Snooker's Ali Carter has delivered a candid assessment of his fractured relationship with rival Ronnie O'Sullivan, stating plainly that the pair will never be friends. The update comes as O'Sullivan begins his UK Championship campaign this week.
The Unfixable Rift
Carter, speaking at an exhibition in Shipley, was quizzed about the current state of his dealings with the seven-time world champion. "I don't really have a relationship with Ronnie," Carter told Bradford's Telegraph and Argus. He explained the fundamental difficulty, noting, "He gets out of bed differently every day, so how can you have that relationship? When he’s alright, he’s fine, but when he’s not, he’s not, and a friendship can’t really work on terms like that."
The two players, who once practised together in their youth, have endured a famously volatile history. Their relationship deteriorated significantly after a high-profile shoulder barge by O'Sullivan during their 2018 World Championship second-round match in Sheffield.
Apology Denied: The Final Straw
Carter detailed the moment he decided to cease communication for good. He recalled O'Sullivan apologising for the shoulder barge incident at a Novotel hotel, an apology Carter accepted as "heat-of-the-moment stuff." However, the truce shattered ahead of a match at the Northern Ireland Open during the Covid lockdown.
"Before the match, Ronnie came up to me and said I was making it up that he’d apologised to me," Carter revealed. "After that, I just thought: 'What's the point of talking to someone if they’re going to be like that?'"
The feud reignited publicly during the Masters final in January 2024. After Carter accused O'Sullivan of "snotted on the floor" during play, O'Sullivan launched a stunning post-victory rant, telling Carter to sort his "f*****g life out" and labelling him a "nightmare" opponent. O'Sullivan has since expressed regret over those comments.
Respect Remains for the GOAT
Despite the personal discord, Carter was unequivocal in his professional admiration for O'Sullivan. "I've got the ultimate respect for Ronnie as a snooker player," he stated. "He’s quite a funny guy actually, but he’s an odd character."
Their first-round match at the 2025 World Championship passed peacefully, with O'Sullivan even describing Carter as a "good lad" after a 10-4 win. O'Sullivan's first match of the season on UK soil is set for Tuesday in the UK Championship against Zhou Yuelong. Carter, meanwhile, is absent from the tournament after a shock qualifying defeat to Latvian teenager Artemijs Zizins.
The saga underscores one of snooker's most enduring and complex rivalries, marked by fleeting truces but seemingly destined to remain strictly professional.
