Ronnie O’Sullivan’s first and latest UK Championship titles,
In professional competition, Ronnie O’Sullivan has completed the most official maximum breaks—fifteen—among all players [1]. This total excludes maximums compiled in exhibition matches and events not authorized by the world governing body; it only includes maximum breaks that have been approved by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
Apart from the fifteen maximum breaks officially recognized by the WPBSA, there are other notable maximums, such as a 147 against Joe Swail in the quarterfinal of the 2007 Irish Masters.[2] The organizers withheld the maximum break prize of a €20,000 Citroën Coupe after they were unable to secure insurance against a 147 being made. Nevertheless, the players were not made aware of this fact.
At least one nearly certain 147 was purposefully declined by O’Sullivan during the 2016 Welsh Open. He took this action in protest of what he saw as an inadequate maximum prize fund, which in that tournament was £10,000 for the top 147 players plus the £2,000 top break prize. Six years prior, in a 2010 World Open match (number 10 in the table below), a comparable incident had taken place. But in this instance, referee Jan Verhaas eventually convinced him to pot the last black. O’Sullivan has come under fire for his actions, which have been described as unsportsmanlike and disrespectful to snooker fans and the underprivileged who might gain from a charitable donation.
O’Sullivan’s first 147 break against Mick Price in their 1997 world championship second-round tie, which took 5 minutes and 8 seconds to complete, set a world record (which hasn’t been surpassed) for the fastest maximum officially recognized in professional competition. At first, the break was officially recorded by Guinness World Records at five minutes and twenty seconds.[4] However, a 2017 investigation by Deadspin discovered that the time Guinness World Records had given was off because the timer on the BBC footage had been set too early.[5] Snooker breaks are not officially timed, and the official rules of the game do not dictate when they should be timed. Rather, the broadcaster sets the timing.[6] Since then, World Snooker has proposed
