Ali Carter secured a 5-3 lead over Ronnie O’Sullivan heading into this evening’s concluding session of the MrQ Masters at Alexandra Palace in London.
The Captain is gunning for a momentous maiden Triple Crown title this evening. He was runner-up when he last graced the Masters final, losing a thrilling clash with Stuart Bingham 10-8. Carter requires five more frames to capture the Paul Hunter Trophy this evening.
World number one O’Sullivan is seeking a record breaking eighth Masters triumph, but hasn’t captured the sport’s most prestigious invitational title since 2017. O’Sullivan will be determined to overhaul Carter this evening and enhance his near perfect head-to-head record against his fellow Essex cueman, which he currently leads 17-1.
This afternoon’s session was played at a blistering pace, with an average frame duration of just 11 minutes and both players averaging close to 19 seconds per shot.
It was O’Sullivan who took the opener this afternoon, but Carter hit back in the second to restore parity at 1-1 thanks to a break of 106. The subsequent two frames were traded, before the Rocket fired in 125 to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
When play resumed Carter took the lead fifth with 122 and added a dramatic sixth on the black to move 4-2 ahead. O’Sullivan reduced his arrears with 86 in the next, but Carter closed out a high-quality session with a run of 74 to end 5-3 in front.
They return at 7pm to play the remainder of this best of 19 encounter to a conclusion. The winner will take home a top prize of £250,000.