Ali Carter takes lead over Ronnie O'Sullivan after first session of Masters final

14/01/2024 16:21

Ali Carter will return for the evening session of the Masters final with a 5-3 lead over Ronnie O’Sullivan after impressing in the afternoon at Alexandra Palace.

The Captain has been in very good form all week, beating Mark Williams, Judd Trump and Mark Allen to reach the showpiece, and he has continued to play well under the brightest of spotlights.

O’Sullivan took the first, but Carter took the next two frames, with a break of 106 in the second.

The Rocket was playing an extremely aggressive, attacking brand of snooker early on, almost reckless, but it all clicked into gear as he made a 125 to level up at 2-2 before the interval.

Tha all-out-attack from the world number one continued after that interval but it was not working against Carter, who made a 122 to go back ahead and then took the sixth to go 4-2.

O’Sullivan stopped the rot with an 86, but Carter took the final frame of the first session with another composed effort of 74 to move 5-3 in front.

Undoubtedly the underdog was the better player of the two in the afternoon, but he is still a long way from the required 10 frames for victory against the seven-time champion.

On O’Sullivan’s incredibly attacking display, Stephen Hendry said on the BBC: ‘If the pattern of the match stays the same then Ali will win, so Ronnie has got to rein it in a little bit or cut out the unforced errors.’

More to follow…

MORE : Ali Carter fancies Ronnie O’Sullivan challenge as he reveals Masters mantra

MORE : Ronnie O’Sullivan on verge of another incredible piece of snooker history but is he bothered?

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.