Allister Carter

Infobox Snooker player
Name = Ali Carter


Caption =
Born = birth date and age|1979|7|25
Birthplace = Colchester, Essex
Nationality = Flagicon|England English
Nickname = "The Captain"
Professional = 1996–
High ranking = #7 (2008/09)
Current rank = #7
Prize money =
High break = 147 (World Championship 2008)
Best finish = Finalist, World Championship 2008
Ranking wins =
Other wins = 2
World champ =

Allister (Ali) Carter (born 25 July 1979, Colchester, Essex, England) is an English professional snooker player, who lives in Tiptree . He reached the final of the World Championship 2008, his first major final. Although he lost heavily to Ronnie O'Sullivan, this run allowed him to reach the top 8 of the rankings for the first time.

Career

Carter turned professional in 1996.He first emerged in 1999, winning the WPBSA Association Young Player of the Year award after winning the Benson and Hedges Championship in 1999 - this earned him a wild card place in the Masters. He also reached the semi-finals of the 1999 Grand Prix. [ [http://www.snooker.org/trn/9900/gp99_res.shtml WWW Snooker: Grand Prix 1999] ] . It was eight years before he reached another ranking semi-final, the 2007 Malta Cup. [ [http://www.snooker.org/trn/0607/mc2007_res.shtml WWW Snooker: Malta Cup 2007] ]

He was close to the elite top 16 for three successive seasons ranking as 17, 19, and 19 through 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06, respectively, before reaching it in the 2006/2007 season and remaining there as of 2008. [ [http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Results/2007-8/07-8-Professional/2008-888-match-prof-carter.htm Profile of Ali Carter at Global Snooker Centre] ]

He reached the last 32 (first round) of the World Snooker Championship in 2005, after scoring the first 10-0 victory in the event since 1993 against 1993 semi-finalist James Wattana in qualifying [ [http://www.worldsnooker.com/news_latest-17218.htm World Snooker: WATTANA 'EMBARRASED' BY CARTER WHITEWASH] ] . At the 2007 World Championship he beat Andy Hicks in the first round, 10-4, before beating World No. 1 and seven-time champion Stephen Hendry 13-6 to reach his first World Championship quarter-final and guarantee a place in the Top-16. Carter now has a 5-4 record against Hendry; conversely, he has never beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan in 8 attempts. [As said by Hazel Irvine at the final of the World Snooker Championship 2008, last meeting was at the Welsh Open 2008, Carter lost 5-4 in the Quarter Final.]

Carter has a reputation for 'choking', losing his nerve at critical moments in a match, such as being in front and allowing his opponent to stage a comeback. As an extreme example, in the first round of the 2007 UK Championship, Carter led Barry Hawkins 8-3 before Hawkins won the next six frames to win 9-8. [ [http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Results/2007-8/07-8-Professional/2007-UK-draw.htm Global Cue Sports Centre: 2007 Maplin UK Championship Results] ] However, Ali got his own back on Hawkins during the World Snooker Championship 2008 by beating him 10-9 in a 'controversial' finale. Hawkins had leveled the match to 9-9, when the players were pulled out of the arena to allow the evening matches to begin. They returned after one of the evening's two matches had been completed - on a table they had not previously played on. Barry felt this break interrupted his momentum, handing the match to Carter.cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7357343.stm |title=World Snooker Day 2 |accessmonthday=Apr 21 |accessyear=2008 |author=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC Sport] . He followed this by defeating two former champions in succession; provisional World #1 Shaun Murphy 13-4 in the second round and then 2002 winner Peter Ebdon 13-9 in the quarter-final. In the semi-final on 4 May 2008 he beat Joe Perry 17-15 to book a place against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. Carter lost the final 18-8. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7383131.stm BBC Sport Snooker: O'Sullivan wins third world title] ]

Carter scored his first 147 break on April 29th at the World Championship 2008, one day after Ronnie O'Sullivan had made one in the same tournament. This made Carter the sixth man to achieve this feat at the Crucible (the eighth made there, as O'Sullivan had previously achieved it three times), and the first to have done so without previously winning a tournament. It is the first time two 147s have been made in the same event. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7373388.stm BBC Sport Snooker: Carter hits historic Crucible 147] ]

Fresh from the final of the World Snooker Championship 2008, Carter won his second non-ranking tournament, the Huangshan Cup in China, with a 5-3 win over Marco Fu, the reining Grand Prix Champion. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7407295.stm BBC Sport Snooker: Carter wins second non-ranking event] ] He then reached the semi-finals of the season's first ranking event, the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy before losing 5-6 to O'Sullivan having lead 5-4. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7589978.stm]

Personal life

In 2003 he was diagnosed with the digestive disorder Crohn's disease.cite web |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/player_list-8252.htm |title=Player Profile - Allister Carter |accessmonthday=May 5 |accessyear=2007 |author=World Snooker |publisher=World Snooker]

He currently practises at Chelmsford's Rivermead Snooker Club.Fact|date=May 2008

Carter also has a keen interest in flying. Although he views snooker as his career at the moment he is training to qualify as a commercial airline pilot.

Non-Ranking Tournament wins

*Benson and Hedges Championship - 1999
* Huangshan Cup - 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.worldsnooker.com/player_list-8252.htm Allister Carter's profile] at World Snooker