Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter end feud with mutual respect after World Snooker Championship clash
Ali Carter has hailed Ronnie O'Sullivan as "the greatest player of all time", seemingly putting an end to their long-standing rivalry. The pair were pitted against each other in the first round of the World Snooker Championship . Their match was highly anticipated due to their tumultuous past. In the 2024 Snooker Masters final, O'Sullivan triumphed over Carter to secure his eighth title, but the match is most remembered for a heated exchange between the two players. O'Sullivan labelled Carter a "nightmare", while Carter accused the seven-time world champion of "snotting all over the floor". In the 2025 World Championship, O'Sullivan claimed a decisive 10-4 victory over Carter. However, the atmosphere between the two seemed amicable, with handshakes exchanged before and after the match, and a friendly conversation at the conclusion. Despite his early departure from the tournament, Carter had only praise for O'Sullivan. He said: "We all make mistakes in the past. We've all said things that maybe we shouldn't have done, you reflect on that and at the end of the day I'm playing the greatest player of all time." When questioned about O'Sullivan's performance, especially considering he had only one win in 2025 before the Crucible, Carter responded: "He could have 10 years off and still come here. He's just a freak natural, we all know that and that's why we all love watching him." Carter's respectful and dignified remarks underline that despite some tension between him and O'Sullivan, it doesn't overshadow his genuine admiration for the Rocket. O'Sullivan returned the favour with some kindness of his own, even seeming to express some remorse for his previous comments about the Captain. The snooker icon told TNT Sports: "Me and Ali are fine. I was probably going through a bad time myself, he was probably going through a bit of a bad time, and you just sort of say things that you think, 'Why did I say that?' It's just heat of the moment stuff. "I practised with Ali when he was a kid, 13 or 14, and I thought 'This kid's going to be special'. I spent a lot of time playing, picking balls out for him. He's a good lad." In the second round, O'Sullivan will be up against Chinese sensation Junxu Pang, who defeated fellow Chinese player Zhang Anda in his first round match. Not much was expected from O'Sullivan, who hadn't competed since his loss to Robert Milkins in the Championship League, back in January. O'Sullivan withdrew from the German Masters and Welsh Open at the last minute earlier this season, in addition to cancelling a match against John Higgins in Finland. He entered the Crucible with subdued expectations: "I had no expectations so there were no nerves, I didn't expect to perform well based on the past three or four years. I just wanted to make a game of it." The snooker star reflected on his form, noting the fortune he had in the game: "Ali had his chances yesterday, on another day he would been 6-3 up [after the first session], and again today he had a couple of chances. I cued a lot better than I did yesterday."
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Metro
5 hours ago
- Metro
What to expect from Ronnie O'Sullivan this season - according to the Rocket
Ronnie O'Sullivan had a turbulent last season, taking time away from snooker as he tried to rediscover enjoyment in the game, so what can we expect from him in the coming campaign? Predicting the Rocket is notoriously difficult, but he has laid out a pretty clear plan for himself and it sounds like it will feature plenty of snooker. The second half of last season was extremely quiet for the 49-year-old, snapping his cue on an ill-fated visit to the Championship League in January and not playing again until the World Championship in April. After chatting to psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, a two-year plan was put together to try and find form and pleasure from the game which he had lost. Speaking on the eve of the World Championship, O'Sullivan explained: 'I said I wanted to at least do two proper years. 'Put everything I was doing on the back burner. I don't feel like I have that luxury anymore to do other things and try and compete. 'I think I owe it to my career to focus just on playing for the next two years, at least, and just see if I can rediscover some decent form. Try and finish my carer on a good note and not how it's felt for the last three or four years. That's my main goal. 'If it doesn't go great here, at least I've got another three months to go back to the practice table and really try and start next season, build some momentum and rebuild, find some sort of game that can at least give me some enjoyment.' He confirmed that playing snooker would be strictly limited to competition, saying: 'There will be no more exhibitions or distractions off the table.' After a pretty comfortable first round win over Ali Carter, the Rocket also said that he no longer plans to dabble with different coaches, something he has done a lot over the years. 'There will be no more coaches onboard, it will be just me and Steve Peters, trying to help me be a bit more instinctive and just try and find my own way of playing,' he told TNT Sports after a 10-4 win. 'I will commit to two years, even if it is terrible, and will give everything to play in the tournaments, practice and rest and rediscover the shots I have lost. 'I just need to go back to my own way of playing, clear my head and not be too analytical and overthink things.' Victories over Pang Junxu and Si Jiahui followed, but that enjoyment O'Sullivan was searching for did not. After a 13-9 win over Si in the Sheffield quarter-finals, he told the BBC: 'I'm playing awful and the cue feels awful. It's the worst situation to be in as a snooker player. I'm still in so I'll keep punching away, keep trying.' His new cue was bothering him so much that O'Sullivan changed his ferrule and tip in the middle of his semi-final with eventual champion Zhao Xintong. It seemed a desperate move and it did not pay off, but the seven-time world champ was not exactly sure what the problem was after a 17-7 thrashing at the hands of the Cyclone. 'I'm at a loss to be honest with you,' he said. 'I have lost what I used to have. I'm so confused. It feels a struggle. 'I don't know if it was me, the cue, tip or the ferrule. I didn't know where the white ball was going.' On the one-sided result, he said: 'I wasn't surprised. I have been playing like that in practice. It's hard to get my head around. I can't even fix it, that's the problem, I don't know if I can fix it. 