Snooker

War of words between O'Sullivan and Carter continues.

Ronnie O'Sullivan slams "f***ing nightmare" Ali Carter in scathing attack on bitter rival

Ronnie O'Sullivan has launched a withering attack on bitter rival Ali Carter, demanding the beaten Masters finalist "sort his f***ing life out" in an extraordinary press conference.

Speaking after his 10-7 victory over Carter in Sunday's showpiece, O'Sullivan unleashed an expletive-laden tirade which is set to land him in hot water with snooker chiefs, including brandishing his middle finger.

The 48-year-old defied his age to win a record-extending eighth Masters crown as he came from 6-3 down to see off Carter at Alexandra Palace.

Carter slammed some members of the crowd at Ally Pally as "morons", and also alleged O'Sullivan had "snotted on the floor" during the match.

“He needs to sort his f***ing life out,” blasted O'Sullivan. "I’m not going to skirt around it anymore, tip-toeing on egg shells around someone like that. He’s a f***ing nightmare. Playing snooker against someone like that is a nightmare.

“He’s not a nice person. It’s not a nice vibe he leaves around the table. I’ve said my piece, I don’t give a s**t. I’ve said it now, done. You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like. He’s got issues.

"F***ing why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a f**k, I don’t give a f**k about any of these snooker players, any of them.

“The more he brings it on, the more I f***ing punish him every time. He’s just digging a grave for himself. I don’t give a f**k. That’s it, I’ve said my piece.”

O'Sullivan and Carter have clashed regularly over the course of their careers, most notably at the Crucible in 2018. The duo barged into one another during their World Championship clash, which ended in a rare victory for Carter against his adversary.

Tempers also flared during Sunday's match, as Carter made his frustrations known at members of the crowd who were calling out while he was down on a shot.

O’Sullivan added: “He’s got beef with me. He’s got issues, he’s got to sort his life out, he’s got to see a counsellor or something. He’s got to deal with that because that’s no good. He’s got to sort it out, because I haven’t spoken to him for 20 years.

“I played with him when he was a kid and shared a lot of stuff with him. For him to come out and try to trash talk me like that, do you know what? He can have one of them [middle finger], he can sit on it as far as I’m concerned.”

O'Sullivan's win means he has the chance to triumph in all three of snooker's Triple Crown events in the same season for the first time in his career when the World Championship takes place in the spring.

Glory in Sheffield would also take the Rocket, widely recognised as the sport's greatest ever player, to eight world titles, surpassing the record of seven he currently holds alongside Stephen Hendry.

After Sunday's clash, Carter grumbled: "There were a couple of things that happened out there that go unnoticed. Well, they don’t go unnoticed but anyone with an eyesight or a brain can see what’s going on.

“It’s disgusting quite frankly. No-one wants to say anything, do they? [Ronnie] snotting all over the floor and all that. I mean it’s outrageous behaviour from a top professional. If it gets swept under the carpet then for me, it’s not good.

“And there were some morons in the crowd. It’s unbelievable really. It is hard enough to beat him, but when you have people shouting on your shot and saying stupid things at important times. My head wanted to come off.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/snooker/ronnie-osullivan-ali-carter-masters-31886980

Mark Allen has become the last person to qualify for the second round of the Grand Prix, which leaves us with this as a draw;

Judd Trump v Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby v Ali Carter
Cao Yupeng v Shaun Murphy
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Williams
Zhang Anda v Mark Allen
Noppon Saengkham v Ding Junhui
Tom Ford v Gary Wilson
Zhou Yuelong v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Quarter finals are confirmed with Zhang Anda defeating Mark Allen 4-2.

And they are;

Judd Trump v Mark Selby
Cao Yupeng v Mark Williams
Zhang Anda v Ding Junhui
Gary Wilson v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Gotta say the crowd numbers haven't been great for this event so far. Hopefully they start picking up over the weekend as we get to the business end of the Grand Prix.

Quarter finals are confirmed with Zhang Anda defeating Mark Allen 4-2.

