Maximum break
Thereafter, players who made a maximum would win or share a tournament's highest break prize, although some events still offer a separate bonus for a 147.
[8] In 2023, the World Snooker Tour introduced a £147,000 bonus for any player making two maximum breaks during the season's Triple Crown Series.
[9] Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognised maximum break on 22 January 1955, in a match against Willie Smith at Leicester Square Hall, London.
[14] 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.
[18] 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.
[19] 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.
[20][21] As of 6 February 2025[update],[19] 213 official maximum breaks have been recorded in professional competition,[5][22] with the 200th being made by Joe O'Connor at the 2024 Championship League.
[28][29][30] At least nine players have missed the final black on a score of 140: Robin Hull, Ken Doherty, Barry Pinches, Mark Selby,[31] Michael White,[32] Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (twice in the 2015–16 season and once in the 2024–25 season),[36] Liang Wenbo in a qualifying match at the 2018 World Championship, after he had already made a maximum earlier in the same match,[37] and both Joe O'Connor and Jack Lisowski at the 2025 Championship League.
[14][42][43][44] Joe Davis compiled the first official 147 against Willie Smith in an exhibition match on 22 January 1955 at Leicester Square Hall, London.
[16][45] Rex Williams made the first maximum break in a competitive match against Manuel Francisco, Professionals v. Amateurs, on 23 December 1965 in Cape Town.
[43][46] John Spencer made the first maximum compiled in professional competition on 13 January 1979 at the Holsten Lager Tournament against Cliff Thorburn, but it was not officially ratified due to oversized pockets.
[16] Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum break at the World Snooker Championship, a feat that has since been repeated by Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry (three times), Ronnie O'Sullivan (three times), Mark Williams, Ali Carter, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, and Mark Selby.
[59] The second time was at the 2017 German Masters, where Ali Carter and Ross Muir both compiled one each during qualifying and Tom Ford during the televised stages.
[65] Mark Davis became the only player to make two official maximum breaks in professional competition at the same event when he compiled two 147s at the 2017 Championship League.
[66] The 2012 FFB Snooker Open, 2017 German Masters and 2018 Paul Hunter Classic are the only WPBSA events where two maximums were made on the same day.
[67][68] Three maximum breaks were compiled on 8 February 1998 during the Buckley's Bitter Challenge, an unofficial event, by Matthew Stevens, Ryan Day and Tony Chappel.
Higgins made one during his defeat by Mark Williams in the LG Cup final, and then one in his second round match at the 2003 British Open.
Hendry, John Higgins, Stuart Bingham, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, and Zhang Anda have made maximums in finals of tournaments.
O'Sullivan's 147 break in the first‑round match against Mick Price at the 1997 World Championship set the record for the fastest maximum in the history of the game.
[89] However an investigation undertaken by Deadspin in 2017 revealed that the time recorded by Guinness was incorrect because the timer was started too early on the BBC footage.
[91][6] The youngest player to have made an officially recognised maximum break in professional competition is Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon, who compiled a 147 at the 2010 Rhein–Main Masters aged 16 years and 312 days.
[93][94] Judd Trump is known to have made a 147 at the Potters Under‑16 Tournament in 2004 at the age of 14 years and 206 days; however, this break is not recognised by Guinness World Records.
[95][96] The oldest player to have made a maximum in professional competition is John Higgins, who did so in the 2024 Championship League, aged 48 years and 268 days.
[103] For the 2024–25 season the WST extended this prize to also include maximums made at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters ranking event.
[20] In October 2004, during qualifying for the UK Championship, Jamie Burnett became the only player to record a break of more than 147 in tournament play, when he scored 148 against Leo Fernandez.
