Bitter snooker rivals Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter face off for first time since ‘Snotgate’ row at Tour Championship
ALI CARTER will resume his rivalry with Snotgate nemesis Ronnie O’Sullivan today (Wednesday).
The Captain knocked out Barry Hawkins 10-8 in the first round of the Tour Championship in Manchester.
Yet he had to hold his nerve in the evening session, despite being 7-1 and then 9-5 up, as The Hawk mounted a spirited and late fightback.
The victory now pits him against the Rocket over two sessions on Wednesday, with the quarter-final clash played to a conclusion in the evening.
Essex boys O’Sullivan and Carter have not met across a snooker table since the infamous Masters final on January 14.
The world No.1 won that clash 10-7 at Ally Pally but afterwards he was accused by the Colchester cueist of “snotting all over the floor”.
Carter, alleged the seven-time world champion violently cleared his nose while sitting in his chair in the final frames of the North London finale.
And the 44-year-old called it “disgusting” and “outrageous behaviour from a top professional”.
In response, the sport’s greatest player launched a furious tirade, saying the world No.9 “needs to sort his f***ing life out”.
O’Sullivan, 48, added: “He’s always going to find something. He’s got beef with me. He’s got issues.
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“He’s got to sort his life out. He’s got to see a counsellor or something.”
There is no love lost between the two – needle that goes back several years – and it promises to be Box Office viewing in the last eight of the penultimate event on the snooker calendar.