And they are;

Judd Trump v Mark Selby
Cao Yupeng v Mark Williams
Zhang Anda v Ding Junhui
Gary Wilson v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Gotta say the crowd numbers haven't been great for this event so far. Hopefully they start picking up over the weekend as we get to the business end of the Grand Prix.

Was just saying to my missus yesterday that the crowd looked quite sparse.

Was just saying to my missus yesterday that the crowd looked quite sparse.

I don't know if Leicester has been hit by the snow like most of us have, which play a part. Obviously it being the middle of January doesn't help, when most people are skint and it being the start of the working week.

But yeah, the numbers have been shocking - especially coming off the back of World Snooker boasting about increase in viewing figures on the Masters.

Still got the possibility of a Trump/O'Sullivan final, which would sell out any arena around the country (you'd expect anyway)

They’ve got a tournament booked for Saudi Arabia in March.

They’ve got a tournament booked for Saudi Arabia in March.

Not content with their failed attempt to hijack our national game they now turn to snooker. Though not content enough with snooker that they can't resist changing it by adding a new "Golden Ball" with 20 points....FFS, If it ain't broke etc. etc.
You would think it might have crossed the $audi $ports ministers mind that perhaps they're be better served developing the sports their culture has
a heritage of engaging in....like, and I don't mean this as disrespectful... camel racing.

They’ve got a tournament booked for Saudi Arabia in March.

Just read about this and the 20 point golden ball.

Can't get my head around how that event works.

As Long Chops said if it ain't broke. Snooker is such a simple game in essence, even though deadly hard to master, and gimmicks like this don't have a place in the sport for me.

Just read about this and the 20 point golden ball.

Can't get my head around how that event works.

As Long Chops said if it ain't broke. Snooker is such a simple game in essence, even though deadly hard to master, and gimmicks like this don't have a place in the sport for me.

I actually don't mind the golden ball idea.

I've said with other variations that they already have on tour that there is a place for one tournament like that. Things like the Shootout or six red World Championships or mixed doubles are a welcome addition. So I'm prepared to give the golden ball thing a fair crack of the whip.

It'll be interesting to see which players become vocal about this. And I think a lot of that will boil down to which ten players get selected and which ones miss out on the money.

Semi final draw complete;

Judd Trump v Cao Yupeng
Ding Junhui v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Judd Trump eventually gets over the line 6-2. Was made to sweat more than he need be.

O'Sullivan v Ding tomorrow before the final on Sunday.

Ronnie in sensational form tonight. Such a joy to watch.

Ronnie in sensational form tonight. Such a joy to watch.

Should be a great final tomorrow

Nobody lives with him in that zone

Damn. Gutted to have missed what sounded like an absolute masterclass. Any way of getting highlights?

Damn. Gutted to have missed what sounded like an absolute masterclass. Any way of getting highlights?

Might be on ITVX somewhere

Four centuries in the six frames he won.

Was the best Ronnie has played for some time from start to finish. It was bits and bobs like he has been in recent matches, it was quality for the entire match. And now we've got another final between Trump and O'Sullivan.

Trump wins the opening frame, needing just one chance to do so.

1-0 Trump.

Second frame wasn't as clinical from Judd, as he needed a couple of chances to seal it but got those chances with O'Sullivan playing poor safety and missing a relatively easy black into the middle.

2-0 Trump.

Judd got in first in the third frame but made a bit of a hash of a really good chance and left Ronnie in to finally get going. Cannon goes wrong for Ronnie followed by going in-off on the following safety shot which leaves Trump another chance with a long red, which he duly knocks in and clears the table to go three in front.

3-0 Trump.

Clean sweep for Trump in the opening mini-session. Got O'Sullivan in a snooker and Ronnie kept trying the two cushion glancing escape back up the table but missing the reds, eventually he left Judd a free ball who took the chance to take the frame.

4-0 Trump at the mid-session interval.

Finally a frame on the board for The Rocket. Both players had chances but neither looked all that fluent in the frame and both made very careless mistakes. Ultimately though, Ronnie won the frame and gets his final underway.

4-1 Trump.

The comeback continues and like the previous frame, both players had chances but missed shots they'd normally knock in. O'Sullivan won't care though because he's won back-to-back frames and got the defecit down to two.

4-2 Trump.