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Maximum break

 
Wikipedia: Maximum break

In snooker, a break is the total point score achieved by a player in a single visit to the table. A player's proficiency at building big breaks, particularly century breaks (scores over 100), is widely used as a measure of their overall skill.

The maximum break possible under normal circumstances is 147. This is often known as a maximum, or a 147 (or orally a one-four-seven). The 147 is amassed by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points then all six colours for a further 27 points. Scores above 147 are possible in the case of free balls due to fouling by the opponent.

In six-red snooker, the maximum break is 75 points (83 with free ball), as there are fewer reds and thus fewer black-scoring opportunities. In snooker plus, the maximum is 210 (221 with free ball) due to the additional, high point-value colours.

Contents

Highest break following a foul

The highest break possible is 155. This can occur when an opponent fouls but leaves the player snookered on all 15 reds. The player can nominate one of the other colours as a red, known as a "free ball", which carries the same value as a red for just that shot. By potting the free ball followed by a colour, then all the reds with colours, and then the colours up to the pink or black, the player can compile a break of more than 147. If the free ball is followed by a black, and the player goes on to clear the table taking all blacks with the reds and then all six colours, the total score for the break is 155.

Breaks exceeding 147

At least eight breaks in excess of 147 have been recorded.

  1. A 151 is reported to have been compiled by Wally West against Butch Rogers in West London's Hounslow Luciana snooker club during a club match in 1976. After Rogers fouled, Wally took the green as his free ball followed by the brown. He then took 14 red and blacks and a pink off the last red. He then cleared up to make the 151.[1][2][3]
  2. In April 1988 Steve Duggan made a 148 in a practice frame against Mark Rowing in Doncaster.[1][4]
  3. In 1993 Stephen Hendry made a 148 in a practice match against Alfie Burden.[1]
  4. In 1995 Tony Drago made a 149 in practice against Nick Manning in West Norwood, London in 1995, that was recorded by the Guinness Book of Records as the highest in this category. In that match Drago nominated the brown as the free ball, to score one point. He then potted the brown again, for four more points, before potting 13 reds and 13 blacks, a red and a pink, a red and a blue, then all the colours.[1][4]
  5. In 1997 Eddie Manning achieved a 149 in a practice match against Kam Pandya at Willie Thorne's in Leicester. Like Drago he took brown, brown, 13 blacks, pink and blue.[1]
  6. In April 2003 Jamie Cope made a 151 break at The Reardon Snooker Club during a practice game with David Fomm-Ward. After a foul by his opponent, Cope was snookered behind the brown ball. He took the brown as the free ball and then potted blue, 13 reds with blacks and two with pinks, then the six colours.[1]
  7. In October 2004, during qualifying for the UK Championship, Jamie Burnett achieved a 148 against Leo Fernandez, becoming the first player to achieve a break of more than 147 in professional competition.[1][5]
  8. Jamie Cope was reported to have made a break of 155 in a practice frame in 2005.[1][6]

Prizes

In professional tournaments, there is usually a substantial prize awarded to any player achieving a 147 break, typically was an amount containing "147", e.g. £147, £1,470, £14,700 or £147,000 depending on the prestige of the tournament. As an extreme case, Ronnie O'Sullivan's 1997 maximum earned him £165,000 (£147,000 of this was for making the 147 break and another £18,000 was for achieving the highest break of the tournament).

