Ali Carter beats Mark Williams to claim first English Open title

Ali Carter won the English Open for the first time on Sunday, defeating Mark Williams 9-6 in Brentwood after overturning a two-frame deficit. BBC Sport reported that the 47-year-old Essex player collected £100,000 and secured his seventh ranking title, ending a wait for a ranking trophy that stretched back to 2024.

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Williams led 5-3 after the opening session, but Carter took the first two frames of the evening to draw level and did not fall behind again. He won six of the seven frames after the interval, closing out the match without conceding a point in the final frame. Neither finalist had previously lifted the English Open trophy.

The frame-by-frame results published by snooker.org show how sharply the final changed direction. Williams made breaks of 136 and 132 in the opening session, while Carter contributed a century of 103. In the evening, Carter moved from 5-5 to 6-5 before Williams equalised. Carter then claimed the last three frames, completing the match with a break of 54 in a 99-0 frame.

Carter had already come through a deciding frame against Zhou Yuelong, winning their quarter-final 6-5. He followed that with a 6-2 semi-final victory over Ding Junhui. According to snooker.org, Carter ended that match by scoring 400 points without reply. Earlier in the tournament he had beaten Jackson Page 4-1, Robbie Williams 4-0 and Gong Chenzhi 4-2 to reach the last eight.

Williams reached the final through a much closer semi-final, recovering from 4-0 and 5-1 down to defeat Shaun Murphy 6-5. His quarter-final brought a 6-3 win over Liam Davies and his 700th career century, recorded in the ninth frame. Those results set up a final between two players whose combined age was 98, which snooker.org listed as a record for finalists.

For Carter, the victory also restored a place among the world's top 16. BBC Sport reported that he climbed nine positions from 25th. Speaking to TNT Sports, he credited a willingness to attempt difficult pots rather than pass up opportunities, and described winning another trophy at 47 in front of his home supporters as a special achievement.