Ronnie O Sullivan - Ali Carter - final

[Masterdoctorgenius]

i wished that ali had beaten him in some tournaments because logic suggests that at some point this run has to come to an end

[Rane]

O´Sullivan lost a match against Carter a short while before Carter won his first ranking tournment, but I don´t remember which. Maybe a qualifier for the premier league. So he has tried to beat him in a match meaning a little more than exhibition or practise, so I don´t think he will be as scared as he used to be. And he must be as high in confidence as O´Sullivan so hopefully it will be a good final.

[The Rook]

So, the nightmare final is here...

Well, nightmare before the tournament begun, but I'm slightly more optimistic about it now. I've been very impressed by Carter, especially in his last match against Maguire. I kept waiting for Maguire to close to gap and take control of the match. He had his chances and wasted most of them, but he was always up against it, because Carter's standard never dropped. Carter has very rarely missed in the balls in this tournament, not that it's all been one-visit stuff, but most of the time he has kept it tight, not taking major risks. He has never beaten O'Sullivan in a proper match, but I think this is probably the closest they have ever been. They are close in the rankings, close in what they have achieved over the last two seasons, both having their ups and downs, and close in the standard they've produced. Of course that doesn't mean they are equally close to what they are capable of, I think O'Sullivan is more likely of the two to play on this week's form consistently. Also, Carter is probably playing the most measured and methodical game of his career, so in a way he is closest to playing a game O'Sullivan struggles against.

The first thing for Carter to overcome in this final is his fear of O'Sullivan, in my opinion. If he ****s his pants again, like he did in 2008, the final will probably be over in the second session. I think with Ebdon's influence this week, he looks so composed, so determined, that there is less danger of that happening. The pressure is also slightly off, as he knows everyone expects him to lose. This could work in his favour, as long as he is still hungry for the title, and not just satisfied with reaching the final.

What can I possibly say about Ronnie O'Sullivan? I could go on and on about his weaknesses again, but to be honest, I think they were tested the most against Robertson. It went close, 13-10, but not close enough. So unless there was an even better player, in even better form than Robertson, O'Sullivan was always going to be the favourite here. We've seen no nonsense from him whatsoever this week. He has looked extremely mature, very concentrated and determined, and he has shown enough form to back it up. I think he is playing his best game since 2008. His long potting is back to a very good level, and his scoring is still very clinical. When he refuses to be unsettled, which has been the case in this tournament, his opponents are always in danger of losing a couple of frames in a row in no time. And they all did. On the other hand, O'Sullivan never went through a particularly bad patch, even though some players did match him for a while. Can Carter?

I think the biggest danger O'Sullivan faces here is possibly the pressure. The pressure of being such a favourite, expected to win comfortably. He knows that should he lose, some people will overreact and start calling it "the greatest shock in history", and no one wants to deal with that sort of thing. He was slightly under the radar at the start of the event, a lot of people concentrating on Trump and other contenders. Well, that luxury is gone. All eyes are on him now, and he has to do the business. He has done it in every match so far, so one more and he is the champion.

I think Carter will stick with him in the early part of the match, probably resisting O'Sullivan's good run of frames better than any of his previous opponents. But it will be tough to beat him, O'Sullivan to win 18-15.


BTW, this seems to be one of those threads that sometimes shows as "not accessible". Perhaps it's the "´" in "O´Sullivan", so if someone could rename it, that would be great.

This is the best and most objective summary of the forthcoming match I have read!

As you mention – Ronnie sometimes struggles with percentage players. IMHO Ali's nerves will be crucial to whether this match becomes interesting or not. I think many people are dismissing Carter based on his reputation, but if he can maintain the high quality and methodical game from the previous rounds – Ali will be Ronnie's toughest opponent this tournament.

[Masterdoctorgenius]

the last match was a PL match

ali lost it in curiouse fashion

3 times missed calles, and match over lol

[montoya10]

Well, well..

Here comes the nightmare final. I was hoping for a Maguire v O'Sullivan / Stevens, but it wasn't meant to be.
Where to begin, where to begin.. All right, first of all, to give Carter his due credit, let me say that he has played some excellent safety throughout the tournament up to this point. He was also fairly consistent in taking the chances he was represented and create openings for himself.
With all these positive things said and done, I should also say that Carter was very lucky against Maguire to run away with that match. Maguire possibly played his worst snooker in the semi-finals and Carter was let off the hook in numerous frames by Maguire. On another note, every frame that could have gone either way ended up in Carter's favor and he did enough to wrap up the win in the end.

But O'Sullivan has nearly played at close to his highest gears in this tournament. Don't be lulled into a false sense of Stevens not playing well. Stevens played as well as he could and at most of the times, he looked to be competent enough to cope with any other player, bar the first session. O'Sullivan outplayed all of his opponents and perhaps this is even a more dangerous sign than he himself playing well and composed.

I'm not going to ponder on their head-to-head records. Williams last beat O'Sullivan in 2002 and Stevens last beat him in 2003, and that pattern did not change. There is no reason for me to believe that Carter is more capable of these two to change his fate in a world championship final.

O'Sullivan will probably take command from the start and go on to win 18-9, something similar to his 2008 victory.

PS. I'm once again convinced me to watch this by fellow forum members. I hope it'll be worth to watch this time

[DamienB]

Guys what time does the match start?

[montoya10]

Guys what time does the match start?

Two hours to go.

[DamienB]

Thank you!!

[montoya10]

You're welcome (=

Come on Ronnie for the maximum!!

[Masterdoctorgenius]

1 hourt to go

COME ON RONNIE! We know u still got the magic.

[The Boss]

I am Dracula: O'Sullivan terrified younger viewers with his Bela Lugosi impression in 2004. Will we see a return of the fangs on Monday?

[asbani]

Ronnie will dominate this clearly, he never lost a World championship finals, and Ali carter has never beaten Ronnie on a television match.

[DamienB]

i hope to see a all out battle and not a walkover

[tawaterski]

I think the only guy in the planet who can destroy Rocket easily is MARK SELBY.

[montoya10]

I am Dracula: O'Sullivan terrified younger viewers with his Bela Lugosi impression in 2004. Will we see a return of the fangs on Monday?

Isn't this around the times he was mentored by the great Ray "The Dracula" Reardon?