Masters snooker 2024: Ronnie O’Sullivan fights back to stun Ali Carter for eighth title as oldest winner
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Updated 14/01/2024 at 22:50 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter faced off in the final of the Masters at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday. Carter made two centuries to one from his opponent in the afternoon to help him secure a 5-3 lead. He extended the lead to three frames but was on the receiving end of an O'Sullivan burst as he powered back to claim the Masters title for the eighth time.
‘I don’t know how I’ve won this tournament’ - O’Sullivan delighted to win Masters for eighth time
Ronnie O’Sullivan fought back from three frames behind to beat Ali Carter 10-7 for an eighth Masters title.
Carter led 5-3 after the opening session and extended that in the first frame of the evening, but O’Sullivan showed his quality and battling skills to roar back and claim a 23rd Triple Crown title.
O’Sullivan told Eurosport’s Rachel Casey on the eve of the final that he had no interest in numbers, but in beating Carter for the 18th time in 19 meetings it moved him within one of the talked about 8, 8, 8 of UK Championships, Masters and World Championships.
The world No. 1 occupies rarefied air in the sport, but the win at Alexandra Palace on Sunday offers him the carrot of joining Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams in winning the Triple Crown events in the same season should he land the World Championship.
Carter showed early signs of nerves with a poor safety and O’Sullivan knocked in a fine red while bridging over the pack. But he ran out of position and the opening frame of the evening session turned scrappy.
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‘He’s beginning to annoy me’ - Carter reflects on Masters final defeat to O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan looked in control of a safety exchange, but Carter found a superb pot on the penultimate red and went on to clear to the pink to open up a three-frame lead.
O’Sullivan opened the 10th with a superb red and looked sharp in making 58, but he failed to get the split he wanted on the remaining reds and had to run for cover.
Another superb red from O’Sullivan followed and he left Carter in trouble tight against the yellow.
Carter went for a hit-and-hope yahoo, and it did not work out terribly as he left O’Sullivan a tough red with everything else open. Without a second thought, he got down and crunched a red into the right middle to secure the second frame of the evening.
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‘Like a bullet’ - O’Sullivan pots superb pressure red to win 10th frame of Masters final
Safety was in short supply in the afternoon session, but Alan McManus and Jimmy White suggested O’Sullivan would be sharper in that department. He played an excellent safety to force an error and craft a chance in the 11th.
The table was not nice, but he made 41 before breaking down. With reds in tricky positions it looked like a good lead and so it proved as he got in again and closed out the frame.
In rapid order, O’Sullivan wiped out the three-frame deficit. He raced through a break of 64, only to miss a red that would have taken him to the snookers-required stage.
Carter had a chance to counter but missed by a distance - which he did not do in the afternoon. O’Sullivan returned to mop up the balls he needed to take the 12th and move into the final interval level at 6-6.
The interval came at a good time for Carter, and he returned from it to knock in a tough red to the left middle. He followed it up with a black into a blind pocket, and raced through a break of 127 which put him out front on his own for most centuries at a Masters with nine.
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‘Hit a purple patch’ - Carter makes 127 to set Masters century record
O’Sullivan made the running for the bulk of the 14th frame, but it proved difficult to put away. It took the world No. 1 a number of bites - and Carter had chances - before he got over the line to draw level once again.
O’Sullivan’s long game went walkabout for a few years, but it has been in good shape in recent seasons and he demonstrated it with a superb pot to get underway in the 15th. He made 45 before putting in a jabby stroke and missing a red to right middle.
Chances came and went for both players, and it looked in Carter’s grasp when he potted a superb red to the yellow pocket. Somehow, he under-hit a pink to the left middle and O’Sullivan stepped in to move ahead for the first time since the opening frame.
O’Sullivan tightened the screw in the 16th frame, as he put together a superb break of 89 without ever being in prime position to move one away from the title.
Carter battled superbly and put O’Sullivan under huge pressure, but the fight was sucked out of him by the relentless nature of his opponent as he put in a couple of poor strokes.
O’Sullivan made 44 at the first chance, and he got in one shot later only to miss a red. That handed a huge opportunity to Carter, but a terrible stroke left it in the jaws and to the delight of a rowdy crowd, he wrapped up the title to become the oldest Masters champion - 29 years on from when he became the youngest winner.
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‘Quite extraordinary’ - O’Sullivan wraps up eighth Masters title with win over Carter in final
Afternoon recap - Carter leads after superb opening session
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter traded top-class blows in the opening session of the final of the Masters.
There is little love lost between the pair and there was much talk about how each would approach the contest.
The approach from both was attack, with three centuries in a blistering passage of play. Two of those tons went to Carter and they helped him secure a 5-3 lead ahead of the concluding session at 7pm.
O’Sullivan opened up the final with a superb red, only to run out of position on 26. He played an excellent safety to draw an error from Carter and took advantage to take the opening frame.
Carter made a statement of intent in the second frame by opening up the reds in aggressive fashion. O’Sullivan missed the shot at the pot that followed, and Carter stepped in with the 408th century of his career to level the match.
Carter followed up the century in frame two by dominating the third to edge in front, after O’Sullivan had played a wild double that did not drop.
O’Sullivan looked laser focused in frame one, and he showed his game was extremely sharp with the 86th century of his Masters career to take confidence into the interval.
O'Sullivan knocked in a stunning red into the left middle while digging down on the cue ball, but his split of the pack was not favourable and a missed red to the yellow pocket handed Carter a chance.
Like O’Sullivan, Carter looked sharp before the interval and a second century of the match, a 122, took him back in front.
The sixth was the first frame which truly ebbed and flowed. O’Sullivan threatened to snatch it from 40 points behind but he missed a tough final green into its own pocket, and Carter mopped up the colours to open up a two-frame cushion.
Carter’s attacking approach had O’Sullivan under the pump, but it also put pressure on himself. A miss of an admittedly difficult red handed O’Sullivan a chance and the seven-time champion responded with a whirlwind break of 86 to cut the gap to one.
The afternoon session went by in a blur of potting, and Carter secured a lead heading into the evening session thanks to a break of 74 in the eighth.
There was little safety on show, but it was a safety error from O’Sullivan when cannoning the blue in attempting to get back to baulk that presented the chance to Carter.
It was one he took to move 5-3 in front ahead of the resumption at 7pm.
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