Ronnie O’Sullivan’s comments in an explosive verbal assault on Ali Carter will be reviewed by the World Snooker Tour.

O’Sullivan described Carter as “a f****** nightmare” and claimed he needs to “see a counsellor” after beating his bitter rival in Sunday’s Masters final.

The 48-year-old was hitting back at Carter, who claimed the world number one had “snotted on the floor” during their match at Alexandra Palace, which O’Sullivan won 10-7.

The WST told the PA news agency that O’Sullivan’s outburst “was under review” and refused to comment further.

O’Sullivan told several newspapers: “He needs to sort his f*****g life out. I’m not going to skirt around it any more, tip-toeing on eggshells around someone like that. He’s a f*****g nightmare.

“Playing snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. He’s not a nice person. It’s not a nice vibe he leaves around the table.

“I’ve said my piece, I don’t give a s**t. I’ve said it now, done. You know what he’s like, everybody knows what he’s like.

“He’s got issues. F*****g why has he got issues with me? I’m not having it.”

O’Sullivan added: “He’s got beef with me. He’s got issues, he’s got to sort his life out, he’s got to see a counsellor or something. He’s got to sort it out because I haven’t spoken to him for 20 years.”

The pair’s long-running heated rivalry boiled over during their 2018 World Championship match at the Crucible when O’Sullivan barged into Carter at the table.

At Alexandra Palace on Sunday, Carter had a heated exchange with someone in the crowd, who had called out when he was about to take a shot.

Carter, 44, said: “There were a couple of things that happened out there that go unnoticed. Well, they don’t go unnoticed – anyone with an eyesight or a brain can see what’s going on.

“It’s disgusting, quite frankly. No-one wants to say anything, do they? (O’Sullivan) snotting all over the floor and all that.

“I mean it’s outrageous behaviour from a top professional. If it gets swept under the carpet then for me, it’s not good.”

O’Sullivan is currently involved in a disciplinary dispute with the game’s governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, over comments he made about unsanctioned exhibition matches.

It is expected the Carter matter will be referred to the WPBSA.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will roll back the years when they square off in the UK Snooker Championship final in York on Sunday.

Their clash comes 30 years after O’Sullivan reached his first UK final as a 17-year-old in 1993, while Ding’s first taste of UK glory came in 2005 when he saw off four-time winner Steve Davis at the age of 18.

The pair came through their respective semi-finals in contrasting circumstances on Saturday, with O’Sullivan easing past Hossein Vafaei 6-2, while Ding held his nerve to deny Judd Trump with a 6-4 win in the evening session.

O’Sullivan and Ding – still the two youngest winners of the prestigious trophy – boast 10 UK titles between them and the world number one quipped that he was motivated by the desire to deny his rivals the chance of more silverware.

“I’m just hanging around so people don’t get as good as a career as me,” joked O’Sullivan, who ruthlessly exploited a series of costly errors from his Iranian opponent to seal by far his most comfortable victory of a gruelling week.

“If I could stop (Mark) Selby winning a few and Judd winning a few, and Ding and (Neil) Robertson winning a few – just ruin their careers a little bit – that would be great. Sometimes that’s just a nice motivation to play.”

O’Sullivan, who had previously laboured through final-frame deciders against Robert Milkins and Zhou Yuelong, was still far from his best but managed to ruthlessly exploit a string of errors by Vafaei, who spurned a good chance in five of the six frames won by his opponent.

“I feel as fresh as a daisy,” added a revitalised O’Sullivan afterwards.

“These tournaments are not a problem. I can do it quite comfortably. I’m still happy to have got this far, it’s great and I have enjoyed my week.”

Sunday’s clash will also see a repeat of last year’s quarter-final when Ding dealt out a rare 6-0 whitewash to O’Sullivan before going on to the final, where he surrendered a 6-1 lead to fall 10-7 to Mark Allen.

The Chinese 36-year-old, who also won the tournament in 2009 and 2019, had arrived in York considering withdrawal due to a serious bout of ‘flu, but like O’Sullivan, had managed to chisel out final-frame wins over Allen, then Mark Williams in Friday’s last eight.

Trump, also clearly still feeling the effects of illness, had reached the last four despite playing far from his best and will have been motivated by the possibility of facing O’Sullivan in the final with the title and the world number one ranking also at stake.

Trump started well with two centuries in the first eight frames but he could not shake off the dogged Ding, with the pair locked together at 4-4 before Ding nudged through a tense ninth to put himself one frame from victory.

Trump had the first chance to stretch the tie into another decider but jawed a relatively-simple red to middle and Ding stepped in with a nerveless 84 clearance to black, including a stunning long red after straying out of position, to seal his swift return in the final.

Ding, who routinely saves his best form for York, admitted such a scenario had seemed impossible when he was ailing midway through his first-round match against Allen.

“A lot of fans were watching and I just wanted to finish it – it didn’t matter how well I played, maybe I lost and would go home, I’d just try my best,” he admitted.

Of his win over Trump, Ding added: “It was a very tough match and the last few reds were a bit scrappy, but to pot that long red and go on to win the frame is saying something to myself.

“I hadn’t seen myself playing like that for a long time.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan says he is motivated by the opportunity to “ruin the careers” of his major rivals after he breezed into the ninth UK Championship final of his career with a 6-2 win over Hossein Vafaei in York.

Thirty years after he first won the title as a 17-year-old in 1993, O’Sullivan will face either Judd Trump or Ding Junhui on Sunday seeking to win a record-extending eighth crown and shut out one of the pair from building their own collection of silverware.

