Ali Carter has reconfirmed that he and Ronnie O’Sullivan have put their differences behind them after coming through their most recent clash at the 2026 German Masters.
Carter beat O’Sullivan 5-3 in Berlin on Wednesday to reach the last 16 of the 2025/26 season’s 12th ranking event.
In a match that was at times low in quality, Carter raced into a 3-0 lead only to be pegged back to all-square, but the Captain duly took the concluding couple of frames to advance.
Victory for the 46 year-old represents only his second ever over O’Sullivan in a ranking event.
The Englishmen have clashed in several high-profile showdowns in the past, including memorable matches at both the World Championship and at the Masters.
Their altercations have led to some fiery exchanges – both verbally and physically – but they appeared to let bygones be bygones ahead of their first round showdown in Sheffield last year, and nothing has changed on that front since.
“Look, me and Ronnie have known each other a long time. He’s a character, isn’t he?” Carter told the World Snooker Tour.
“We’re fine now, and there’s no animosity at all. It was just all heat-of-the-moment stuff – we’re both sportsmen.”
“He’s the best snooker player of all time, so even to be on the table with him and playing him, competing with him and getting the odd win here and there, is a feather in my cap.
“I’ve lost a load of close ones over the years. I’ve lost every way possible. I’ve got slaughtered, I’ve lost close.
“Obviously the win I did get over him was in the World Championships back in 2019.
“It didn’t look like he was enjoying it too much out there today. I was delighted to be 3-0 up and then I sort of thought I’d let the match slip.
“I just said to myself, ‘right, i’m going for everything now’. I potted some really good long balls. It was a grind in the end, but I’m glad to get over the line and get the job done.”
Earlier in the week, O’Sullivan had admitted that one of his main ambitions now is to land an eighth World Championship crown, but he felt that he might have left it too late to prepare for the Crucible this season.
The Rocket was playing in his first tournament since the UK Championship and got through his opening fixture against Long Zehuang, but the 50 year-old looked rusty and bereft of match sharpness overall.
“He didn’t look like he enjoyed it out there,” Carter continued. “If that’s the case then he’s obviously in a position where he doesn’t need to come to these events.”
“It’s great for the fans to see him, but it wasn’t enjoyable in the end to see him not really enjoying it.
“In the heat of the battle is what we all play for, but I suppose he’s in a different stage of his career right now.”
For Carter, a third German Masters title remains on the cards as he continues his progress at a venue he has regularly performed well at in the past.
Triumphs in 2013 and 2023 materialised either side of another final appearance in 2017, so Carter can never be discounted in Berlin.
“I’ve got great memories here. I love the tournament and love the event – Berlin is a great place and I’ve got a lot of special memories here.”
“Hopefully, I can draw on that coming into the back end of this week and get a few more wins under my belt.”
Carter will face Xu Si for a quarter-final berth, the latter having survived a final-frame thriller to upset Mark Selby.
Zhao Xintong and Mark Williams were two other notable casualties on Wednesday, but the likes of Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, and John Higgins stayed in the hunt.
Defending champion Kyren Wilson was among the early winners in the last 32 on Tuesday evening.
Zhang Anda, meanwhile, compiled his fifth career 147 break during a 5-2 victory over last year’s runner-up Barry Hawkins.
2026 German Masters Draw
Round of 16 (bo9)
Matches to be played on Thursday, Jan 29
Kyren Wilson vs Zhang Anda (9:00 GMT)
Mark Allen vs Shaun Murphy (14:00 GMT)
Jimmy Robertson vs Jak Jones (9:00 GMT)
Ishpreet Singh Chadha vs Neil Robertson (14:00 GMT)
Judd Trump vs Si Jiahui (19:00 GMT)
Xiao Guodong vs John Higgins (19:00 GMT)
Xu Si vs Ali Carter (14:00 GMT)
Stuart Bingham vs Tom Ford (19:00 GMT)
Featured photo credit: WST
