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

A bout of safety before O’Sullivan - wearing a natty gold shirt under his waistcoat this afternoon, incidentally - gets a look at the long pot to the left corner but misses it by quite a way.

Carter left with a cut to the left middle and he’ll have the first proper scoring opportunity.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is probably the best front-runner in the history of snooker, so it’s imperative that Ali Carter makes a fast start today. That’s promising! He crunches in a lovely long red but doesn’t land on the black. A nice safety shot up behind the green.

We’re only a few minutes away from O’Sullivan v Carer getting underway. It’s a best-of-19 match with the first eight frames to be played this afternoon and the remainder this evening.

The most notable action at the Tour Championship yesterday came from Mark Williams as he produced this absolutely incredible clearance to beat Tom Ford 10-9 and book himself a quarter-final spot

The Tour Championship is a tournament for the 12 best players on the one-year ranking list, where the top four (including Ronnie O’Sullivan) get a bye straight through to the quarter-finals. Those ranked five to 12 play a first-round match with the winners joining the top four in the quarters.

Ali Carter had to withstand a roaring Barry Hawkins comeback in his first-round match yesterday, as he led 7-1 and 9-5 before eventually falling over the line 10-8. How much will that have taken out of him ahead of the match today?

The Tour Championship has already provided plenty of drama this week, including Mark Selby channelling his inner Ronnie O’Sullivan by suggesting he might quit snooker after a ‘pathetic’ first-round defeat to Gary Wilson.

“I mean I was pathetic really, from start to finish,” Selby told ITV4. “Probably one of the worst games I’ve played as a professional. Definitely up there for sure.

“If I carry on playing like that, then yeah, I won’t be enjoying it and I will be choosing a different career for sure.”

Ali Carter isn’t exactly the shy and retiring type, so he hit back at that O’Sullivan rant and accused ‘The Rocket’ of not being mentally well.

Carter said: “Ronnie is entitled to his opinion. I just said what it is and how it was and I talk facts. It is as simple as that.”

Asked whether he was angry at O’Sullivan’s comments, he added: “Angry about what? It makes no difference to me what he says. He says different things on different days. I don’t think he even knows what is going to come out of his mouth at certain times.

“I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I don’t think he is that well, mentally.”

The O’Sullivan-Carter feud goes back a long way, including them infamously barging into one another during a World Championship match, but came to a head at the Masters in January.

After O’Sullivan beat Carter and his opponent accused him of being “disgusting” and “snotting all over the floor”, ‘The Rocket went into full-on rant mode...

“I’m not going to skirt around it anymore, tip-toeing on eggshells around someone like that. He’s a f*****g nightmare,” the 48-year-old said. “Playing snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. He’s not a nice person. It’s not a nice vibe he leaves around the table. I’ve said my piece, I don’t give a s***. I’ve said it now, done.

“You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like. He’s got issues. F*****g why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a f***, I don’t give a f*** about any of these snooker players, any of them. The more he brings it on, the more I f***ing punish him every time. He’s just digging a grave for himself. I don’t give a f***. That’s it, I’ve said my piece.”

The Rocket, though, continued his tirade adding: “He’s got beef with me. He’s got issues, he’s got to sort his life out, he’s got to see a counsellor or something.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ali Carter in the quarter-finals of the Tour Championship is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 3 April. The best-of-19 frames match will start at 1pm BST, with eight frames played in the afternoon session, before the players return to conclude the match in the evening session from 7pm BST.

The winner will advance to the semi-finals and meet the winner of Zhang Anda vs Gary Wilson.

How can I watch it?

Fans can watch the match and the rest of the Tour Championship 2024 on ITV4 in the UK, with a live stream available on ITV X and the ITV Sport website. Coverage starts at 12:45pm BST.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on rival Ali Carter in the quarter-finals of the Tour Championship today.

The pair do not see eye-to-eye with tensions high during the final of the Masters this year. ‘The Rocket’ came from 6-3 down to beat Carter 10-7 at Alexandra Palace and extend his record to win an eighth Masters crown.

But Carter was furious at O’Sullivan, accusing him of “disgusting actions” and “snotting all over the floor”. O’Sullivan rejected those claims though, and hit back with a foul-mouthed rant, insisting “everybody knows what he’s like” and claiming his rival has “issues”.

“F*****g why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it. I don’t care, grow some balls. I don’t give a f***. The more he brings it on, the more I f*****g punish him every time,” he said. “Absolutely. He’s just digging a grave for himself. He needs to sort his f*****g life out.”

Here’s everything you need to know: