Making a maximum 147 break continues to be one of the biggest achievements in the game of snooker.
The perfect break may be a more frequent occurrence nowadays, but it remains a special feat nevertheless.
What is a maximum 147 break in snooker?
A maximum 147 break in snooker is when all 15 reds are potted with blacks and then followed by the usual colour sequence of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black.
While it is generally accepted that this is the perfect break, it is actually possible to compile a higher total.
A break of 155 can be achieved under the free ball scenario at the beginning of the frame, although this has never been recorded in professional competition.
Jamie Burnett is the only player to make a competitive break higher than 147 by availing of a free ball – when a player is snookered on the object ball following a foul and can opt to play any other colour as a 16th red.
The Scot produced the rare moment at the UK Championship qualifying competition in 2004, compiling a break of 148 against Leo Fernandez.
In 2024, it was also announced that the inaugural World Masters in Saudi Arabia will introduce a golden ball that could, unofficially at least, extend the highest break.
The new ball, worth 20 points, can only be potted if a player makes a 147 break – increasing the possible maximum to 167.
The history of the 147
Joe Davis is recognised as compiling the first maximum 147 break in an exhibition match against Willie Smith in 1955.
John Spencer later constructed the break in 1979 at the Holsten Lager International, but the break was not officially ratified as the table didn’t fit the required template for professional events.
The first official 147 in professional competition, then, was made by Steve Davis at the 1982 Classic – for which the Nugget won a Lada car.
The following year, Cliff Thorburn became the first player to compile a World Snooker Championship 147 maximum break at the Crucible Theatre.
In the next couple of decades, the maximum 147 break continued to be quite infrequent, but the improvement of both players and table conditions changed that around the turn of the millennium.
Since then, it has been common for upwards of ten or more to be compiled in a single calendar year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan holds the record for the most 147 breaks, the Rocket having made 15 in total.
O’Sullivan’s memorable first at the 1997 World Championship currently stands as the fastest ever compiled at a record five minutes and eight seconds.
List of every official maximum 147 break
1. Steve Davis – at the 1982 Classic vs John Spencer
2. Cliff Thorburn – at the 1983 World Snooker Championship vs Terry Griffiths
3. Kirk Stevens – at the 1984 Masters vs Jimmy White
4. Willie Thorne – at the 1987 UK Championship vs Tommy Murphy
5. Tony Meo – at the 1988 Matchroom League vs Stephen Hendry
6. Alain Robidoux – at the 1988 European Open qualifiers vs Jim Meadowcroft
7. John Rea – at the 1989 Scottish Professional Championship vs Ian Black
8. Cliff Thorburn (2) – at the 1989 Matchroom League vs Jimmy White
9. James Wattana – at the 1991 World Masters vs Paul Dawkins
10. Peter Ebdon – at the 1991 Strachan Open qualifiers vs Wayne Martin
11. James Wattana (2) – at the 1992 British Open vs Tony Drago
12. Jimmy White – at the 1992 World Snooker Championship vs Tony Drago
13. John Parrott – at the 1992 Matchroom League vs Tony Meo
14. Stephen Hendry – at the 1992 Matchroom League vs Willie Thorne
