English Open 2026: Ali Carter Is Champion
Ali Carter, 47, defeated Mark Williams, 51, by a scoreline of 9-6 in the BetVictor English Open 2026 final in Brentwood to claim the seventh ranking title of his career. For the Captain, it is his first full-format knockout trophy on English soil and the first time he has beaten one of the sport’s all-time greats in a ranking final.
Carter collected the £100,000 winner’s cheque and lifted the Steve Davis Trophy in front of a near-capacity crowd in his home county of Essex. The victory catapults him from 25th to 16th in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, securing automatic qualification for snooker’s Triple Crown events (the Masters, UK Championship, and World Championship).
Williams, despite the defeat, rises from 9th to 8th in the rankings and enters the record books as the oldest ranking-event finalist in 40 years — since Rex Williams contested the 1986 Grand Prix final. His own record as the oldest ranking-event winner (set aged 50 at last year’s Xi’an Grand Prix) remains intact.
Semi-Final Results (September 12)
The two finalists arrived via starkly contrasting semi-final experiences:
| Match | Score |
|---|---|
| Ding Junhui — Carter A. | 2-6 |
| Murphy S. — Williams M. | 5-6 |
Carter demolished Ding. Ali Carter produced one of the performances of his career to dispatch Ding Junhui 6-2, compiling five substantial breaks — 119, 90, 77, 76, and 74. It was a masterclass that left Ding with no answers.
Williams pulled off an astonishing comeback. Mark Williams trailed Shaun Murphy 1-5 and reeled off five consecutive frames for a 6-5 victory in the decider — one of the most remarkable comebacks in Home Nations history. The effort, however, may well have taken its toll ahead of the final.
The Final: Carter 9-6 Williams — How It Unfolded
First session (1pm). Williams opened the final with a devastating break of 136 and dominated the early exchanges. A stunning 132 in the fourth frame put the Welshman 3-1 up. Carter answered with a century of his own — 103 in the fifth frame — but Williams won two more to end the first session with a commanding 5-3 lead.
Between sessions. What Carter did next was unlike any finalist’s preparation in snooker history. While Williams rested, the qualified pilot drove to his airfield, ran through his pre-flight checklist, started the engine, and took to the skies for a half-hour night flight. He described the experience as “nectar” — a way to escape the pressure of the final entirely and return to the table with a clear mind.
Second session (8pm). Carter came out transformed. Breaks of 64 and 57 levelled the match at 5-5. He then won the eleventh frame to lead for the first time at 6-5. Williams hit back with a run of 60 to restore parity at 6-6, but it was the last time the three-time world champion would hold parity in the match.
Carter won the thirteenth frame to pull ahead again. The fourteenth was a tense, grinding 41-minute affair, the pivotal moment a clutch green deposited into the right-hand centre pocket that gave Carter an 8-6 advantage — one frame from the title.
In the fifteenth, Carter closed out the match with contributions of 38 and 54, clenching his fist as the final ball dropped. The Brentwood Centre erupted.
Reactions
Carter was visibly emotional in the aftermath. He said the victory did not yet feel real, and singled out the fact that this was the first time he had beaten one of the sport’s true greats in a ranking final. Previous title wins, he acknowledged candidly, had come against lower-ranked opponents. To beat Mark Williams in front of a home crowd was, in his words, a dream come true.
On the night flight, Carter explained that it was pure escape — running the checklist, starting up, going out flying for half an hour. Getting away from it all. That, he said, was nectar.
Williams, with characteristic grace, conceded that Carter deserved the victory. The 51-year-old said he played well in patches but did not handle the pressure Carter applied in the evening session. He praised the crowd, the conditions, and the week as a whole, and offered his congratulations to the champion.
English Open 2026 — Tournament Summary
- Champion: Ali Carter (England) — 7th ranking title, £100,000, Steve Davis Trophy.
- Runner-up: Mark Williams (Wales) — £50,000, oldest ranking finalist in 40 years.
- Highest break of the tournament: Zhou Yuelong — 141.
- Ranking changes: Carter rises from 25th to 16th (automatic Triple Crown qualification). Williams rises from 9th to 8th..
- Carter’s road to the title: Round of 64: walkover (opponent withdrew) → Round of 32: R. Williams 4-0 → Round of 16: Gong C. 4-2 → QF: Zhou Yuelong 6-5 → SF: Ding Junhui 6-2 → Final: M. Williams 9-6.
The 2026 English Open leaves behind a rich tapestry of stories: the Liam Davies fairytale, Carter’s astonishing comebacks, Williams’s impossible rally against Murphy, Ding’s resurgence, and the Captain’s crowning achievement on home soil. The next leg of the Home Nations Series — the Northern Ireland Open — takes place at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast from October 18 to 25.
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