O'Sullivan added to his victories at the Crucible Theatre in 2001, '04, '08 and last year, and became the first player to successfully defend the title since Stephen Hendry in 1996.
This was arguably O'Sullivan's biggest achievement, though, having spent the past year out of the game to deal with personal issues. He only announced in February that he'd be defending his title.
Only Hendry (seven), Steve Davis and Ray Reardon (both with six) have won snooker's top prize more times than O'Sullivan, who has never lost a final.
The 13th-ranked Hawkins was playing in his first world final.