Carter cruises into totesport Welsh Open Final
Allister Carter comfortably beat Stephen Maguire 6-3 to reach the final of the Welsh Open Snooker
Carter bids to become only the third player to defend the Welsh Title, alongside Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan, after his 6-3 win over Maguire.
A run of 80 in the ninth frame secured victory for the defending champion and he was pleased to put the match to bed.
"I was pleased to make that break", said a relieved Carter. "It would have got really tough if it had gone 5-4.
"I felt under it. I missed black, saw the winning post too soon, so I went back to what I'd been doing all week.
"I came here to just take it one match at a time, to quote the old cliche.
"Whoever I play in the final I know I'm in for a really tough match, but I'm delighted to get through again."
Carter got the better of a thirty minute opening frame. He did break down on 64 but Maguire needed a snooker by then He made 30 but eventually left the last red on for 'The Captain'.
Pretty soon it was 2-0 as Carter rattled in 95 to stret h his lead.
Maguire missed the black off its spot at the start of the third frame and although it didn't immediately lead to him losing the frame, once Carter had trapped him in a snooker and elicited 6 misses the Scot was on the back foot.
He did eventually get a frame on board, with a classy 86 in the fourth.
Carter fired in 48 on the back of a long red in the fifth and the missed a red. He got away with it added 49 to go 4-1 ahead.
Maguire dominated the next. He opened with 50 and ran safe and then fluked a red to the centre and cleared with 77.
The defending champion maintained his tight control on the match with a 59 break to put him within a frame of the final.
Frame eight was bizarre to say the least. Maguire got the first chance but snookered himself on all the colours. He missed the green ten times, but just as we werre all reaching for the record books, he hit it on the eleventh attempt, so didn't come close to break the thirteen misses record.
Carter missed a routine black off the sport and Maguire compiled 60 to stay in the match, but only as long as it took Carter to compile the match winning 80 break in the ninth frame.
A rueful Maguire revealed he's thinking of changing cues. "I've been having a few problems with this cue. I'm struggling when using side. We've got a break now before China so I'm going home to try a different cue in practice.
Maguire was also critical of his own form commenting "Ali should have won 6-2 but he missed a black and I nicked the frame.
"I played a careless safety in the last frame. You should never leave a red over the pocket.
"It's only taking someone to play half decent to beat me these days.
"I haven't found the answers yet but I'm going home to work on it."
