RONNIE O'SULLIVAN

Jamie Burnett

148 Break

147 - 2007 Grand Prix

'Mr Maximum'
Stephen Hendry

John Spencer

Ronnie's glorious green to brown - LG Cup

..and some who didn't make it:

Robin Hull

missed on 140

Ken Doherty

missed on 140

Stefan Mazrocis

missed on 120

Judd Trump

14 years 208 days

13 March 2004

the youngest official 147

Thomas McSorley

147 in 2004 European Team Cup.

First 147 ever made in Latvia.

The 147 Club

The 147 break in snooker is the ultimate achievement for most players. Compiling a maximum break is the nearest to perfection a player can get. John Spencer once described a 147 as an 'aimed for fluke' and indeed there is a little bit of good fortune in every maximum compiled, but nothing can detract from the high level of skill and talent a player must possess to achieve those 36 consecutive pots to snooker heaven.

So who are the members of this very select club?

***O'Sullivan made 5 centuries in the match, an all time record

**Not an Official 147 but the first ever break over 147 recorded in Professional Tournaments earning Jamie Burnett the World Record.

Other Notable 147's

Peter Lines - 2005-6 PIOS Event Six, Pontin's February 2006.

The first person to achieve the maximum break of 147 was Murt O'Donoghue (New Zealand) (1901-94) at Griffiths, New South Wales, Australia on 26 Sep 1934. This wasn't recognised as "An Official 147".

He was followed by Canadian Leo Levitt who compiled 147 at the Windsor Club, Montreal in November 1948.

Joe Davis then compiled the first officially recognised 147 against Willie Smith on 22nd January 1955 at Leicester Square Hall, London.

Rex Williams made a break of 147 in the match, Professionals v. Amateurs, played on Tuesday, December 23rd 1966, at Cape Town. It was made on the officially passed match table which was erected for the World Professional Snooker Championship. The referee was Mr. L. Kritzinger. This equalled the 147 break made by Joe Davis, against Willie Smith at Leicester Square Hall, London, in 1955.

The first achieved in a major tournament was by John Spencer at Slough, Berks on 13 Jan 1979, but wasn't ratified as the table had 'oversized' pockets and to add insult to injury, the TV crew were away on a "tea-break" and didn't record the achievement.

Welshman Paul Davies made his 147 in the 1992 DDO Masters against English pro Ollie King, but this didn't merit official status. Likewise Terry Murphy in the 1993 B&H Championship, completed a 'max' on non-templated tables against Rob Thallon.

In the next year, 1994, Pat Kenny added another 147 during the Strachan Challenge, his opponent was Andy Clark and later the same year Andy Hicks added another 147 in a wpbsa tour event at the Riley Club, Gorseinon. Also in 1994, on the other side of the world, Warren King compiled a maximum at the New South Wales Open, leaving Robby Foldvari sitting in his chair.

In 1995 Peter Ebdon scored a 147 in the quarter finals of the Pontins Pro-Am. He went on to lose in the final of the Pro-Am to Mark Williams. At the same event he won the Pontins Professional Invitation Event, beating Ken Doherty 9-8 in the final. Quite a remarkable week’s work. Another 1995 maximum man was Stefan Mazrocis who made the first 147, albeit unofficial, in Munich, during the wpbsa tour event.

There were four more unratified 147s in the  2001-2 season, with Paul Wykes, Luke Simmonds and Tom Ford hitting 147s during the first Open Tour event at Leicester in September 2001. Wayne Saidler completed a 147 in the final Open Tour event at Pontins in May and was presented with the table by Reardon's Snooker Services.

The last 147 of the 2001-2 season came from 16 year old David John during a Golden Waistcoat Junior event. While still a remarkable achievement for a young player, John came nowhere near ousting Ronnie O'Sullivan as the youngest 'maximum man'. O'Sullivan completed his first tournament 147 during the 1991 English Amateur championship when aged just 15 years and 97 days.

Ronnie's 147 at fifteen has been superceded in the 2002-3 season by fourteen year old Jamie Jones from Neath. While not in a major tournament, the Welsh junior star's 147 came during a practice match at the Empire Club Neath on 29 December 2002.

On 13th March 2004, fourteen year old Judd Trump hit a maximum during an Under 16 tournament at Coalville, Leicester, and became the youngest player in history to compile a 147 in an official tournament.

on 23rd March 2004 Thomas McSorley from Scotland, compiled a 147 in the inaugural European Team Cup in Latvia. A great way to launch a new European event and the first ever 147 made in Latvia. His opponent was Arturs Berzins from Latvia. Even more remarkably McSorley had warmed up with a century in the first frame, before hitting the maximum straight from Berzins' break off in the second.

His opponent was Chris Piech and Trump 147 came when he was fourteen years and 206 days old. By coincidence 13th March was the very day in 1981 that O'Sullivan set his record.

In April 2003 Jamie O'Neill rattled up a 147 during a Golden Waistcoat Under 18 event and Jamie Cope fired in 147 during the EASB Open Tour Event 4, to match one made by Scotland's Gary Thomson in the 3rd Open Tour.

It's easy to be puzzled or confused about when a 147 is official or ratified and when it isn't. Different criteria seem to have been applied down the ages but these days an Official 147 would have to be made in a sanctioned wpbsa event on templated tables, with a referee in attendance. Years ago it seems to have been more luck than judgement as to whether your break got ratified or not.

Two of the most notable maximums came during the 1996 IBSF World Championship in New Zealand. Both Anan Terananon representing Thailand and Belgium's Steve Lemmens hit the magic max mark.

India's Geet Sethi, perhaps better known as a former World billiards champion, hit a maximum in the Indian Amateur Championship in 1988. This was the first official maximum in tournament play by an amateur. Just for good measure in 1992, Sethi compiled a billiards break of 1276 in the World Professional championships, the world record under the three pot rule, and the highest break made in nearly fifty years!

Bjorn Haneveer made European history in 2003 making the first 147 during the European Championship in Bad Wildungen. His opponent Rafal Jewtuch of Poland must have watched carefully, as during the summer of 2003 he made Poland's first tournament 147 during a local tournament.

John Higgins made the first "official" maximum of the 2003 season, but he'd already been beaten to the mark by Preston's Ian McCulloch, who popped in a 147 in the 2003 Swiss Open in September 2003.

Peter Ebdon created another little bit of 147 history in October 2003, when he compiled 147s in consecutive frames during an exhibition match against Steve Davis.

In June 2005 Neil Robertson slotted home a maximum in An Australian Open event. And in both 2006 and 2007, he repeated the feat, in the same event.

 © Janie Watkins 2008