Audio of Ronnie O'Sullivan's extraordinary X-rated rant about Ali Carter emerges, it's got fans talking

Audio of Ronnie O'Sullivan X-rated rant towards Ali Carter following the Masters final has emerged online.

'The Rocket' came from 6-3 down to beat Carter 10-7 at Alexandra Palace on Sunday, with his opponent's performance levels notably dropping towards the end of the match.

Carter's wait to win a Triple Crown ranking event, therefore, continues, with 'The Captain' losing in two World Championship finals and reaching the final of the Masters back in 2020.

There was some tension post-match, however, with Carter not directly congratulating O'Sullivan in his live interview with BBC's Rob Walker.

In his media conference, the 44-year-old then accused his opponent of 'snotting all over the floor' during the match, describing it as 'outrageous behaviour'.

O'Sullivan responded in furious fashion in his own media conference with journalists, claiming that Carter 'has got issues' and 'needs to sort his f***ing life out'.

He exclaimed: "F***ing why has he got issues with me? I'm not having it. I don't care, grow some balls. I don't give a f**k. The more he brings it on, the more I f***ing punish him every time."

Audio of O'Sullivan's fiery blast has now emerged on social media, courtesy of Sporting Life journalist Chris Hammer.

You can see the clip below.

Fans were left shocked by the audio, with one writing: "Is Ali Carter really as bad as Ronnie is making out here? Portraying him as the pariah of the snooker circuit."

Another argued: "Doesn't even sound bad? Carter was bitter because he got beat by someone better than him."

A third said: "What's been said by Ronnie is tepid."

A fourth defended O'Sullivan, writing: "Ronnie said this in a very calm way so it's hardly a rant. He's defending himself and rightly so."

Another wrote: "Outspoken snooker player detests another outspoken snooker player. Do we expect them all to get on brilliantly and talk in lovely PR, snooker-friendly language?"

The 'rivalry' between the pair stems back to the 2018 World Championship, when Carter beat O'Sullivan 13-8 in a second round match.

With the scores at 10-8, the seven-time world champion put his opponent in a snooker, before the pair barged shoulders as O'Sullivan returned to his seat.

Carter laughed off the incident, and later claimed that O'Sullivan had apologised - but 'The Rocket' would later insist that wasn't the case.