“I’m just hanging around so people don’t get as good as a career as me,” quipped O’Sullivan, who ruthlessly exploited a series of costly errors from his Iranian opponent to seal by far his most comfortable victory of a gruelling week.

“If I could stop (Mark) Selby winning a few, and Judd winning a few, and Ding and (Neil) Robertson winning a few – just ruin their careers a little bit – that would be great. Sometimes that’s just a nice motivation to play.”

O’Sullivan was hardly an underdog heading into his first meeting with Vafaei since their controversial Crucible clash in August, but the Iranian was certainly the man in form after rifling seven centuries across the tournament’s three previous rounds.

In contrast the 47-year-old O’Sullivan had laboured through consecutive final-frame deciders against Robert Milkins and Zhou Yuelong, often appearing wayward and unfocused for periods despite booking his place back in the last four.

While O’Sullivan looked more clear-headed throughout their quarter-final clash, his dominance was due in part to an underwhelming performance from Vafaei, for whom errors in five of the six frames won by his opponent served up a disappointingly one-sided encounter.

Vafaei ran aground on a break of 30 in the opener and O’Sullivan swept up with a break of 54 before a 113 in the second frame put him firmly in command.

Vafaei showed a glimmer of fight as his eighth century of the tournament started the charge back level, but O’Sullivan took an error-strewn fifth and restored his two-frame lead after Vafaei missed a shockingly easy red to the middle.

O’Sullivan jawed a shot to the same pocket in the next, but a missed black off its spot brought more pain for Vafaei and when he missed the same colour to the top pocket in the eighth frame, the Iranian’s hopes of reaching a first major career final were over.

“I feel as fresh as a daisy,” added a revitalised O’Sullivan afterwards. “These tournaments are not a problem. I can do it quite comfortably. I’m still happy to have got this far, it’s great and I have enjoyed my week.

Downbeat Ronnie O’Sullivan has warned he will continue “stinking out gaffes” after he limped into the quarter-finals of the UK Snooker Championship with a 6-5 win over Robert Milkins in York.

O’Sullivan, who is playing in trainers due to suffering from the heel injury plantar fasciitis, made his frustration clear as he almost blew a 5-3 lead before rallying to earn a last-eight slot against Zhou Yuelong.

“I don’t understand how this game works,” shrugged O’Sullivan. “I gave up a long time ago. I just keep turning up and stinking out gaffes. I stunk it out today and I’ll stink it out tomorrow. You’ll have to get a mask to watch me play.”

Despite hitting a 142 in frame five, O’Sullivan, who is aiming for a record eighth UK crown, was far from his best, and expressed his irritation after serving up one of three glorious opportunities for Milkins in the decider by dropping his cue onto the table.

But Milkins, whose solitary win over O’Sullivan in 11 previous attempts had come at the single-frame Shoot-Out in 2002, failed to capitalise, missing a pink then a simple red to middle, before finally dangling a red over the bottom pocket that effectively sealed his fate.

The win extended O’Sullivan’s stay in the city for at least one more day, ring-fencing enough ranking points to give him hope of preserving his status prior to the festive period, when he intends to skip the Scottish Open then jet off for a Christmas Day exhibition in Macau.

“I just don’t want it bad enough any more,” added O’Sullivan. “I’m having to dig deep. When I was younger I didn’t have to dig deep, I was so hungry, and now I’m just thinking I don’t really care.

“It’s nice if I get through but I don’t actually want to work that hard. That’s why I like doing my exhibitions, my own shows in China. It’s still competitive but it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you can have a drink after and a bite to eat.

“Competitive sport is hard, it’s not just about how good you are but how much you want it. I still want to play, I still like the lifestyle and the travelling. But I’m not going to kill myself out there, it’s not worth it.”

O’Sullivan’s judgement was off from the start, allowing Milkins, whose career has been revitalised since his first ranking title win at the Welsh Open in February which sent him into the world’s top 16 for the first time, to capitalise and establish a 2-0 lead.

It should have got even better for Milkins, who had a glorious chance to go 3-0 in front before a simple missed red allowed O’Sullivan to produce a quickfire response of 86, followed by a 53 in the fourth frame which took him into the interval level at 2-2.

A brilliant 142 total clearance sent O’Sullivan in front for the first time, and another Milkins error in the next, when he broken down on a black on 52, allowed O’Sullivan to sweep up to go 4-2 in front.

The game’s momentum continued to swing, as Milkins reduced the deficit with a coolly-dispatched 91, then O’Sullivan responded with an 83 to edge one frame from victory.

Milkins hit back again, with a superb 120 before O’Sullivan missed a simple missed blue in the next, showing more frustration with a rash attempt to escape from a snooker that served up his opponent with the simplest of chances to pull level.

Milkins could hardly have hoped for a better chance to end his career-long drought over multi-frame matches, but the nerves clearly got the better of him, and he was inevitably made to pay for his misses as O’Sullivan rallied to clinch a thoroughly underwhelming win.

John Higgins’ hopes of setting up another showdown with his long-time rival were dashed when he fell 6-3 to Zhou in another erratic affair, sending the Chinese player into the quarter-finals for only the second time in his career.

Zhou was whitewashed in both previous meetings with O’Sullivan in York, in 2018 and in last year’s last 16, but said: “I have beaten some good players this week and it has given me confidence that this time against Ronnie it will be different.”