Carter hits maximum

ALI CARTER admitted he was “shaking like a leaf” after creating snooker history by firing a 147 break at the 888.com World Championship — the first time two maximums have been scored in the same tournament.

Just a day after Ronnie O’Sullivan recorded the seventh 147 in Crucible history, Carter made it number eight in the 15th frame of his quarter-final with Peter Ebdon.

And, even more amazingly, it came in the frame immediately after Ebdon had missed his own chance for a 147, missing the 15th black.

Carter will earn half of the £147,000 bonus for a maximum and the £10,000 for the highest break of the tournament, perhaps scuppering O’Sullivan’s plans to buy a Bentley convertible.

The 28-year-old from Essex, who ended the session 9-7 ahead of 2002 champion Ebdon, joked: “I’m going to buy a Ford Focus convertible, I’ve been dying to get one!

“It was a real adrenalin rush, especially after seeing Ronnie’s yesterday. To get the first of my career here is extra special, it’s just brilliant.”

Carter jumped around the table in delight after potting a tricky final black despite the white being close to the side cushion, and was congratulated by Stephen Hendry and Ryan Day, who had stopped play on the other side of the screen to watch the closing stages.

Hendry had threatened to thrash Day with a session to spare when he raced into an 8-1 lead, missing yet another chance for a 147 in the fourth frame when he missed the 15th red.

But Welshman Day, making his quarter-final debut at the Crucible, split the evening session 4-4 to trail 11-5 overall.

All four quarter-finals were under way with O’Sullivan level with Chinese qualifier Liang Wenbo at 4-4 and Stephen Maguire and Joe Perry also tied at 4-4.

O’Sullivan soon found himself 2-0 down to debutant Liang as he failed to pot a single ball. Liang compiled breaks of 80, 48 and 49 to keep the two-time world champion sat in his chair.

However, the Rocket hit back with breaks of 109, 58 and 71 to lead 3-2 before a missed red on a break of 24 proved costly, Liang clearing up with 104 to level the scores.

Liang edged back in front with a run of 89 but O’Sullivan took the final frame of the session to ensure the match was evenly poised ahead of today’s conclusion.

Meanwhile, Maguire had to recover from 4-0 down against qualifier Perry, the Scot almost getting a taste of his own medicine.

Maguire had led Anthony Hamilton 8-0 and Neil Robertson 9-0 in the opening two rounds but managed only 21 points in the first four frames as Perry ran in breaks of 68, 121 and 82.

The 27-year-old from Glasgow regained his composure at the mid-session interval, however, and breaks of 54 and 91 helped him level the scores.