15. Peter Ebdon (2) – at the 1992 UK Championship vs Ken Doherty
16. David McDonnell – at the 1994 British Open qualifiers vs Nic Barrow
17. Stephen Hendry (2) – at the 1995 World Snooker Championship vs Jimmy White
18. Stephen Hendry (3) – at the 1995 UK Championship vs Gary Wilkinson
19. Stephen Hendry (4) – at the 1997 Charity Challenge vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
20. Ronnie O’Sullivan – at the 1997 World Snooker Championship vs Mick Price
21. James Wattana (3) – at the 1997 China International vs Pang Weiguo
22. Stephen Hendry (5) – at the 1998 Premier League vs Ken Doherty
23. Adrian Gunnell – at the 1998 Thailand Masters qualifiers vs Mario Wehrmann
24. Mehmet Husnu – at the 1998 China International qualifiers vs Eddie Barker
25. Jason Prince – at the 1999 British Open qualifiers vs Ian Brumby
26. Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) – at the 1999 Welsh Open vs James Wattana
27. Stuart Bingham – at the 1999 UK Tour E3 vs Barry Hawkins
28. Nick Dyson – at the 1999 UK Tour E4 vs Adrian Gunnell
29. Graeme Dott – at the 1999 British Open vs David Roe
30. Stephen Hendry (6) – at the 1999 British Open vs Peter Ebdon
31. Barry Pinches – at the 1999 Welsh Open qualifiers vs Joe Johnson
32. Ronnie O’Sullivan (3) – at the 1999 Grand Prix vs Graeme Dott
33. Karl Burrows – at the 1999 B&H Championship vs Adrian Rosa
34. Stephen Hendry (7) – at the 1999 UK Championship vs Paul Wykes
35. John Higgins – at the 2000 Nations Cup vs Dennis Taylor
36. John Higgins (2) – at the 2000 Irish Masters vs Jimmy White
37. Stephen Maguire – at the 2000 Scottish Open qualifiers vs Phaitoon Phonbun
38. Ronnie O’Sullivan (4) – at the 2000 Scottish Open vs Quinten Hann
39. Marco Fu – at the 2000 Scottish Masters vs Ken Doherty
40. David McLellan – at the 2000 B&H Championship vs Steve Meakin
41. Nick Dyson (2) – at the 2000 UK Championship vs Robert Milkins
42. Stephen Hendry (8) – at the 2001 Malta Grand Prix vs Mark Williams
43. Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) – at the 2001 LG Cup vs Drew Henry
44. Shaun Murphy – at the 2001 B&H Championship vs Adrian Rosa
45. Tony Drago – at the 2002 B&H Championship vs Stuart Bingham
46. Ronnie O’Sullivan (6) – at the 2003 World Snooker Championship vs Marco Fu
47. John Higgins (3) – at the 2003 LG Cup vs Mark Williams
48. John Higgins (4) – at the 2003 British Open vs Michael Judge
49. John Higgins (5) – at the 2004 Grand Prix vs Ricky Walden
50. David Gray – at the 2004 UK Championship vs Mark Selby
51. Mark Williams – at the 2005 World Snooker Championship vs Robert Milkins
52. Stuart Bingham (2) – at the 2005 Masters qualifiers vs Marcus Campbell
53. Robert Milkins – at the 2006 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Mark Selby
54. Jamie Cope – at the 2006 Grand Prix vs Michael Holt
55. Ding Junhui – at the 2007 Masters vs Anthony Hamilton
56. Andrew Higginson – at the 2007 Welsh Open vs Ali Carter
57. Jamie Burnett – at the 2007 Grand Prix qualifiers vs Liu Song
58. Tom Ford – at the 2007 Grand Prix vs Steve Davis
59. Ronnie O’Sullivan (7) – at the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy vs Ali Carter
60. Ronnie O’Sullivan (8) – at the 2007 UK Championship vs Mark Selby
61. Stephen Maguire (2) – at the 2008 China Open vs Ryan Day
62. Ronnie O’Sullivan (9) – at the 2008 World Snooker Championship vs Mark Williams
63. Ali Carter – at the 2008 World Snooker Championship vs Peter Ebdon
