In September 2018, Hawkins reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, an invitational tournament, after winning against Stephen Maguire, Mark Williams, and Ding Junhui, and set up a final with the defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. After leading 6–4 at the end of the morning session, Hawkins eventually lost 11–9. In December, Hawkins was knocked out of the UK Championship in the round of last 16 after losing 6–2 to Kyren Wilson. At the Masters, Hawkins advanced to the quarter final after beating Shaun Murphy 6–2 in the first round, but he was defeated by Neil Robertson in the next round, losing 6–3. In May 2019, Hawkins reached the second round of the World Snooker Championship after thrashing Li Hang 10–1 in the first round, he faced Kyren Wilson next. It was a high quality match, two players produced a total of 9 centuries during the match, but after leading 4–0, 6–2, and 9–5, Hawkins eventually lost 13–11.