German Masters champion Ali Carter said a Whitney Houston song helped him earn his first ranking title in seven years as he beat Tom Ford in the Berlin final on Sunday.
Carter, who last won a title in 2016 at the Yushan World Open in 2016, moved up to World No. 15 with his 10-3 win over compatriot Ford.
He said after the match that Houston's hit song "Step by Step", which reached No. 2 in the charts in 1990, helped him to victory.
"The journey of getting through the day, all you can see is getting to 10 [frames] seeming like an absolute mile away," Carter told World Snooker.
"But you get to 10 by getting to one, to two, to three. I said: 'Just stay in the moment, forget 10, just break it all down into little bits, and step by step.'
"I heard Step by Step by Whitney Houston and it was quite a memorable song, and I just thought 'yeah, step by step, day by day' and I've got there."
Ford made a break of 121 in the first frame and went on to take a 2-0 lead. But Carter recovered to win six consecutive frames to lead 6-3, before finishing up the tie by claiming each of the last four.
"I am really proud of the way I played," Carter said. "When you play the game as long as I have, you think it won't happen again, but you have to keep believing."
