Ali Carter suggested his refusal to be bullied by Ronnie O’Sullivan was key to ousting the five-time world champion in his 13-9 Crucible win. The Captain had never previously beaten O’Sullivan in a ranking event. Carter twice lost World Championship finals to O’Sullivan, while he’d been knocked out by him four times at the Crucible in his career. That ended on Saturday and Carter, admitting that he’d sometimes been ‘intimidated’ by O’Sullivan in the past, said that wasn’t going to be allowed happen again.
O’Sullivan appeared to barge into his fellow Englishman’s shoulder during the 19th frame, before an edgy exchange of words took place and match referee Paul Collier was forced to intervene. After the two players shook hands at the end Carter allowed his emotions to escape in celebrating wildly in front of the Crucible crowd. He played down the altercation, but admitted it was a big win for him. “It was nothing. He is walking to his chair, I’m walking to the table, we brushed shoulders, it’s no big deal,” Carter said. “Ronnie is a master in all areas, a master of one-upmanship, but I was going to do whatever it took to win.”
Having lost a pair of world finals to the Rocket in 2008 and 2012, Carter admitted there was plenty baggage. “In the past I’ve been guilty of Ronnie intimidating me like he probably has with other players,” said Carter. “It’s nice to finally get one up but I feel like a different person since I last played him in 2012. I’ve been through so much in my life. “He’s got such a presence and he’s such an amazing snooker player but he wasn’t having it all his own way.”
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