'I want to give it two years but if you play like that, it's pretty pointless. It's not good. 'I have been like that for four years, trying to grind it out. I haven't had a clue where the cue ball was going. I have been willing it in the hole. 'I don't know how to correct the fault. That is the worrying thing. I am so far away – I don't even know where to begin.' O'Sullivan then explained that he is leaving the UK to set up home in the Middle East, saying: 'There's going to be a few changes in my life so I'll see how that goes. I don't know. 'I think I'm going to be moving out of the UK this year, so I don't know how that's going to pan out to be honest with you. 'A new life, somewhere else. Still try and play snooker, but I don't know what the future looks like for me. 'I'll be moving away to the Middle East. We'll see how it goes. I might be back in six months, who knows?' And that's where we left the Rocket, with little update from him since, other than the launch of a YouTube channel. What is encouraging for his fans, though, is that the two-year plan seems to be getting off to a busy start as O'Sullivan's name is in the first three draws of the season. Shanghai Masters (Jul 28 – Aug 3) 29 Jul: Last 16 vs Barry Hawkins/Wu Yize Wuhan Open (Aug 24-30) 24 Aug: Round One vs Allan Taylor British Open (Sep 22-28) 22 Sep: Round One vs Sanderson Lam He has been known to pull out of events, so don't put the house on him playing in all three, but the Rocket is currently scheduled to compete in the Shanghai Masters, Wuhan Open and British Open. The draw is yet to be done for the Championship League, which starts later this month, so we will wait and see if he competes in Leicester for the first time since his cue-smashing trip there six months ago. The Saudi Arabia Masters is coming up in Jeddah in August and he will certainly be playing there given his ambassadorial role in the country. So there is little reason to doubt that the Rocket's two-year plan is still the direction of travel. The World Championship may have ended disappointingly, but he still reached the semi-final feeling awful about his game and his cue, so positives can be drawn. Much may depend on how often he can and will lean on Peters, who is clearly hugely important to his success. During his run in Sheffield he said: 'Steve's been amazing. I wouldn't have got through the first round without Steve so Steve's been incredible. 'If I could afford him I'd have him every day but obviously he's a busy man and I couldn't afford to have him full-time, so I try to time when I can have him. Obviously Sheffield is a big tournament so it's nice to have him around when this event's on.' More Trending If O'Sullivan gets the help he wants and is focussed on his 24-month schedule then there is every reason to believe that he will be back in the winners' circle soon enough. It was only two season's ago that he won five titles and his Class of 92 rivals, John Higgins and Mark Williams, showed that age is not the issue as they both lifted trophies last season. If we get what O'Sullivan has told us to expect, then we can look forward to the Rocket firing again soon enough. 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Metro
11 hours ago
- Metro
2025 Shanghai Masters Snooker draw, schedule and prize money announced
Judd Trump will head to the Shanghai Masters as defending champion (Picture: Getty Images) The world's best players contest the Shanghai Masters next month, with the draw throwing up some cracking contests in the high profile non-ranking event. The world's top 16 qualify for the tournament, joined by the next four highest ranked Chinese players and four amateur wildcards. The 24-player draw means the top eight in the world go straight into the last 16, while players ranked 9-16 have to face the Chinese qualifiers. The Shanghai Masters was first held in 2007 but it was a very different ranking tournament back then, switching to the invitational format in 2018. Almost a Chinese version of London's Masters, it has become a fantastic early-season event which always attracts the biggest names in the game. Ronnie O'Sullivan has especially enjoyed it, winning four editions of the event on the spin from 2017-23, either side of a gap over Covid. Judd Trump goes in as the defending champion this time round after he beat Shaun Murphy in last year's final. Ronnie O'Sullivan is the most successful player at the Shanghai Masters (Picture: Getty Images) When is the Shanghai Masters? The tournament runs from July 28 to the final on August 3 at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium. It will be the second trophy handed out of the 2025/26 season after the Championship League comes to a conclusion on July 23. Shanghai Masters draw and schedule Monday July 28 UK times Round One 02.30: Barry Hawkins vs Wu Yize 02.30: Si Jiahui vs Wildcard 07.00: Zhang Anda vs Yuan Sijun 07.00: Chris Wakelin vs Wildcard 12.30: Neil Robertson vs Pang Junxu 12.30: Shaun Murphy vs Wildcard Tuesday July 29 Round One 02.30: Mark Allen vs Wildcard 02.30: Xiao Guodong vs Lei Peifan Round Two 07.00: Kyren Wilson vs Si/Wildcard 07.00: Mark Selby vs Murphy/Wildcard 12.30: Ding Junhui vs Zhang/Yuan 12.30: Judd Trump vs Robertson/Pang Wednesday July 30 Round Two 07.00: Mark Williams vs Allen/Wildcard 07.00: John Higgins vs Xiao/Lei 12.30: Zhao Xintong vs Wakelin/Wildcard 12.30: Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Hawkins/Wu Shanghai Masters Prize Money Winner £210,000 Runner-up £105,000 Semi-finals £70,000 Quarter-finals £35,000 Last 16 £17,500 Last 24 £10,000 Judd Trump won his first Shanghai Masters title last year (Picture: Getty Images) Trump's brilliant 2024 win Trump made a tournament record 10 centuries on his way to the trophy last year, beating Mark Williams, Si Jiahui, O'Sullivan and Murphy along the way. Speaking after winning the title last year, he said: 'The age of the crowd in China is so much younger than the rest of the world. I always enjoy playing in front of a fanbase where I can inspire the next generation. I think that is why my record in China is so good,' said Trump. 'I want to win as many big tournaments as possible this season. This is probably one of the top five events on the calendar. To win this one early on is an amazing start. I would like to replicate what I did last season and get close to five wins or even more. I couldn't have dreamed of a better start.'
BBC News
11 hours ago
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Sky's Premier League viewing figures drop 10%
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