14 January 2024 , 23:58
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Ali Carter has joked that Ronnie O'Sullivan is "starting to annoy" him after he was beaten 10-7 in the Masters final.
O'Sullivan emerged victorious in a thrilling match, having mounted an impressive comeback after trailing Carter 6-3 at one point. O'Sullivan's victory means he is now the tournament's oldest and youngest winner, having first lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy back in 1995 when he was just 19.
It is also the 18th time O'Sullivan has beaten Carter in 19 meetings and the pair have had something of a heated rivalry over the years. They most notably clashed during the 2018 World Championship, with Carter claiming he is "not intimidated by Ronnie like a lot of other players are".
And ahead of this final, O'Sullivan did aim a dig at his opponent. "I think he's got more of a problem with me than I have with him," he told Discovery+. "He's got something against me. Maybe it's because I've got a massive trophy cabinet full of trophies."
However, Carter appeared magnanimous in defeat after the final, admitting: "He's starting to annoy me. Obviously I'm gutted I lost. It's the final, it's all about winning. Before I rocked up here I would've taken the final but I've got good things to come for me and I'm heading in the right direction.
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"Ronnie played very well, he missed a few at the end and the crowd got excited. When you play Ronnie, you have to play the crowd, you have to accept it. I did my best but it just wasn't good enough."
O'Sullivan, meanwhile, said Carter "let me off the hook" in the deciding evening session. He told BBC Sport : "I don't know how I won this tournament. I've just dug deep, tried to play with a bit of freedom tonight and just tried to keep Ali honest.
O'Sullivan celebrated his eighth Masters win (Getty Images)"If he was to win, he would've had to scrape me off the table. I just wanted to see if he had it at the end and could he get over the line, that was my mindset coming into the evening.
"Ali didn't play great this evening, he played better this afternoon and he let me off the hook tonight. He didn't take on some balls I thought he would and that gave me belief. I just tried to take the most from it.
"I always have a good idea around February or March whether my game's in good enough shape to win the worlds. At the moment I'd say it's not good enough to be confident I can win it. I can still win it, but I’d like to have confidence that I can win it."