Ali Carter claimed a rare victory over long-time Essex rival Ronnie O’Sullivan at the German Masters in Berlin, beating the seven-time world champion 5–3 in the last 32. It marked just Carter’s second career win against O’Sullivan, who still dominates their head-to-head record 20–2, and his first success over him since their heated Crucible encounter in 2018.
Carter, a two-time German Masters winner, now advances to face Xu Si for a place in the quarter-finals after Xu produced a surprise 5–4 win over Mark Selby. With that result, the draw has opened up for Carter as he targets a third title at the Tempodrom.
After the match, Carter played down any lingering tension between the pair, stressing their long-standing relationship and describing O’Sullivan as “the best snooker player of all time.” He added that competing against him is always special and that any victory is something to treasure.
On the table, Carter surged into a 3–0 lead with breaks of 128 and 68. O’Sullivan responded strongly to level at 3–3, highlighted by a 93 break, but Carter held his nerve in the closing frames to seal the win.
The day was full of upsets in Berlin. Mark Williams fell 5–3 to Jimmy Robertson, while Tom Ford came from behind to beat reigning world champion Zhao Xintong by the same scoreline.
Elsewhere, Zhang Anda produced a spectacular 147 break in the opening frame of his 5–2 victory over Barry Hawkins, extending the season’s record for maximums to 22. Zhang said the atmosphere made the moment even more memorable, admitting he only started thinking about the maximum late in the break. His win set up a last-16 clash with defending champion Kyren Wilson.
The German Masters action continues with Carter’s next match against Xu Si, as the tournament remains wide open following a series of high-profile exits.
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