Ronnie O'Sullivan rebounded from a 6-3 deficit to beat Ali Carter 10-7 to win a record-extending eighth Masters title and help complete snooker's treble in one season.
He won the British Championship in December, now the Masters, and if he wins the World Championship in May, he will have three championships in one season – Steve Davis (1988) and Stephen Hendry (1995 and 1996). He will join a prestigious club of players who have conquered it all. and Mark Williams (2003).
At 48, O'Sullivan is both the oldest and youngest Masters champion, and also holds the record at the British Championships.
Carter opened up a 5-3 lead after the first session and immediately extended his advantage once play resumed at Alexandra Palace, putting him on track for his first Triple Crown title.
O'Sullivan missed the reel in three consecutive frames to get back on even terms, and Carter reached his ninth century of the tournament in the 13th frame, breaking the record set by O'Sullivan in 2007 and 2009.
But Carter mustered just 51 points with four frames to go as O'Sullivan mercilessly punished every mistake and, after December's British Championship win, secured the first back-to-back Triple Crown wins of his career.
“To be honest, I don't know how we won this tournament,” O'Sullivan told BBC Sport.
“I just dug deep. I've been trying to play a little bit freer, but tonight I was going to let Ali be honest. If he's going to win, he's got to scrape me off the table. I just wanted to see if he had it in the end.”
Carter, 44, four years O'Sullivan's junior, was arguably the best player of the week and came close to winning his first Triple Crown. He fought through tough draws with Mark Williams, Judd Trump, and Mark Allen.
He is making a comeback after falling out of the world top 16 four years ago and suffering some serious health problems during his career. His win at the German Masters last February moved him back into the top 16 and his form has been impressive since then. He rose to No. 10 in the world and was ranked even higher in the provisional rankings at the end of the season.
