A 147 Break or Maximum Break Is The Perfect Frame Of Snooker Where The Player Completes The Highest Possible Break Of 147 Points

Heard people talk about a 147 break or maximum break, but not sure what it means? us as we explain the meaning of a 147 break and how it is achieved in the sport of snooker.

What Is A 147 Break?

As a sport, snooker has been known as a ‘gentleman’s game’ since the early 20th century. Now, it remains that but has spread all around the world too. Although not as popular as football, rugby, boxing and some other sports, snooker is an incredibly difficult sport that takes immense skill.

Around April/May time, all eyes are on the Crucible as the World Snooker Championship takes over our screens and millions of fans worldwide tune in to watch Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby and co.

When it comes to snooker, each and every player wants to strike perfection. Just like in other sports, there is a way you can complete the perfect frame or the perfect break in snooker.

A 147 break or maximum break is the epitome of perfection in the sport of snooker. You have a golf, a 300-point break in bowling and a then a maximum break in snooker. All of these are examples of perfection in different sports, with the 147 break arguably the most tricky.

In short, a 147 break, also known as a maximum break, is the highest possible break in snooker. It involves clearing the whole table, reds and colours, in a particular order.

Some of the best players throughout snooker history have struck perfection, but some just hit differently.

The likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and John Higgins are just some players who have completed the 147 break on the biggest stage of them all on numerous occasions – sheer perfection.

Is It Called A 147 Break Or Maximum Break In Snooker?

The highest possible break in snooker of 147 points is often referred to as a maximum break. It is also commonly known as a 147 break, with both used in snooker dialogue.

Both mean exactly the same thing. There is no right or wrong way to call the highest break in snooker.

Whether you refer to it as a 147 or a maximum, both are correct and indicate the highest possible break in normal circumstances of a frame of snooker.

Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a highly significant achievement in the game of snooker.

How Do You Complete A Maximum Break In Snooker?

In order to score a 147 break, a snooker player must pot all 15 red ball followed by 15 black balls for 120. Then a player must pot all six colours for a further 27 points to them compile the maximum 147 break.

The objective is simple. Pot a red, pot a black. Do that 15 times before then clearing the colours in order to secure the maximum. It sounds easy on paper but really is incredible tough!

This involves hitting 36 perfect snooker shots in a row to achieve the 147 maximum break. Unlike in darts where there are a few different combinations that can be used to complete the nine-darter, in snooker there is only this one way.

Achieving a 147 break is an extremely difficult feat, with the first televised maximum coming in January 1982 courtesy of Steve Davis. Since then, the feat has been achieved more than 200 times on TV.

Nobody has ever hit two 147 breaks in back-to-back frames.

What Is The Fastest 147 Break Of All Time?

The fastest 147 break of all time came at the 1997 World Snooker Championship. This record has stood for 28 years now, with the Guinness World Record for the fastest competitive maximum break belonging to the great Ronnie O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan’s 147 break came in the first round of the 1997 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Mick Price was the man on the receiving end of the fastest maximum break in history.

It took ‘The Rcket’ just five minutes and eight seconds to hit the maximum 147 break. Pure perfection from the seven-time world champion and arguably the greatest snooker player of all time.

Who Holds The Record For The Most Maximum Breaks?

As well as holding the record for the fastest maximum break of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan also holds the record for the most 147 breaks in professional competition.

O’Sullivan has hit a magnificent 15 maximum breaks in professional snooker competition.

This is two more than John Higgins who has hit 13 of his own, with seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry hitting 11.

How Many 147 Breaks Have Been Scored In Professional Snooker History?

To this day, there have been 217 recorded 147 breaks in professional snooker history.

This statistic is correct as of 25th April 2025 and includes just official maximum breaks in professional competition.

The first was hit by Steve Davis back in 1982, with Jackson Page hitting the last official 147 break in the qualifiers for the 2025 World Snooker Championship in April.

How Many 147 Breaks Have Their Been At The World Snooker Championship?

The World Snooker Championship is obviously the biggest tournament in world snooker each and every year. The best players in the world battle it out at the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with one person crowned champion of the world in early May.

When it comes to 147 breaks at the World Snooker Championship, there have been 15 and counting as of today. It is worth noting that this doesn’t include qualifying matches for the World Snooker Championship.

Only one player has ever hit a 147 break in the World Snooker Championship Final. That man was Mark Selby, who ironically lost the final to Luca Brecel at the Crucible in 2023.

Stephen Hendry scored a maximum break in the semi-final in 1995 and is the only one to have done so, with two players hitting them in the quarter-final.

The 11 remaining 147 breaks all came in Round 1 (6) and Round 2 (5).

Below is a table outlining all 15 maximum breaks achieved in the World Snooker Championship:

Who Made The First Ever Maximum Break?

The first officially recognised maximum break came in a 1955 exhibition match in London courtesy of Joe Davis. In 1982, the legendary Steve Davis achieved the first recognised maximum in professional competition. This also happened to be the first in a televised snooker match.

Cliff Thorburn then became the first player to strike perfecting at the World Snooker Championship in 1983.

There are of course others who have claimed to hit a 147 break before that. Murt O’Donoghue supposedly achieved a maximum break during practice in Australia back in 1934.

In January 1979, John Spencer made the first maximum compiled in professional competition at the Holsten Lager Tournament against Cliff Thorburn. However, it was not officially ratified due to overside pockets.

This is all you need to know about the coveted 147 break and what it takes to hit a maximum.