Englishman Ronnie O'Sullivan has compiled 15 official competitive maximum breaks, the most achieved by any professional player. As of December 2019, a further 55 maximum breaks have been officially recorded in professional competition. Mark Selby made the 100th officially recognised maximum break in professional competition on 7 December 2013 in the seventh frame of his semi-final match against Ricky Walden at the UK Championship. However, beginning in the 1994–95 season, at least one maximum break has been achieved every season thereafter the 13 maximums scored in the 2016–17 season is the highest number to date. īefore the 1994–95 season, the maximum break remained a rare feat, with only 15 official maximums compiled altogether. The following year, Cliff Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum at the World Championship in the fourth frame of his second round match against Terry Griffiths. Davis won a Lada car (provided by the event's sponsors) for his achievement.
This was also the first televised maximum break.
The first official maximum break in professional competition was compiled by Steve Davis in the 1982 Classic at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham, against John Spencer. This did not count as an official maximum, however, as the break was made on a non-templated table used during the event. John Spencer compiled a maximum break in the 1979 Holsten Lager International.
SNOOKER 147 RONNIE FASTEST SERIES
The match between Davis and Smith was played as part of a series of events marking the closure of Leicester Square Hall known as Thurston's Hall until 1947, the venue had hosted many important billiards and snooker matches since its opening in 1901, including twelve World Snooker Championship finals. It was not until a meeting on 20 March 1957 that the break was officially recognised, and Davis was presented with a certificate to commemorate his achievement. At the time, the professional game used a rule (now standard) whereby after a foul a player could compel the offender to play the next stroke. The Billiards Association and Control Council initially refused to accept the break since the match was not played under their rules. Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognised maximum break on 22 January 1955, in a match against Willie Smith at Leicester Square Hall, London. This holds the record for the fastest 147. Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum at the 1997 World Championship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bonus was removed and thereafter, individual prizes for maximum breaks were largely replaced by just a static "high break" prize for most tournaments, though some still offer a separate maximum break prize. Any players who complete at least one such break will earn a share of the bonus proportional to the number they complete. For the 2019-20 snooker season, World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn replaced the rolling prize with a conditional £1 million bonus, to be awarded if 20 or more maximum breaks are attained in a single season. In the 1980s and 1990s, some players received £147,000 for making a maximum break, but as the frequency of maximums increased, the reward for a maximum break was changed to a rolling prize pot that began at £5,000, leading to some discontent among players. Only eight recognised maximum breaks were achieved in the 1980s, but there were 26 in the 1990s, 35 in the 2000s, and 86 in the 2010s. Maximum breaks have gradually become more frequent in snooker. He also holds the record for the fastest competitive maximum break, at 5 minutes and 8 seconds, which he achieved at the 1997 World Championship. Ronnie O'Sullivan holds the record for the most maximum breaks in professional competition, with 15. At the UK Championship in December 2013, Mark Selby compiled the 100th recognised maximum break in professional competition. The following year, Cliff Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum at the World Snooker Championship. At the Classic in January 1982, Steve Davis achieved the first recognised maximum in professional competition, which was also the first maximum to occur during a televised match. The first officially recognised maximum break was made by Joe Davis in a 1955 exhibition match in London. Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a particularly significant achievement in the game of snooker, and may be compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points, followed by all six colours for a further 27 points. Ronnie O'Sullivan holds the record for the highest number of maximum breaks in professional competition (15), and also the fastest (5 minutes and 8 seconds, set at the 1997 World Championship).Ī maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible break in a single frame of snooker.