Quotes have emerged that suggest Ali Carter once held a very different opinion of Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The world of snooker was shocked this week by the feud that developed between Carter and O'Sullivan.
On Sunday O'Sullivan fought back from 6-3 down to defeat Carter 11-7 in the Masters final at Alexandra Palace, the eighth time he has won the tournament.
There was a moment of tension during the match when the two players barged shoulders, with O'Sullivan later refuting Carter's claim that 'The Rocket' apologised.
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After the match Carter failed to congratulate O'Sullivan on his victory, before the situation escalated during the post-match media conferences.
Carter accused his opponent of 'snotting all over the floor' during the match, describing it as 'outrageous behaviour'.
Before things blew up, Carter was a huge admirer of O'Sullivan. In a 2020 interview with the Gazette Standard, Carter identified O'Sullivan and Jimmy White as his snooker heroes.
After Sunday's final, O'Sullivan hit back at the 44-year-old in his own press conference, saying: "F***ing why has he got issues with me? I'm not having it. I don't care, grow some balls. I don't give a f**k. The more he brings it on, the more I f***ing punish him every time."
The 48-year-old continued: "He's got issues mate, I'm telling you. He's got to go and sort his life out. He's got to go and see a councillor.
"He's got to deal with that because that ain't no good. I don't take to him, I haven't spoken to him for 20 years.
"I played with him as a kid you know, I shared a lot of stuff with him. So for him to kind of come out and start trying to talk to me and trash talk like that... do you know what? He can have one of them [sticks middle finger up]. He can sit on it as far as I'm concerned.
"You know what he's like, everyone knows what he's like. He's got issues."
Carter later responded to O'Sullivan, saying: "I actually feel a bit sorry for him, I don't think he's that well mentally. So we move forward and we go again."
Topics: Snooker
Alex Brotherton