List of official maximum 147s in professional competition

Date Player Opponent Event
1 January 11, 1982* England Steve Davis England John Spencer Lada Classic
2 April 23, 1983* Canada Cliff Thorburn Wales Terry Griffiths Embassy World Championship
3 January 28, 1984* Canada Kirk Stevens England Jimmy White Benson & Hedges Masters
4 November 17, 1987 England Willie Thorne Northern Ireland Tommy Murphy Tennents UK Championship
5 February 20, 1988 England Tony Meo Scotland Stephen Hendry Rothmans Matchroom League
6 September 24, 1988 Canada Alain Robidoux England Jim Meadowcroft European Open (Q)
7 February 18, 1989 Scotland John Rea Scotland Ian Black Scottish Professional Championship
8 March 8, 1989 Canada Cliff Thorburn England Jimmy White Matchroom League
9 January 16, 1991 Thailand James Wattana Wales Paul Dawkins Mita/Sky World Masters
10 June 1991 England Peter Ebdon England Wayne Martin Strachan Open
11 February 1992* Thailand James Wattana Malta Tony Drago British Open
12 April 22, 1992* England Jimmy White Malta Tony Drago Embassy World Championship
13 May 9, 1992 England John Parrott England Tony Meo Matchroom League
14 May 24, 1992 Scotland Stephen Hendry England Willie Thorne Matchroom League
15 November 1992 England Peter Ebdon Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship
16 September 1994 England David McDonnell England Nic Barrow British Open (Q)
17 April 27, 1995* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Jimmy White Embassy World Championship
18 November 25, 1995* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Gary Wilkinson Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship
19 January 5, 1997* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Ronnie O'Sullivan Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge
20 April 21, 1997* England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Mick Price Embassy World Championship
21 September 1997 Thailand James Wattana People's Republic of China Pang Wei Guo Catch China Challenge
22 May 16, 1998* Scotland Stephen Hendry Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty Doc. Marten's Premier League
23 August 10, 1998 England Adrian Gunnell Netherlands Mario Wehrmann Thailand Masters (Q)
24 August 13, 1998 Cyprus Mehmet Husnu England Eddie Barker China International (Q)
25 January 13, 1999 Northern Ireland Jason Prince England Ian Brumby British Open (Q)
26 January 29, 1999* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Thailand James Wattana Regal Welsh Open
27 February 4, 1999 England Stuart Bingham England Barry Hawkins UK Tour Event
28 March 22, 1999 England Nick Dyson England Adrian Gunnell UK Tour Event
29 April 6, 1999* Scotland Graeme Dott England David Roe British Open
30 September 19, 1999* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Peter Ebdon British Open
31 September 21, 1999 England Barry Pinches England Joe Johnson Regal Welsh Open (Q)
32 October 13, 1999* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Scotland Graeme Dott Grand Prix
33 November 4, 1999 England Karl Burrows England Adrian Rosa Benson & Hedges Championship
34 November 22, 1999* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Paul Wykes Liverpool Victoria UK Championship
