Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he was 'turned on' by testing Ali Carter's mettle in Masters final comeback and felt his rival would crumble at Alexandra Palace: 'I love it when their bottle goes'

Ronnie O'Sullivan clinched eighth Masters title on Sunday The Rocket beat Ali Carter 10-7 at Alexandra Palace O'Sullivan had to come from behind after Carter led 5-3 in the first session 

Ronnie O’Sullivan revealed he was ‘turned on’ by the prospect of testing Ali Carter’s mettle in the Masters final on Sunday night.

The Rocket won an eighth Masters title after coming from three frames down to beat Carter 10-7 at Alexandra Palace and become the oldest winner in the history of the tournament at 48.

Should he win the World Championship in May, O’Sullivan would become only the fourth player in history to complete snooker’s triple crown after winning the UK Championship last month.

Only Steve Davis – in 1988 – Stephen Hendry – in 1995 and 1996 – and Mark Williams – in 2003 – have previously accomplished the feat.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won an eighth Masters crown by beating Ali Carter 10-7 on Sunday

Carter led by three frames, but could only score 51 points in the final four frames

O’Sullivan noted he felt his opponent became too conservative in the evening session

But it was Carter who looked on course for a first triple crown title, as he took a 5-3 lead in the first session and went three clear after play resumed.

O’Sullivan won three frames on the bounce to level the score and then took out four of the next five in brutally efficient fashion.

And the eight-time Masters winner admitted he relished the psychological battle with Carter after he reeled his opponent in.

‘I just had to keep Ali honest, I thought let’s see if he had the bottle to get over the line,’ he told Eurosport after the trophy presentation.

‘That was the only thing that turned me on tonight.

‘Let’s just get him to that point. I want to see if he twitches. I love seeing it when their bottle goes. I love it.’

Carter made his ninth century of the tournament in the 13th frame, but scored just 51 points in the final four frames with each of his mistakes ruthlessly punished.

‘That’s what was driving me on tonight, get him to that point to go, come on, let’s see if you’ve got it?,’ O’Sullivan explained.

‘Not many people have. It’s a good place to find out, when you’re out there. Most of them do [feel it] there’s very few that don’t.

‘That’s my main asset really now, I just get them to that point and go: “Okay it’s about potting big balls and holding yourself together”.

‘There’s a few on the tour that can do it but not many, so I always like to get them in that situation and see if they can produce.’

And O’Sullivan suggested he felt the momentum would swing as the world No2 became more conservative in the evening session.

O’Sullivan said he felt Carter would crumble after altering his approach in the evening

His mistakes were ruthlessly punished by the 48-year-old in a dominant display

‘Ali didn’t play great tonight, he played better this afternoon, but tonight he let me off the hook a few times,’ he said.

‘He was aggressive today but tonight he didn’t take on some of the balls I thought he might have and gave me a little bit of breathing space.’

O’Sullivan has now won back-to-back triple crown events for the first time in his career, but remained coy over his chances of winning at the Crucible in May.

‘At the moment I’d probably say it’s not good enough to feel confident of winning,’ he said.

‘I can still win it, but I’d like to go there with a bit of confidence with my game.’