Ronnie O’Sullivan has hit out at the condition of Alexandra Palace, labelling the Masters snooker venue “disgusting”.
The seven-time Masters winner said: “I just don’t like this place. I find it disgusting. Everywhere is dirty. It’s cold. It’s freezing. I have to wear my coat everywhere. You go through car parks. There are bins. Honestly, it just makes me feel ill.
“I’m a bit of a clean freak and when I come in here it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I just can’t wait to get out of here.”
The 48-year-old was speaking after his 6-3 victory over Barry Hawkins on Thursday to reach the last four of the competition. His negative assessment of 19th-century Ally Pally, as it is affectionately known, echo those he made about the Crawley K2 Leisure Centre in 2018, where he complained about the stench of urine.
After these latest comments, the World Snooker Tour countered that “other players have spoken with unanimous positivity” about the venue, which has hosted the Masters since 2012.
O’Sullivan will face Shaun Murphy in the semi-final on Saturday.
In Friday’s action, defending champion Judd Trump was knocked out by Ali Carter after a thrilling quarter-final which went down to the wire.
Carter was losing 5-4 and facing an exit in the 10th frame only for his opponent to over-cut the matchball red, allowing the 44-year-old to seize his chance and produce a 43 clearance to take it to a decider.
Boosted by that momentum a break of 64 then saw Carter, who had been 4-2 up only for Trump to fight back with a break of 129 on his way to winning three frames in succession, through to only his second Masters semi in 13 attempts.
“For all the money, I looked like going 5-3 in front and lost my composure for a couple of frames,” Carter said in his post-match interview.
“I felt like I worked really hard but was delighted to make an unbelievable clearance to force a decider. Then how I’ve held myself together there, I don’t know – that’s a feather in my cap.”