64. Jamie Cope (2) – at the 2008 Shanghai Masters vs Mark Williams
65. Liang Wenbo – at the 2008 Bahrain Championship qualifiers vs Martin Gould
66. Marcus Campbell – at the 2008 Bahrain Championship vs Ahmed Basheer Al-Khusaibi
67. Ding Junhui (2) – at the 2008 UK Championship vs John Higgins
68. Stephen Hendry (9) – at the 2009 World Snooker Championship vs Shaun Murphy
69. Mark Selby – at the 2009 Jiangsu Classic vs Joe Perry
70. Neil Robertson – at the 2010 China Open vs Peter Ebdon
71. Kurt Maflin – at the 2010 PTC E1 vs Michal Zielinski
72. Barry Hawkins – at the 2010 PTC E3 vs James McGouran
73. Ronnie O’Sullivan (10) – at the 2010 World Open qualifiers vs Mark King
74. Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon – at the 2010 Rhein-Main Masters vs Barry Hawkins
75. Mark Williams (2) – at the 2010 Rhein-Main Masters vs Diana Schuler
76. Rory McLeod – at the 2010 Prague Classic vs Issara Kachaiwong
77. Stephen Hendry (10) – at the 2011 Welsh Open vs Stephen Maguire
78. Ronnie O’Sullivan (11) – at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic vs Adam Duffy
79. Mike Dunn – at the 2011 German Masters qualifiers vs Kurt Maflin
80. David Gray (2) – at the 2011 PTC E10 qualifiers vs Robbie Williams
81. Ricky Walden – at the 2011 PTC E10 vs Gareth Allen
82. Matthew Stevens – at the 2011 FFB Snooker Open vs Michael Wasley
83. Ding Junhui (3) – at the 2011 FFB Snooker Open vs Brandon Winstone
84. Ding Junhui (4) – at the 2011 PTC E11 vs James Cahill
85. Jamie Cope (3) – at the 2011 PTC E11 vs Kurt Maflin
86. Marco Fu (2) – at the 2012 World Open qualifiers vs Matthew Selt
87. Robert Milkins (2) – at the 2012 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Xiao Guodong
88. Stephen Hendry (11) – at the 2012 World Snooker Championship vs Stuart Bingham
89. Stuart Bingham (3) – at the 2012 Wuxi Classic vs Ricky Walden
90. Ken Doherty – at the 2012 Paul Hunter Classic vs Julian Treiber
91. John Higgins (6) – at the 2012 Shanghai Masters vs Judd Trump
92. Tom Ford (2) – at the 2012 Bulgarian Open vs Matthew Stevens
93. Andy Hicks – at the 2012 UK Championship qualifiers vs Daniel Wells
94. Jack Lisowski – at the 2012 UK Championship qualifiers vs Chen Zhe
95. John Higgins (7) – at the 2012 UK Championship vs Mark Davis
96. Kurt Maflin (2) – at the 2012 Scottish Open vs Stuart Carrington
97. Ding Junhui (5) – at the 2013 PTC Grand Final vs Mark Allen
98. Neil Robertson (2) – at the 2013 Wuxi Classic qualifiers vs Mohamed Khairy
99. Judd Trump – at the 2013 Antwerp Open vs Mark Selby
100. Mark Selby (2) – at the 2013 UK Championship vs Ricky Walden
101. Dechawat Poomjaeng – at the 2013 German Masters qualifiers vs Zak Surety
102. Gary Wilson – at the 2013 German Masters qualfiers vs Ricky Walden
103. Shaun Murphy (2) – at the 2014 Championship League vs Mark Davs
104. Shaun Murphy (3) – at the 2014 Gdynia Open vs Jamie Jones
105. Ronnie O’Sullivan (12) – at the 2014 Welsh Open vs Ding Junhui
106. Aditya Mehta – at the 2014 Paul Hunter Classic vs Stephen Maguire
107. Ryan Day – at the 2014 Haining Open vs Cao Yupeng
108. Shaun Murphy (4) – at the 2014 Ruhr Open vs Robert Milkins
109. Ronnie O’Sullivan (13) – at the 2014 UK Championship vs Matthew Selt
110. Ben Woollaston – at the 2014 Lisbon Open vs Joe Steele
111. Barry Hawkins (2) – at the 2015 Championship League vs Stephen Maguire
112. Marco Fu (3) – at the 2015 Masters vs Stuart Bingham
113. Judd Trump (2) – at the 2015 German Masters vs Mark Selby
