O'Sullivan and Carter clash at World Championships

Ali Carter insists he “refused to be bullied” by Ronnie O’Sullivan after the two clashed in a bitter Crucible spat, before knocking him out of the Betfred World Snooker Championship.

O’Sullivan deliberately barged into Carter’s shoulder during the 19th frame and said “That’s for being Mr Angry” but that only inspired the 38-year-old, who went on to boot the tournament favourite out 13-9.

Referee Paul Collier told the players to calm down, to which O’Sullivan replied he was “as cool as a cucumber” but it was Carter, who has twice beaten cancer, left standing in the end.

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“It is heat of the moment, he will do whatever he can to win. He barged me but I am sorry, I won’t be bullied by anyone,” he said.

“I have been through a lot in my life and I have been through a lot harder things than a shoulder barge.

“I am not interested in Mr Angry, I am there to win. At the end of the day, I was putting it on him big time in this match and Ronnie is very clever in all aspects. You have to be, to be as successful as he is.

“But it is great it did not derail me. I could easily have gone and been the little boy in the corner but no, this was my day and I am delighted.”

Carter had said on the eve of the match that he wants to bring an end to the “Ronnie O’Sullivan Show” and the match was full of tension throughout – before it spilled over and O’Sullivan got his own back for an earlier Carter barge.

“I don’t get angry unless there is justification there,” he said.

“We all get angry sometimes. If someone is going to shoulder barge me then what, have I got to walk around and tip-toe and do a little curtsy as if they are the King or Queen?

“Sometimes you have to stand your ground. It happened earlier in the game but I don’t want to dwell on it, we should be talking about a great match.”

For Carter this was a major win. It was his first against O’Sullivan in a ranking event and marked the first time he has reached the quarter-finals since he last made the final in 2012.

O’Sullivan certainly brought the heat to the session but Carter was unflappable, with a superb clearance at 11-9 the highlight as he dumped out the 42-year-old tournament favourite.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s John Higgins already has one foot in the quarter-finals after he motored into a 8-0 lead against Jack Lisowski.

The Englishman looked rattled throughout the match and Higgins took full advantage of every error to move just five frames from victory.

Watch the snooker World Championship LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.