Another day, another maximum 147 break – except this time there were two, with both compiled at Championship League Snooker on Wednesday in Leicester.
Xiao Guodong compiled his third career 147 break at the Mattioli Arena against Oliver Lines, and soon after Lines had another made against him by the in-form Wu Yize.
That brings the total tally for the ongoing 2025/26 season to a record-extending 20, already five clear of the previous target that was set just last term.
The new calendar year of 2026 is just three weeks old, yet there have already been four maximums constructed since the fireworks of New Years Eve.
List of every official 147 break in professional snooker
Indeed, it was almost surprising that none transpired at last week’s Masters with the highest break a mere 137 from Wu.
Even so, there are still a good three-and-a-half months of this campaign to go, a busy stretch that comprises several big tournaments including the long-format World Championship.
At the current rate, it isn’t absurd to think that the players on the World Snooker Tour could combine to go beyond 30.
But it begs the question: if everyone is doing it, does it still mean as much?
A 147 break remains an accomplishment of the game, particularly for the person in question who makes it as it signifies that, for even the briefest of moments and for just one frame, he or she was perfect.
For 22 year-old Wu especially, he will likely remember with fondness his maiden 147 as a professional, even if it was behind closed doors at the Championship League.
But the frequency in which maximums are being made at present is unquestionably diluting the aura that once surrounded its exceptionality.
Believers will point to a much-improved circuit in terms of overall standard, brimming with star names and fringe players alike who can now regularly contribute to the 147 haul.
Cynics, however, can reference table conditions at some events that have seemingly grown kinder over the years – lending to a growing ease in which big breaks are manufactured.
Surely the best players in the world should be given a suitable test that meets their lofty level? Yet that perhaps hasn’t always been the case – not as frequently or as consistently as before anyway.
Years ago, when a player made a 147 break it was genuinely big news, so much so that the majority that were achieved in the 80s, 90s, and even the 00s are remembered in great detail – the when, the where, and the specific shots that were required.
Now, most 147 breaks come and go with a pat on the back and a throwaway headline, sometimes not even the latter.
A quick Google search and not a single major media outlet covered the story of Xiao and Wu’s additions to the history books.
In 2025, there were a couple of incredible instances of players making two 147 breaks in the same match.
Jackson Page recorded his brace over two sessions at the World Championship qualifiers before Ronnie O’Sullivan replicated the feat in a single session during his semi-final victory over Chris Wakelin at the Saudi Arabia Masters.
Is that what we’re going to require to happen from now on if we’re to get excited about a 147 break? A single is not enough, so better make it a double?
The first officially ratified 147 break was compiled by Steve Davis at the Classic in 1982 and it took another 22 years for the 50th to be recorded.
It then took a further nine years before a century of 147 breaks was reached in 2013, and remember, this was now during a time when people were already waxing lyrical in disbelief of what was perceived as being a rapid rise in frequency.
The 200th 147 break, meanwhile, was compiled in February, 2024 by Joe O’Connor in the Championship League.
Fast forward just two years later and we’re already up to 237, with the 250th almost certainly on the cards for this year, if not even by the end of the current season.
Is it that special any more? Not really. In fact, it’s getting a little boring.
Featured photo credit: WST
Hi David. Maybe the word ‘ratified’ had not been invented in the 1950’s but Joe Davis’s excellent tome ‘The breaks came my way’ tells the story of Joe’s 1st perfect break in 1955 at Burrough’s & Watts club in Leicester Square. I do know the next one was by Rex Williams in 1967 so 12 years separation back in the days when these chaps had to get the ‘furniture out’ and use the long stuff that looked like fishing rods but were much heavier. Now cue extensions, improved balls now within 1 gram of each other and faster cloths and lets face it better players not to mention as you point out, more generous pockets at certain events must contribute to the deluge we are seeing. I do agree that the amount now is de-valuing the achievement somewhat. Just a quick word of thanks for your excellent SnookerHQ which I look forward to receiving every day. Keep it up David!
Ratified as in by the World Snooker Tour / WPBSA as a professionally made maximum. For that, Davis was the first. But indeed, many were compiled before then. Thanks for reading, John.
I would suggest these were in exhibitions as opposed to competitive matches.
I’ve thought it for a couple of years already: the 147 maximum break isn’t “snooker perfection” it’s now “mission accomplished”, if you pot the first red and have your hand on the table for a pot on the black that is. Particularly if there’s another red loose from the bunch at that stage already. It’s just the way it is now, it’s almost like a break of less than 147, from that starting point, should now be recorded as a subtraction value of 147 rather than an addition value from 0! Almost.
The seismic nature of the 147 had subsided a few years before this season’s notable spike. When Ken Doherty missed the final black at the 2000 Masters final, you shared the disappointment significantly. Nowadays, any miss, is met with very little angst from myself.
I believe there’s a few instances of the 147 which have the potential to still be magical. One instance would be a woman making a 147 for the first time in competition. Another would be to win a Triple Crown title especially in a frame, or even in the last frame of many other big events. Three in a match, also!
The proportion of centuries in the Championship League, this year and last, suggests pocket sizes are more generous in some events. Then the big drop at last year’s WC. I think conditions should be equally tough then 147s would be rarer and still special.
The pockets are too big.