Players Championship snooker: Why is next 147 break so important? Could Ronnie O’Sullivan make landmark max?
Gary Wilson produced the 199th maximum break in the modern era of professonalism in the Welsh Open semi-finals in Llandudno on Saturday night, with the chance to compile the landmark 200th 147 firmly on the table at the Players Championship in Telford.
Allen and Ding Junhui both produced maximums at the Masters in January, while Kyren Wilson also rolled in a 147 against Tom Ford at the Championship League four days before Higgins weighed in with the 13th of his golden career.
David Gray made the 50th 147 against Mark Selby at the 2004 UK Championship in York, Selby the 100th against Ricky Walden at the 2013 UK Championship in York and Zhou Yuelong the 150th maximum against Lyu Haotian at the 2019 Indian Open in Kochi.
Allen makes Masters maximum 147 break against Selby
Snooker maximums have become such a regular occurring feature in snooker that dwindling prize money for the feat also tends to greet them, with Wilson earning a top break prize of £5,000 for his 147 break in Wales.
The snooker GOAT’s knock was worth a total of £165,000 (including the £18,000 high break prize) – £4,583 a shot or £536 a second back in the day.
“I could maybe have had another five or six,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport on Saturday. “But I went on strike a long time ago. Until they start bumping up the prize money, I might take the risk.”
Number of 147 breaks by decade
- 1980s – 8
- 1990s – 26
- 2000s – 35
- 2010s – 86
- 2020s – 44
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