ALI CARTER bagged £105,000 at the Shanghai Masters – but he only qualified thanks to Mark Allen.
The Essex cueist reached the final where he was beaten by former world champion Kyren Wilson, 11-9.
GettyAli Carter got a cryptic text from Mark Allen letting him know he was in the Shanghai Masters[/caption]
PAAllen text his pal ‘Merry Christmas’[/caption]
AlamyKyren Wilson beat Carter in the final to win the tournament[/caption]
But he very nearly missed out on the invitational event as he is ranked No.17 in the world, with only the top 16 given a place.
Fortunately for Carter, his pal and world No.10 Mark Allen was forced to withdraw.
The Northern Irishman shared the good news with a cryptic text that left Carter rather confused.
Carter explained: “He just texts me and says ‘Merry Christmas, mate’.
“I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but then I read between the lines and he said he’s not going to Shanghai.
“I was like ‘thanks mate, I owe you a vodka!’”
Carter, 46, reached the final after breezing past Le Qui and Mark Williams in the opening rounds.
He then beat Xiao Guodong in a close contest 6-5 to set up a clash with Mark Selby.
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The tense encounter almost went to the final frame, but Carter won four frames in a row to book his place in the final.
He was narrowly beaten by Wilson but collected a £105,000 cash prize for finishing runner-up.
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