114. David Gilbert – at the 2015 Championship League vs Xiao Guodong
115. Neil Robertson (3) – at the 2015 UK Championship vs Liang Wenbo
116. Marco Fu (4) – at the 2015 Gibraltar Open vs Sam Baird
117. Ding Junhui (6) – at the 2016 Welsh Open vs Neil Robertson
118. Fergal O’Brien – at the 2016 Championship League vs Mark Davis
119. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – at the 2016 Paul Hunter Classic vs Kurt Maflin
120. Stephen Maguire (3) – at the 2016 Shanghai Masters vs Xu Yichen
121. Shaun Murphy (5) – at the 2016 European Masters qualifiers vs Allan Taylor
122. Alfie Burden – at the 2016 English Open vs Daniel Wells
123. John Higgins (8) – at the 2016 Northern Ireland Open vs Sam Craigie
124. Mark Allen – at the 2016 UK Championship vs Rod Lawler
125. Ali Carter (2) – at the 2016 German Masters qualifiers vs Wang Yuchen
126. Ross Muir – at the 2016 German Masters qualifiers vs Itaro Santos
127. Mark Davis – at the 2017 Championship League vs Neil Robertson
128. Tom Ford (3) – at the 2017 German Masters vs Peter Ebdon
129. Mark Davis (2) – at the 2017 Championship League vs John Higgins
130. Judd Trump (3) – at the 2017 China Open vs Tian Pengfei
131. Gary Wilson (2) – at the 2017 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Josh Boileau
132. Liang Wenbo (2) – at the 2017 English Open vs Tom Ford
133. Kyren Wilson – at the 2017 International Championship vs Martin Gould
134. Cao Yupeng – at the 2017 Scottish Open vs Andrew Higginson
135. Martin Gould – at the 2018 Championship League vs Li Hang
136. Luca Brecel – at the 2018 Championship League vs John Higgins
137. Ronnie O’Sullivan (14) – at the 2018 China Open vs Elliot Slessor
138. Stuart Bingham (4) – at the 2018 China Open vs Ricky Walden
139. Liang Wenbo (3) – at the 2018 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Rod Lawler
140. Michael Georgiou – at the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic vs Umut Dikme
141. Jamie Jones – at the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic vs Lee Walker
142. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (2) – at the 2018 English Open vs Soheil Vahedi
143. Ronnie O’Sullivan (15) – at the 2018 English Open vs Allan Taylor
144. Mark Selby (3) – at the 2018 Champion of Champions vs Neil Robertson
145. John Higgins (9) – at the 2018 Scottish Open vs Gerard Greene
146. Judd Trump (4) – at the 2018 German Masters qualifiers vs Lukas Kleckers
147. David Gilbert (2) – at the 2019 Championship League vs Stephen Maguire
148. Neil Robertson (4) – at the 2019 Welsh Open vs Jordan Brown
149. Noppon Saengkham – at the 2019 Welsh Open vs Mark Selby
150. Zhou Yuelong – at the 2019 Indian Open vs Lyu Haotian
151. Stuart Bingham (5) – at the 2019 China Open vs Peter Ebdon
152. Tom Ford (4) – at the 2019 International Championship qualifiers vs Fraser Patrick
153. Tom Ford (5) – at the 2019 English Open vs Shaun Murphy
154. Stuart Bingham (6) – at the 2019 Northern Ireland Open vs Lu Ning
155. Barry Hawkins (3) – at the 2019 UK Championship vs Gerard Greene
156. Kyren Wilson (2) – at the 2020 Welsh Open vs Jackson Page
157. John Higgins (10) – at the 2020 World Snooker Championship vs Kurt Maflin
158. Ryan Day (2) – at the 2020 Championship League vs Rod Lawler
159. John Higgins (11) – at the 2020 Championship League vs Kyren Wilson
160. Shaun Murphy (6) – at the 2020 German Masters qualifiers vs Chen Zifan
161. Judd Trump (5) – at the 2020 Northern Ireland Open vs Gao Yang
162. Kyren Wilson (3) – at the 2020 UK Championship vs Ashley Hugill
