Ronnie O’Sullivan advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 Tour Championship with a commanding 10-2 win over Ali Carter on Wednesday, April 3rd.
The Englishmen have been involved in intense clashes and have exchanged strong words with each other previously.
However, the match did not meet expectations, as O’Sullivan capitalized on Carter’s subpar performance to easily progress in the competition.
The Rocket crafted breaks of 92, 87, 81, 77, 54, and 51 to establish a dominant 7-0 lead, capitalizing on his opponent’s numerous errors.
In the final frame of the first session, Carter halted the streak by producing a superb total clearance of 141, the highest break of the week thus far.
The Captain, who was the runner-up to O’Sullivan at the Masters in January, began the second session with a break of 70.
But any hopes of an unlikely comeback were dashed when O’Sullivan reeled off the following three frames with breaks of 67, 62, and 54.
Before the match, the 2019 Tour Championship winner stated his intention to refrain from making remarks about other players, following recent verbal disputes with Carter and other players on the main tour.
“I don’t comment on players now. I’ve learned my lesson and there’s no value in it for me,” Ronnie O’Sullivan told ITV.
“Every time I say something it’s kind of a bit of a headline. Ronnie says this and that, and if they get interviewed and they say something about me then it becomes a headline of them talking about me.”
“I just thought, ‘What am I actually gaining out of this?’ I’m not actually gaining anything other than people getting the chance to say what they feel like they want to say.
“I am like, ‘You know what, I’m happy with my life, I’m happy with my job and I’m happy with what I do.’
“I just want to delete all that other stuff, so I think that it is best that I don’t comment on any player and just make it a policy.
“A boundary that I just don’t overstep just for my own piece of mind and my own sanity.
“I just let the other guys do what they want to do and I wish them all the best, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s not something I want to get involved in ever again.”
The 48-year-old remains on course to add to his impressive haul of five trophies from a prolific 2023/24 snooker season.
Apart from the Masters, O’Sullivan has also claimed titles at the UK Championship, the World Grand Prix, the Shanghai Masters, and the Riyadh Season World Masters.
This marks O’Sullivan’s fourth appearance in the Tour Championship semi-finals out of six editions.
The world’s top-ranked player will face the winner of the match between Zhang Anda and Gary Wilson, which is currently tied at 4-4.
Ding Junhui and Mark Allen also reached the midway point of their match, with the Chinese player holding a 5-3 lead overnight.
The conclusion of these two matches is scheduled for Thursday, while the fourth quarter-final match will feature top seed Judd Trump against Welsh veteran Mark Williams.
