Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ali Carter LIVE: Snooker Tour Championship score and updates from grudge match

Nice long pot by Carter although the cue ball runs away towards the left cushion slightly. Tricky blue but he cuts it in and gets a friendly cannon off the red on the cushion.

But the next red requires an awkward rest shot around the blue and he misses it as it rattles the jaws of the right corner pocket.

This has gone really scrappy now. Both men miss very makeable pots on the red to the right corner before O’Sullivan finally gets one to start another break with a lead of four poins.

Carter gets into the cue ball way too much off the opening red. It zips all the way back up the table, meaning ‘The Captain’ is forced to take the brown to the middle pocket and can only leave himself with a tricky mid-range red.

Misses it by an absolute mile with the rest and leaves O’Sullivan with a long pot. Missed by Ronnie though, so no damage done for Carter in this disjointed frame. 25-15 to O’Sullivan as we head for a bout of safety with six reds left.

Positional error with the break on 16 by O’Sullivan, coming up a long way short of where he would like to be for the blue. He digs out a nice pot on the yellow but cannons into the pink and isn’t on a red.

O’Sullivan’s lead is 25-10 after that break of 18 but a mistake with the safety shot leaves Carter a chance to hit back...

Ooof! Decent safety by Carter but O’Sullivan pulls out a gorgeous long pot into the left corner. His long potting can sometimes be Ronnie’s weakness but if that’s on point, then this could be a long day for Carter!

O’Sullivan in among the balls but still only has the blue to work with as a high-value colour.

That won’t help Carter’s mood. O’Sullivan makes a hash of the safety shot but FLUKES a red to the right corner! Carter was plum in if that red hadn’t found the pocket.

There’s no colour to follow for Ronnie though but he produces a lovely safety shot up behind the green. Carter leads 10-7 but this isn’t an appetising safety shot.

The table isn’t particularly enticingly set for Carter with the black tied up by three reds, the pink up on the green spot and a couple of reds on cushions.

He has to stretch for a red to right corner and undercuts it to end the break at 10. He hasn’t settled yet

Frame two underway.

Granite safety from O’Sullivan wins the tactical battle and forces a Carter error, leaving him a mid-range cut to the right corner. But O’Sullivan can only make 6, over-screwing a shot on the blue.

Carter sinks a red and has a chance to post a telling contribution.

Expertly done by O’Sullivan, who looks very sharp already. A break of 77 punishes the simple missed red by Carter and Ronnie O’Sullivan wins the first frame of the match.

O’Sullivan looking typically smooth around the table in the early going. Pots his way beyond the 30-point mark by picking off the loose reds, avoiding the need for any cannons or splitting the main cluster of four reds in the centre of the table.

Then he plays a lovely cannon to disturb that cluster and the frame is at his mercy as he leads 47-12.

That’s not great from Carter. He was cruising along but misses a simple red to the left corner as it rattles the jaws. Only made 11 from that opportunity for a 12-0 lead in the frame.

O’Sullivan digs out a red and has a chance to counter-attack.