35 January 21, 2000* Scotland John Higgins Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor Nations Cup
36 March 24, 2000* Scotland John Higgins England Jimmy White Irish Masters
37 March 24, 2000 Scotland Stephen Maguire Thailand Phaitoon Phonbun Regal Scottish Open (Q)
38 April 5, 2000* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Australia Quinten Hann Regal Scottish Open
39 October 25, 2000* Hong Kong Marco Fu Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty Regal Scottish Masters
40 November 7, 2000 England David McLellan England Steve Meakin Benson & Hedges Championship
41 November 19, 2000 England Nick Dyson England Robert Milkins Liverpool Victoria UK Championship
42 February 25, 2001* Scotland Stephen Hendry Wales Mark Williams Malta Grand Prix
43 October 17, 2001* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Scotland Drew Henry LG Cup
44 November 12, 2001 England Shaun Murphy England Adrian Rosa Benson & Hedges Championship
45 October 28, 2002 Malta Tony Drago England Stuart Bingham Benson & Hedges Championship
46 April 22, 2003* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Hong Kong Marco Fu Embassy World Championship
47 October 12, 2003* Scotland John Higgins Wales Mark Williams LG Cup
48 November 12, 2003* Scotland John Higgins Republic of Ireland Michael Judge British Open
49 October 4, 2004* Scotland John Higgins England Ricky Walden Totesport Grand Prix
50 November 17, 2004 England David Gray England Mark Selby Travis UK Championship
51 April 20, 2005* Wales Mark Williams England Robert Milkins Embassy World Championship
52 November 22, 2005 England Stuart Bingham Scotland Marcus Campbell Masters Qualifying Tournament
53 March 14, 2006 England Robert Milkins England Mark Selby 888.com World Championship (Q)
54 October 23, 2006 England Jamie Cope England Michael Holt Royal London Watches Grand Prix
55 January 14, 2007* People's Republic of China Ding Junhui England Anthony Hamilton Saga Insurance Masters
56 February 16, 2007* England Andrew Higginson England Ali Carter Welsh Open
57 September 19, 2007 Scotland Jamie Burnett People's Republic of China Liu Song Royal London Watches Grand Prix (Q)
58 October 14, 2007 England Tom Ford England Steve Davis Royal London Watches Grand Prix
59 November 8, 2007* England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Ali Carter Northern Ireland Trophy
60 December 15, 2007* England Ronnie O'Sullivan England Mark Selby Maplin UK Championship
61 March 29, 2008* Scotland Stephen Maguire Wales Ryan Day China Open
62 April 28, 2008* England Ronnie O'Sullivan Wales Mark Williams 888.com World Championship
63 April 29, 2008* England Ali Carter England Peter Ebdon 888.com World Championship
64 October 2, 2008* England Jamie Cope Wales Mark Williams Shanghai Masters
65 October 29, 2008 People's Republic of China Liang Wenbo England Martin Gould Bahrain Championship (Q)
66 November 8, 2008* Scotland Marcus Campbell Oman Ahmed Basheer Al-Khusaibi Bahrain Championship
67 December 16, 2008* People's Republic of China Ding Junhui Scotland John Higgins Maplin UK Championship
68 April 28, 2009* Scotland Stephen Hendry England Shaun Murphy Betfred.com World Championship
69 June 5, 2009* England Mark Selby England Joe Perry Jiangsu Classic
Table Legend
* Televised
(Q) Qualifying rounds