163. Stuart Bingham (7) – at the 2020 UK Championship vs Zak Surety
164. Zhou Yuelong (2) – at the 2020 Scottish Open vs Peter Lines
165. Stuart Bingham (8) – at the 2021 Championship League vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
166. Gary Wilson (3) – at the 2021 WST Pro Series vs Liam Highfield
167. John Higgins (12) – at the 2021 British Open vs Alexander Ursenbacher
168. Ali Carter (3) – at the 2021 British Open vs Elliot Slessor
169. Xiao Gudoong – at the 2021 Scottish Open qualifiers vs Fraser Patrick
170. Mark Allen (3) – at the 2021 Northern Ireland Open vs Si Jiahui
171. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (3) – at the 2021 German Masters qualifiers vs Fan Zhengyi
172. Gary Wilson (4) – at the 2021 UK Championship vs Ian Burns
173. Judd Trump (6) – at the 2022 Turkish Masters vs Matthew Selt
174. Stuart Bingham (9) – at the 2022 Gibraltar Open vs Gerard Greene
175. Graeme Dott (2) – at the 2022 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Pang Junxu
176. Neil Robertson (5) – at the 2022 World Snooker Championship vs Jack Lisowski
177. Zhang Anda – at the 2022 European Masters qualifiers vs Anton Kazakov
178. Hossein Vafaei – at the 2022 European Masters qualifiers vs Ng On-Yee
179. Mark Selby (4) – at the 2022 British Open vs Jack Lisowski
180. Marco Fu (5) – at the 2022 Hong Kong Masters vs John Higgins
181. Judd Trump (7) – at the 2022 Champion of Champions vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
182. Judd Trump (8) – at the 2022 Scottish Open vs Mitchell Mann
183. Mark Williams (3) – at the 2022 English Open vs Neil Robertson
184. Robert Milkins (3) – at the 2023 German Masters vs Chris Wakelin
185. Shaun Murphy (7) – at the 2023 Welsh Open vs Daniel Wells
186. Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (4) – at the 2023 WST Classic vs Xu Si
187. Ryan Day (3) – at the 2023 Tour Championship vs Mark Selby
188. Kyren Wilson (4) – at the 2023 World Snooker Championship vs Ryan Day
189. Mark Selby (5) – at the 2023 World Snooker Championship vs Luca Brecel
190. Sean O’Sullivan – at the 2023 European Masters qualifiers vs Barry Hawkins
191. Ryan Day (4) – at the 2023 International Championship qualifiers vs Mink Nutcharut
192. Zhang Anda (2) – at the 2023 International Championship vs Tom Ford
193. Xu Si – at the 2023 UK Championship qualifiers vs Ma Hailong
194. Shaun Murphy (8) – at the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out vs Bulcsú Révész
195. Ding Junhui (7) – at the 2024 Masters vs Ronnie O’Sullivan
196. Mark Allen (3) – at the 2024 Masters vs Mark Selby
197. Kyren Wilson (5) – at the 2024 Championship League vs Tom Ford
198. John Higgins (13) – at the 2024 Championship League vs Fan Zhengyi
199. Gary Wilson (5) – at the 2024 Welsh Open vs John Higgins
200. Joe O’Connor – at the 2024 Championship League vs Elliot Slessor
201. Zak Surety – at the 2024 World Open vs Ding Junhui
202. Noppon Saengkham (2) – at the 2024 World Snooker Championship qualifiers vs Andy Hicks
203. Noppon Saengkham (3) – at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters vs Amir Sarkhosh
204. Fan Zhengyi – at the 2024 English Open qualifiers vs Oliver Lines
205. Mark Allen (4) – at the 2024 British Open vs Ben Mertens
206. Si Jiahui – at the 2024 Wuhan Open vs Judd Trump
207. Xu Si (2) – at the 2024 International Championship vs Ryan Day
208. Zhang Anda (3) – at the 2024 UK Championship vs Lei Peifan
Featured photo credit: WST
