by Ronnie O’Sullivan became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words with Ali Carter after the Masters snooker final, with the number one telling Carter to “get his bloody life together” after being accused of “boogling” in the basketball court. .
The duo have history following a shoulder incident during the 2018 World Championships, the only time Carter beat 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 to see them run out of the bottle” after Carter missed a number of opportunities in the closing stages of their 10-7 defeat before taking offense to some of his opponent’s post-match comments. defeated.
“A couple of things happened that went unnoticed,” Carter said.
“Well, they don’t go unnoticed but anyone with sight or brains can see what’s going on. And, frankly, it’s disgusting. Nobody wants to say anything, right? Snot all over the floor and all that.”
O’Sullivan, who had previously criticized what he called the “frozen…disgusting” state of Alexandra Palace, brandished the middle finger at the press conference after hearing Carter’s claims. “As far as I’m concerned, he can sit on it,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t give a damn. You know how it is, everyone knows how it is. He has problems.
“F—— why do you have problems with me? I’m not going to accept it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a damn. The more he provokes him, the more I punish him each time.
“He’s just digging a grave for himself. He needs to get his damn life together. I haven’t spoken to him in 20 years.
“I played with him when I was a child and shared many things with him. I’m not going to keep thinking about it, tiptoeing around someone like that. Playing pool against someone like that is a nightmare. He is not a good person.
“It is not a good vibe that he leaves around the table. I have said my part. I don’t give a damn. End of the press conference? I assume you already have your headlines, right?
O’Sullivan had previously called Carter “Mr. Angry” during their 2018 Crucible clash and also beat Carter twice in the World Championship final. Carter and O’Sullivan are both from the hotbed of Essex snooker and, with just four years between them, have played regularly against each other for the last 25 years.
Carter hit back at O’Sullivan on Tuesday when he returned to action at the World Grand Prix in Leicester and insisted his latest opponent is unwell.
“Ronnie is entitled to his opinion. I just said what it is and how it was and I’m talking about facts. It’s as simple as that,” Carter told ITV.
“I don’t care what he says: he says different things on different days. I don’t think she even knows what’s going to come out of her mouth at certain times.
“I actually feel a little sorry for him. I don’t think it’s that good. So we go ahead and do it again this week.”
Carter had also attacked the Ally Pally crowd, labeling 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 especially enjoy the form of his return. “I just had to keep Ali honest,” he said. “I thought, ‘Let’s see if he has the bottle to get over the line.’ That was the only thing that turned me on tonight.
“I thought, ‘Let’s get it to the point… where I want to see if it moves.’ I love seeing when they run out of the bottle. I love it.”
O’Sullivan returns to the table at the World Grand Prix in Leicester on Tuesday night, where he will face China’s Pang Junxu. He then plans to take some time off before attempting to win a record eighth World Championship and complete the ‘grand slam’ of a season of major tournament victories after also triumphing at the UK Championships last month. 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 looking for his first triple crown.
O’Sullivan vs. Carter is the Ali vs. Frazier pool game: The sport’s top five rivalries
1.Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier
Before their 1971 ‘Fight of the Century’, Ali called Frazier “too ugly to be the champion” and “a gorilla.” Ali might have considered it all a joke, but Frazier was deeply offended and his side of the feud would linger long after their third fight, the 1975 ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ in which Ali prevailed but said he felt close to death. .
Ali’s biographer Thomas Hauser said there came a point where “fighting for each other’s championship” meant more to them than the world heavyweight championship. Ali would later apologize repeatedly for his abuse of Frazier, but his great rival remained largely unmoved. “I hated Ali. I hated that man,” he said.
2. Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan
Exactly 30 years have passed since one of the biggest scandals in sports history. Kerrigan and Harding were preparing for the U.S. figure skating championships before the Winter Olympics that same year when Kerrigan was crushed in the knee with a baton shortly after completing a practice routine in Detroit.
It later emerged that the attack was planned by Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s ex-husband. Harding pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution, meaning he knew who had committed the attack, but only afterwards, and that he did not immediately report it. Kerrigan would still win a silver medal in 1994, while Harding was banned for life by the United States Figure Skating Association.
3. Ian Botham vs. Ian Chappell
Any hope that a feud that began in a Melbourne bar in 1977 might finally end seemed to evaporate last year when Botham and Chappell reunited for a short documentary.
After years of exchanging verbal barbs, Chappell barely dared look at Botham. “Things don’t change,” Botham said. “Why would they?” Chappell responded. Each then accused the other of telling lies before Botham declared: “I should have finished you off when I had the chance.” Aged 67 and 79 respectively, the meeting lasted less than five minutes.
4. Brian Clough vs. Don Revie
Two of the most notable managers of the 1970s faced off as their respective teams, Derby County and Leeds United, competed for the top of English football. Clough repeatedly condemned Leeds’ style of play and tactics before being unexpectedly selected to succeed Revie at Elland Road when the latter became England manager. After Clough lasted just 44 days in the job, the two men memorably went head-to-head in a live television debate on ITV.
5. Ayrton Senna against Alain Prost
Two of the greatest F1 drivers of all time were also teammates in the late 1980s. There were repeated clashes both on and off the track, with memorable ones being the 1989 and 1990 Japanese Grands Prix, when the World Championship was decided twice after colliding with each other.
They would eventually race for different teams, and Senna was not very impressed by Prost’s supposed desire to drive a superior car. “He’s behaving like a coward,” Senna said. “It’s like if you run a 100-meter race and you want to have running shoes, and everyone else should have lead shoes.”
