posted Feb 23, 2009

Come on. Ali Carter is a gifted player, a very natural one with a sweet cue action to go with it.

Ali Carter was under pressure going into last night's session & he delivered while under that pressure. Fair play to the boy I say.

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posted Feb 23, 2009

"He's also been the best and most consistent player this season, and made a world final last year. More than just a passing storm I think."

I suppose we will see in the coming months, I don't want to take anything away from him he played very well, I’m just not convinced yet.

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posted Feb 23, 2009

Who is the commentator who came out to speak to the players - what a P.R.A.T., I've seen him come out time and time again and make a complete and utter fool of himself, he offended Hendry by saying he was past it once, he came out with some tripe last year to Ronnie when he lost the final and now before congratulating (did he even congratulate him?) Ali he asks about HIS PILOTS LICENCE!!!!! For a start welcome to nearly 12 months ago and secondly get out of here and find a job you can do.

Seriously - why is this guy still around?

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posted Feb 23, 2009

Agree with that, the interview was cringeworthy.

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posted Feb 23, 2009

Carter reminds me of Graeme Hick the former England batsman. Hick was great against mediocre bowling but average against world class bowling. Carter is great agianst average opposition but out of his depth when under real pressure.

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posted Feb 23, 2009

Carter has found quite good form lately and looks set to continue playing well and winning future tournaments

great match and a worthy winner

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posted Feb 26, 2009

sleepingVegetarian - what a load of rubbish. If Carter didn't prove at the World Championships what he's made of to you, then he never will do. I'm sure it must break his heart that he'll never earn the respect of some anonymous nobody with no credentials for analysing the sport. Leave, kid.

As for the interview, yeah. It was rubbish. Carter actually saved it somewhat by taking the microphone and thanking people, which I also thought was a nice nod (albeit probably an unintentional one) to the Oscars later that night.

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posted Mar 5, 2009

I am extremely pleased for Ali Carter about his Welsh Open victory. I entirely agree with him that people who say he can't take the heat don't know what they are talking about (news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/7921023.stm). I have met many people both inside and outside of the snooker scene and have always been struck by how easily most of them tend to write off a player simply because he doesn't win every tournament, every season. Such people tend to forget not only how much pressure these players are put under, but also that Ali has even recovered from a serious illness he will have to deal with for life to come this far, that he owns and manages his own business and that he can even fly an airplane--which is most impressive more because it is such an assertive, brave and "in control" thing to be able to do than for the mere excitement of it, and that says a lot about his character. And so what if, as some have pointed out, he tends to be "emotional" during matches; emotions are human and in fact few players actually manage to hide their disappointment when things are not going their way even when they try their hardest! I believe Ali has indeed proven that he's the type of person who, in the short or the long run, could probably achieve anything he sets his mind on if he wants it enough. You go, Allister, you're a truly extraordinary young man, and keep smiling because you look great when you do!

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posted Mar 6, 2009

Nice write-up seeker, and I agree with all of that

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posted Mar 7, 2009

Thank you, chumbawumba2! Pleased to meet you, I am new to 606 and am glad to have found this place to discuss my snooker likes and dislikes to my heart’s content!

I have been reading a bit back in this discussion, and there is another point I would like to comment on. Some people here spoke of what Ali said about the winning seven frames in a row issue during the post-match interview, and I think there might have been a slight misunderstanding of the (somewhat unfortunate) wording he used. When I heard him say “It depends whom you’re playing” I actually interpreted it as a compliment of sorts, as in, if you play a guy who has held you 5-2 down for the whole of the first session of a long final, then you will just have to win the next seven frames in a row to win it. I don’t think that Ali could have possibly thought that Joe would not hear him as he would have known that, even if he could not hear, as most other people with hearing impairments, Joe Swail is likely to be able to lip read. I say this because I happen to have spoken to Joe and it was obvious to me that he lip reads.

And speaking about personal experience, I will spare you the specific details of what was said, but I have also spoken to Allister Carter, albeit quite a few years ago now, and what came across from what I remember of the conversation was an extremely humble and pleasant person. He doesn’t strike me as arrogant enough to say something to demean his opponent after defeating him, even unwittingly. If Joe or anyone else in the WSA had felt that this was the case, I am sure we would have already heard some further comment on it higher up. After all, Ali has often been publicly described by fellow players and officials as “an extremely likeable” person.

And another thing, if he was feeling kind of smug over his own performance, quite rightly so; he did play some amazing snooker to win the Welsh Open, and he has every right to be proud of himself. It’s Ali’s turn in the limelight!

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