Ronnie O'Sullivan in foul-mouthed rant at Ali Carter as Masters final aftermath turns nasty

Ronnie O'Sullivan in foul-mouthed rant at Ali Carter as Masters final aftermath turns nasty

Carter accused O'Sullivan of 'snotting' on floor and O'Sullivan responded by saying he needs to 'sort his f------ life out'

Ronnie O’Sullivan became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words with Ali Carter following their snooker Masters final, with the No1 telling Carter “to sort his f—--- life out” after being accused of “snotting” on the floor.

The duo have history following a shoulder barge incident during the 2018 World Championships - the only time Carter has beaten O’Sullivan in a major tournament - and there was obvious tension during the match at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.

O’Sullivan declared that “I love seeing it when their bottle goes” after Carter missed a series of chances in the final stages of his 10-7 defeat before taking offence at some of his beaten opponent’s post-match comments.

“There were a couple of things that happened out there that go unnoticed,” Carter said.

“Well, they don’t go unnoticed but anyone with an eyesight or a brain can see what’s going on. And it’s disgusting quite frankly. No-one wants to say anything, do they? Snotting all over the floor and all that.”

O’Sullivan, who had earlier hit out over what he called the “freezing…disgusting” state of Alexandra Palace, brandished a middle finger at the press conference after hearing of Carter’s claims. “He can sit on it as far as I’m concerned,” said O’Sullivan. “I don’t give a f---. You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like. He’s got issues.


“F------ 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---. The more he brings it on, the more I f------ punish him every time.

“He’s just digging a grave for himself. He needs to sort his f------ life out. 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. I’m not going to skirt around it anymore, tip-toeing on egg shells around someone like that. 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---. End of press conference? I suppose you’ve got your headlines, haven’t you?”

O’Sullivan had previously called Carter “Mr Angry” during their 2018 Crucible clash and has also twice beaten Carter in World Championship finals. Carter and O’Sullivan are both from the snooker hotbed of Essex and, with only four years separating them in age, have been regularly playing against each other for the past 25 years.


Carter had also hit out at the Ally Pally crowd, labelling them “morons” as a boisterous atmosphere led to the referee having to issue repeated warnings. After leading 6-3, Carter lost six of the last seven frames and O’Sullivan seemed to take particular pleasure at the manner of his comeback. “I just had to keep Ali honest,” he said. “I thought, ‘Let’s see if he’s got the bottle to get over the line’. That was the only thing that turned me on tonight.

“I thought, ‘Let’s get him to the point... where I want to see if he twitches’. I love seeing it when their bottle goes. I love it.”

O’Sullivan returns to the table at the World Grand Prix in Leicester on Tuesday night where he has been drawn against China’s Pang Junxu. He then plans to take some time out before his attempt to win a record eighth World Championship and complete a season’s ‘grand slam’ of major tournament wins after also triumphing in last month’s UK Championship. O’Sullivan is both the oldest and youngest winner of a ‘triple crown’ event.

Sunday night was also his 23rd ‘major’ victory, extending his all-time lead over Stephen Hendry to five. Carter was bidding for his first triple crown win.