Maximum Break in Snooker: The 147 and the 155 Explained
The maximum break in snooker explained for UK fans: why 147 is the ceiling, how a free ball makes 155 possible, and the British firsts behind the record.
By CricketTaken EditorialPublished Snooker Rules21 min read
- Maximum from a normal position
- 147
- Maximum with a free ball
- 155
- First televised maximum
- 1982
- First maximum at the Crucible
- 1983
In January 1982, at the Lada Classic in Oldham, Steve Davis potted fifteen reds, fifteen blacks and the six colours against John Spencer, and a television audience saw a 147 made for the first time. The cameras had been in the right place. The number itself had been the sport's ceiling since the colours were given their values.
The maximum break in snooker is 147 from a normal position. Pot all fifteen reds, each followed by the black, for 120 points, then clear the six colours in order, yellow to black, for another 27. No visit to the table can score more unless the opponent's foul has handed the player a free ball before any red has gone. In that case the nominated ball counts as a sixteenth red, the black after it adds seven, and the highest possible break becomes 155. The first break above 147 in professional competition was a 148, by Jamie Burnett in qualifying for the 2004 UK Championship.
Why 147 is the maximum break in snooker
The arithmetic is straightforward. Each red scores one point. After each red, the player must pot a colour, and the black at seven is the highest. So the most each red-and-colour pair can be worth is eight. Fifteen pairs make 120.
With all the reds gone, the colours are taken in a fixed order: yellow two, green three, brown four, blue five, pink six, black seven. That adds 27. Total: 147.
The black after each red is the only colour worth taking for a maximum. Taking the pink instead costs one point on that red. Taking the pink after every red would leave a ceiling of 132; taking the blue after every red, 117. A single pink anywhere in a break means the best possible total is 146.
That is why a 147 attempt is a single, unbroken demand. The player must stay on the black for fifteen consecutive reds and then clear the colours, without a single positional compromise. The values of each ball, and the order of the colours, are covered in our guide to snooker ball values and the potting order.
The route to a 147, shot by shot
A maximum is a positional exercise more than a potting one. Every red must leave the cue ball in a position to pot the black, and every black must leave a red available that will in turn leave the black.
The difficulty is the black's position. The black spot is close to the top cushion, between the corner pockets. Reds are scattered around it in the pack at the start of the frame. After each black, the cue ball must come away to a red that leaves the black on again. A red near the side cushion or a red tight against another is a problem, because any of them might force the player to take the pink or the blue instead.
When the black is blocked
Sometimes a red on its own is easy, but potting it leaves the black blocked by other reds. The player then has two choices. Play for the pink or blue, keeping the break going but ending the maximum, or play a shot designed to free the black, risking the break itself. Most players at professional level take the pink when the black is unavailable unless the 147 is close enough to justify the risk. That judgement is often what commentators are talking about when they say a player "is on for a maximum".
Opening the pack
The pack of reds needs opening early in a 147 attempt. A player who has potted three or four loose reds and blacks must eventually go into the pack. The cannon into it has to be played so that the cue ball stays on the black after the reds have scattered, and so that the reds do not fly into awkward positions. That shot, usually played off the black, is one of the highest-pressure moments of any maximum attempt.
Reds on the cushions
Reds that come to rest on a side cushion are the commonest killer of a maximum in its middle stages. A red tight on the rail can usually be potted along the cushion into a corner, but the angle back to the black is poor, and the cue ball tends to finish either too straight or on the wrong side of the black for the next red. The player has to decide early when to take such a red. Leave it too late and it may be the last red, with no choice about the angle at all.
The same goes for reds in the baulk area. A red that has drifted below the blue spot forces the cue ball a long way from the black after it is potted. It can be done, with a long screw back or a two-cushion route up the table, but each of those adds a margin for error to a break that allows none.
Side, screw and the stun shot
A century break can be made with the cue ball mostly rolling. A maximum rarely can. The black has to be potted from a range of angles, and the cue ball must go to a different part of the table each time: up to a red near the top cushion, down to one at the side of the pack, across to one near a middle pocket. That calls for screw back off the black, stun to hold the cue ball near the spot, and running side to widen the angle off a cushion. A player with a narrow range of cue-ball control will find routes closed that a better technician keeps open.
The middle of the break
From about the sixth or seventh red, the player is managing the remaining reds. A red that is safe now may become awkward later. The best maximum-break players plan several shots ahead, choosing which red to pot to leave the most options. Our guide to building breaks in snooker explains the general approach.
