alan Brazil and commentated on some memorable play off finals such as Charlton v Sunderland from 1998 and Manchester City v Gillingham from 1999. He was moved back to covering Monday Night Football and some Saturday games. He has commentated on League Cup Finals and FA Cup matches. He commentates on all of the Republic of Ireland's matches. In 2003, when Sky gained coverage of Champions League football live, Hawthorne added this tournament to the growing list of tournaments he has commentated on. In 2005, he commentated on the famous Liverpool v AC Milan Champions League Final, as Sky's lead commentator Martin Tyler was covering England. In 2019, Hawthorne commentated over the 2019 EFL Cup Final between Manchester City and Chelsea alongside Alan Smith. Usual commentator Martin Tyler had been commentating the Manchester United-Liverpool clash hours before.