Richard Mann previews Tuesday's grudge match at the World Snooker Championship between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter.
Snooker betting tips: World Championship
1pt Ali Carter no century break in the match at 6/4 (Sky Bet)
Fireworks are expected when old rivals Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter lock horns in the first round of the World Championship on Tuesday.
The last time these two players met at the Crucible was back in 2018 when the pair were involved in a shoulder barge and words were exchanged. Carter went on to win that match, one of his few victories over O'Sullivan.
More broadly, O’Sullivan has got the better of their meetings. O’Sullivan dominates the head-to-head 24-3 and came from 6-3 behind to beat Carter in the final of the 2024 Masters. Most famously, O’Sullivan also got the better of Carter in the 2012 World Championship final.
What makes this latest renewal so intriguing is that it’s quite difficult to get a good handle on either player and their respective preparations.
O’Sullivan’s lack of competitive snooker since early January has been well-documented, though reports suggest he has practiced well ahead of Sheffield.
As for Carter, he failed to qualify for the recent Players Series, but had previously looked in good shape when reaching the last four of both the Welsh Open and the World Open.
With that in mind, there is potential for this match to go the distance, especially if O’Sullivan is rusty to begin with, but that head-to-head record is pretty damning for Carter.
It’s hard to get away from O’Sullivan maintaining his dominance over Carter, though betting a 1/3 chance on the back of limited preparation makes zero appeal.
Interestingly, Carter hasn’t been particularly proficient in the centuries scored department this season, and didn’t manage a single ton in his two wins in qualifying.
In that run at the World Open, where he played six matches, he only made one century break.
In all tournaments so far this season, Carter has played 64 matches and compiled 18 centuries, four of them coming at the Championship League.
As such, I’ll be backing ALI CARTER NO CENTURY BREAK IN THE MATCH at 6/4.
CLICK HERE to back Carter no century break with Sky Bet
Posted at 1140 BST on 21/04/25
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