Ali Carter makes Ronnie O'Sullivan feelings crystal clear as rivalry takes another twist
Ali Carter makes Ronnie O'Sullivan feelings crystal clear as rivalry takes another twist
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter's feud appears to be over after the pair faced off at the Crucible in the 2025 World Snooker Championship first round
Ronnie O'Sullivan shakes hands with Ali Carter
(Image: Getty Images )
Ali Carter has hailed Ronnie O'Sullivan as "the greatest player of all time", signalling a potential end to their well-documented rivalry. The pair were set to face off in the opening round of the World Snooker Championship, an encounter that had fans buzzing due to their contentious past.
Their fiery relationship was under the spotlight again following their match-up at the 2024 Snooker Masters final, where O'Sullivan triumphed over Carter to claim his eighth title. However, it was their physical altercation and verbal spat during the game that lingered in people's memories, with O'Sullivan branding Carter a "nightmare" and Carter criticising O'Sullivan for "snotting all over the floor".
In their latest clash at the 2025 World Championship, O'Sullivan secured a resounding 10-4 win against Carter. Despite this, the atmosphere between them seemed amicable, with handshakes exchanged both before and after the match, and a friendly conversation following the conclusion.
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Carter, despite being knocked out early, expressed respect for O'Sullivan, reflecting on past conflicts. He remarked: "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 his single victory in 2025 prior to 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," reports the Mirror.
Carter's respectful and honourable remarks underline that despite some tension between him and O'Sullivan, it doesn't overshadow his genuine admiration for the Rocket. In return, O'Sullivan also extended some cordiality, seemingly expressing remorse for his past comments about the Captain.
Speaking to TNT Sports, the snooker icon said: "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 is set to face Chinese sensation Junxu Pang, who triumphed over his fellow countryman Zhang Anda in the first round. Not much was anticipated from O'Sullivan, who hadn't competed since his defeat to Robert Milkins in the Championship League back in January.
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O'Sullivan, who previously withdrew at the eleventh hour from the German Masters, the Welsh Open and an exhibition in Finland against John Higgins in January, confessed to having modest expectations for his performance at the Crucible.
Nonetheless, O'Sullivan's light-hearted approach might render him a more formidable opponent. He remarked: "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."
He also reflected on the match against Ali, saying: "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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