Australian snooker star Neil Robertson has been beaten in the semi-finals of the German Masters.
Carter advanced to the final against Hong Kong's Marco Fu and will be aiming for the third ranking title of his career after the 2009 Welsh Open and 2010 Shanghai Masters.
The Englishman, who almost quit the sport in 2011 after suffering from a loss of form and the effects of Crohn's disease, had a worrying start to the tournament when his cue went missing on the flight to Berlin.
'I tweeted BA (British Airways) to say 'cheers' and got a direct message back to say they were on the case. Luckily the cue arrived on a later flight and was delivered to the venue by taxi an hour before my first match,' said Carter after his win over former world champion Robertson.
Fu reached his first major final since 2008 by beating England's Barry Hawkins 6-4.
Fu's wife Shirley gave birth to their first baby, a girl called Alicia, on December 22 in London.
'My preparation was not great for this tournament, I only practised about a third as much as I normally do. There have been some sleepless nights,' said Fu.
'Maybe the baby has helped because it takes my mind off things.'
