Martin Gould insists the unforgettable memories of Berlin are not going to disappear anytime soon – despite watching his F66.com German Masters title be wrenched almost literally from his hands.

The Pinner potter had been the defending champion at the Tempodrom, though semi-final defeat to Ali Carter on Saturday ended his chances of a repeat success.

Despite playing some fine snooker, Gould was his own worst enemy at times, harshly done by with a 6-2 scoreline against a fellow former champion.

But despite the gut-wrenching feeling of walking past the trophy on his exit, the world No.19 could still take a mixture of emotions after his best ranking performance since success in Germany 12 months ago.

“I came here to defend my title and I did that the best I could. It wasn’t to be this time,” he said.

“I came to enjoy myself, because most people here wouldn’t have given me a hope in hell of defending my title, so I was going under that radar.

“Not many people mentioned my name, you had Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson and the like, so I was just drifting along minding my own business.

“I wasn’t coming here just to make up the numbers, I was here to win it again. I knew that, despite my form not being fantastic, something was ready to happen and a semi-final is the first part of that, a good start.”

Having taken the first frame, Gould became the victim of a top-form Carter, whose breaks of 83, 61 and 71 saw him take the interval march 3-1 in their first-to-six encounter.

But after trading frames it was the Captain still in complete domination, with snookers needed in the eighth, and ultimately final, frame to keep the Pinner cueman in the contest.

But it was to end in what Gould admitted was comical fashion, making three fouls in succession – including hitting a red off the table – though he was able to take solace from a crowd appreciative of his achievements in Berlin.

He continued: “I thought we both played really well, there was always something for the crowd to cheer, whether it was a good shot or bad or something a bit comical, but I suppose on a different day it could have been a different story.

“Sometimes you just know it’s not going to be your day, the match was already gone by then anyway, but I wasn’t going to just shake his hand, he needed to beat me properly.

“The German fans have a special place in my heart, every place I go I get a very good following and some of them even come to the UK.

“Their support, not just to me, deserves a massive thank you because that place was rocking and if you can’t get up for that then you shouldn’t be playing the sport.”

Watch the German Masters LIVE and Exclusive on Eurosport 1, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds