Ronnie O’Sullivan recovered from 6-3 down to beat Ali Carter 10-7 in the final at
Alexandra Palace and claim a record-extending eighth Masters crown; Carter was unhappy at some members of the crowd during his defeat
Last Updated: 15/01/24 11:48am
Ali Carter had to settle for a runner-up finish at Alexandra Palace
Ali Carter has criticised “some morons” in the Alexandra Palace crowd after squandering a three-frame lead to lose to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Masters final.
Carter looked set for a first Triple Crown title as he opened up a 5-3 lead after the first session and immediately extended his advantage when play resumed, only to lose seven out of the last eight frames to hand O’Sullivan a 10-7 victory.
O’Sullivan was the fans’ favourite on Sunday and a boisterous atmosphere led to the referee having to remind spectators about noise on multiple occasions when shots were being played, with Carter registering just 41 points from his final four frames.
Carter held a 6-3 lead before losing seven of the next eight frames
“It’s hard enough to beat [O’Sullivan]” Carter said. “But when you’ve got people shouting when you are on your shot and saying stupid things at important times because half of them haven’t got enough brains, it’s ridiculous.
“There are some morons in the crowd. It is just unbelievable really.”
Victory for O’Sullivan means he has now won 23 Triple Crown titles, five more than Stephen Hendry, and can complete a clean sweep of the game’s biggest events with an eighth World Championship title at the Crucible later this year.
“Obviously I’m gutted I lost,” Carter added. “It’s all about winning at the end of the day, but before I rocked up here last week I’d have taken the final so there’s a lot of good things to come for me.
“I’m heading in the right direction. Ronnie played very well there in the end. I tried my best and it just wasn’t good enough today.”
O’Sullivan shocked by Masters win
O’Sullivan reeled off three frames in a row to get back on level terms before recovering from falling 7-6 behind to win the next four and snatch victory, 29 years on from his first victory at the event.
“I don’t know how I’ve won this tournament, to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport. “I’ve just dug deep. I’ve tried to play with a bit of freedom and then tonight I just thought try to keep Ali honest and if he’s going to win it he’s going to have to scrape me off the table.
Ronnie O’Sullivan also won the UK Championship last month
“I just wanted to see if he had it at the end. Ali didn’t play great tonight, he played better this afternoon, but tonight he let me off the hook a few times.
“He was aggressive today but tonight he didn’t take on some of the balls I thought he might have and gave me a little bit of breathing space.”
O’Sullivan can become just the fourth player to win all three events in the Triple Crown in the same season
O’Sullivan’s victory sees him become the oldest winner in the tournament’s history, although the 48-year-old – who can complete a clean sweep of the game’s biggest events with an eighth World Championship title at the Crucible – insists he was better in his teens.
“I thought when I was 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 I was even better then than I was now to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “Technically I felt I was much better, more consistency. These days I’m a bit in and out and I search for it.
“It’s got better since 2001 and I’ve had to work on the technical side just to keep things as tight as I can.
