Ronnie O'Sullivan claims Masters title beating Ali Carter - but loses one record
Ronnie O'Sullivan was made to work hard in the Masters Snooker final by rival Ali Carter before blowing his opponent away with some accomplished snooker in the final few frames to claim the title.
O'Sullivan, a seven-time world champion, also held a record seven Masters titles going into his final against Carter. He trailed 5-3 after the first session in the best of 19 match, but battled back to draw level at 6-6 and 7-7 before getting his nose in front and getting within a frame of victory with a break of 89 in the 16th frame, finally sealing victory despite some nervy moments at the last.
Despite ultimately failing to convert his early lead into a title, Carter did at least claim one of his opponent's records. By hitting a ninth century break during the tournament at Alexandra Palace, he overtook O'Sullivan's previous record of eight.
Carter and O'Sullivan had previously met in two World Championship finals, with the latter coming out on top in both 2008 and 2012 with comfortable victories. This time Carter ran his opponent much closer, and at 7-7 will have felt he was very much in contention, only for his nemesis to come out on top once more and secure a record-extending 23rd triple crown title.
Before the final, O'Sullivan took aim at rival Carter. The 44-year-old had only reached the Masters showpiece once before, losing to Stuart Bingham in 2020, and had only won one of his previous 19 meetings with O'Sullivan.
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"I think he's got more of a problem with me than I have with him," The Rocket told Discovery+. "He's got something against me. Maybe it's because I've got a massive trophy cabinet full of trophies."
O'Sullivan also laid down the gauntlet to the younger generation earlier on after his semi-final victory over Shaun Murphy. After the final, though, he appeared surprised to have beaten Carter.
What did you make of O'Sullivan's and Carter's performances? Have your say in the comments section
Ronnie O'Sullivan dug deep for his comeback win (AFP via Getty Images)"I don't know how i've won this tournament, to be honest," he said after victory was sealed. "I've tried to just play with a bit of freedom, and tonight I've just thought 'try to keep Ali honest, if he's going to win it he's going to have to scrape me off the table'.
"I just wanted to see if he had it again, [thinking] let's see if he can get over the line, and that was my whole mindset. I wasn't even worried about frames, score, just [wanted to] keep playing and see what happens.
"Ali didn't play great tonight - he played better this afternoon but tonight he left me off the hook a few times. He was aggressive today, but tonight he didn't take on some pots I thought he might have done and just gave me a little bit of breathing space, and I just did what I could and tried to make the most of it."
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