List of most official 147s

Player Number Last 147
1= England Ronnie O'Sullivan 9 2008
1= Scotland Stephen Hendry 9 2009
3 Scotland John Higgins 5 2004
4 Thailand James Wattana 3 1997
5= Canada Cliff Thorburn 2 1989
5= England Peter Ebdon 2 1992
5= England Nick Dyson 2 2000
5= England Stuart Bingham 2 2005
5= Scotland Stephen Maguire 2 2008
5= England Jamie Cope 2 2008
5= People's Republic of China Ding Junhui 2 2008

List of 147 by nationality

Country Players Total 147's
1  England 22 34
2  Scotland 7 20
3  Canada 3 4
4  Thailand 1 3
5  China 2 3
6  Wales 1 1
7  Northern Ireland 1 1
8  Hong Kong 1 1
9  Malta 1 1
10  Cyprus 1 1

Records

  • Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognised 147 against Willie Smith on 22 January 1955 at Leicester Square Hall, London.[7]
  • The first maximum compiled in professional competition was made by John Spencer in 1979, but it was not officially ratified due to oversized pockets.[7]
  • Hendry and O'Sullivan are the only players to have made a maximum break during the World Championships and then go on to win the title - Hendry in 1995 and O'Sullivan in 2008
  • O'Sullivan compiled each of the five fastest 147 breaks ever recorded, the fastest of which took 5 minutes and 20 seconds recorded in the 1st round of the 1997 World Championship.
  • Hendry, O'Sullivan and Mark Williams are the only players who have made maximums to win matches. Hendry compiled a maximum in the final at the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge winning him the title, Williams at the 2005 World Championship, and O'Sullivan at the 2007 UK Championship and 2008 World Championship. Two of these were made in the deciding frame of the match: Hendry's in the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge final and O'Sullivan's maximum at the 2007 UK Championship in the semi-final.
  • Only Hendry and John Higgins have made maximums in finals of tournaments. Hendry has made three, the first in the final of the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge, the second at the 1999 British Open and the third at the 2001 Malta Grand Prix. Higgins made a maximum in the final of the 2003 LG Cup.
  • Higgins became the first and only player to record a 147 in successive ranking events and matches; he made one in his 9-5 defeat by Mark Williams in the LG Cup final at Preston, and then one in the British Open, both in 2003.
  • Higgins' maximum breaks at the 2003 LG Cup and 2004 Totesport Grand Prix made him the first and only player to record maximums in the same tournament in successive years (the LG Cup being the sponsor's name for that year's Grand Prix). Since Higgins made the maximums in the 2003 final and the 2004 first round, he made maximums in successive rounds of the same tournament but not at the same event.
  • The youngest player to make an official 147 in professional competition is Stephen Maguire at the 2000 Scottish Open qualifiers just a week after his 19th birthday. The youngest player to have made a televised 147 is Ding Junhui, who was 19 years and 7 months at the time, in the 2007 Saga Insurance Masters. The youngest player to make a 147 in the televised stages of a ranking event was Jamie Cope at 21 years and 1 month old at the 2006 Grand Prix.
  • The oldest player to make a maximum in professional competition is Cliff Thorburn, who was 41 during the 1989 Matchroom League. The oldest player to have made a 147 in a world ranking event is Stephen Hendry, who made his maximum break at the 2009 World Snooker Championship at the age of 40.
  • On April 28, 2008 Ronnie O'Sullivan made his ninth 147 break in competition during the 888.com World Snooker Championships. In doing so he also won the match and set a new record for both the number of competitive maximums and the number of televised maximums, both of which had been previously held by Hendry. This record was again equalised by Hendry exactly one year later. On April 28, 2009 he made his ninth 147 break in his quarter final match against Shaun Murphy.
  • On April 29, 2008 Ali Carter made his first 147 break against Peter Ebdon in their quarter-final match of the 2008 888.com World Snooker Championships. This was the first time a 147 break had been made twice in the same professional tournament at the same venue, following O'Sullivan's maximum during the previous day's play. Two maximum breaks were previously compiled by Stephen Hendry and John Parrott during the 1992 Matchroom League but at different venues.
  • Cliff Thorburn is the first player to have made more than one competitive maximum break and Stephen Hendry is the first player to have made more than one televised maximum break.
  • Joe Swail compiled the first competitive maximum break to be made on the Continent, during a Belgian tournament in Brussels in December 1993. He was playing R. Melkenbeek, a local amateur.

List of matches where more than one 147 was compiled

  • Peter Ebdon compiled two maximum breaks during an 11-frame exhibition match at Eastbourne Police Club on April 15, 1996. In 2003 he also compiled two consecutive maximum breaks against Steve Davis in an exhibition match.[7]
  • Jimmy White compiled two maximum breaks during a 6-1 victory over John Virgo in an exhibition at the de Montfort Hall, Leicester, on November 7, 1995. Some 12 years earlier, White recorded two 147s in a 27-frame challenge match against Jim Peck at Peterborough.
  • Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan compiled consecutive maximum breaks at an exhibition match in Ireland.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Snooker World Records - 16 Red Ball Clearances". WWW Snooker. 2009-04-28. http://www.snooker.org/Plr/records.shtml. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
  2. ^ "Snooker's big break; Two big potters". Daily Mail (London). 2008-04-15. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-177888759.html. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  3. ^ "So Farewell Wally West". The Independent. 2002-11-02. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1714209.html. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  4. ^ a b "The tide turns at St Helen's". The Independent. 1995-06-15. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/the-tide-turns-at-st-helens-1586952.html. Retrieved 2009-05-21. 
  5. ^ "Scot Burnett compiles 148 break". BBC Sport. 2004-10-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/3750162.stm. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
  6. ^ Everton, Clive (2005-10-12). "Murphy shows the form and confidence of a champion". The Guardian. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/snooker/story/0,10158,1590060,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
  7. ^ a b c d e "Snooker World Records - Maximum breaks". WWW Snooker. http://www.snooker.org/Plr/records.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  8. ^ "Ron and Jim have 147 Fun". The Sun. 2009-01-30. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article2188689.ece. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
  9. ^ Adrew Dillon (2009-10-01). "Potting History" (JPG). The Sun: p. 64. http://www.grovesnooker.co.uk/thesun01102009.jpg. Retrieved 2009-10-03. 

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