- Loose redsThe player pots the reds clear of the pack, taking the black after each and keeping the cue ball near the black spot.
- Into the packA red is potted with a cannon into the pack, splitting the reds while keeping the black available.
- Clearing the redsThe remaining reds are potted with the black after each, with the order chosen to avoid leaving a red that blocks the black.
- Last redThe last red is potted with the black, leaving the cue ball in position for the yellow.
- The coloursYellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black are potted in order, each leaving position on the next.
The sequence of a maximum break from a normal position. Taking any colour other than the black after a red ends the possibility of 147.
The last six colours: where 147 attempts fail
The colours look like the easy part. They are not. At 120 with the reds gone, a player needs all 27 of the colours, and the pressure has peaked.
The colours are not spread around the table to suit position. The yellow, green and brown sit on the baulk line. The blue is in the centre of the table, the pink near the top, the black near the top cushion. To clear them a player must move the cue ball up and down the table, often with screw or side. A cue ball that drifts a few inches can turn a simple blue into an awkward one.
The yellow is often the first test. After the last black, the cue ball must come back to baulk, past the blue and pink, with position for the yellow. A player who has been concentrating on the black for fifteen pots has to change rhythm completely.
The pink at the end is where many attempts fail. The pink is usually potted into a corner pocket at the top end, and position on the black requires the cue ball to come off the side cushion or stop dead. Under the weight of a maximum, players miss pinks they would pot routinely. A missed black at 140 is the cruellest way to lose one.
There is no "partial credit" for any of this. A 140 is a fine break; it is not a maximum. Players who reach the last few colours in a 147 attempt often say afterwards that they could feel the occasion, and some of the most celebrated maximums are remembered for a nervy pink or a black that wobbled in the jaws. Breaks in the 140s go into the century-break records like any other break of 100 or more, which our guide to century breaks and their records covers.
How a 155 break arises from a free ball
A 155 is theoretically possible only when a free ball is awarded before any red has been potted.
The sequence is specific. Early in a frame, with all fifteen reds on the table, one player fouls and leaves the other snookered on all the reds. The referee calls a free ball. The incoming player nominates a colour as a free ball, which counts as a red and scores one. They then pot the black for seven. That is eight points, with all fifteen reds still on the table. If they then make a 147, the break is 155.
- Free ball and the black after it8points
- Fifteen reds15points
- Fifteen blacks105points
- Six colours27points
Theoretical maximum from one visit, needing a free ball with all fifteen reds on the table. The free ball scores one regardless of which colour is nominated.
Show the numbers
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Free ball and the black after it | 8points |
| Fifteen reds | 15points |
| Fifteen blacks | 105points |
| Six colours | 27points |
The free ball can be any colour. The brown can be nominated, or even the black itself. It scores one point and is respotted. If the black is nominated as the free ball, potted, respotted and then potted again as the colour, the total is eight.
How likely is it? Very unlikely. The foul must come before any red has been potted, it must leave the incoming player snookered, the free ball must be pottable, and then the player must make a 147. Each step is improbable on its own. Together they explain why the 155 is known from practice tables rather than from the record books. The rule that makes it possible is set out in our guide to the free ball and when a referee calls it.
Why the position so rarely produces a clearance
There is a tactical reason too. A free ball with all fifteen reds on usually comes from a foul in the safety exchanges at the start of a frame, when the cue ball is near the baulk cushion and the reds are still tightly packed. The free ball the incoming player can nominate is often a baulk colour with no pot on, and the sensible choice is often to put the offender back in, so the snooker becomes the opponent's problem. Even when the free ball is played, the most common outcome is a safety shot, not a pot, because the reds offer nothing.
So the 155 needs a run of coincidences: a foul from a position where the snooker is incidental, a pottable free ball, a black available after it, and an open pack. That is why breaks above 147 in competition are so rare.
A free ball awarded after one or more reds have gone does not lift the ceiling above 147. The nominated ball counts as one of the remaining reds, so it replaces a red already potted in terms of the total available. Only when all fifteen are still there does it add an extra pair.
Breaks above 147 that have actually been made
Jamie Burnett's 148 in qualifying for the 2004 UK Championship was the first break above 147 recorded in professional competition.
The break began with a free ball. Burnett nominated the brown, potted it as a red for one point, and then potted it again as the colour for four. That was five points. He then potted fifteen reds, taking twelve blacks, two pinks and a blue, before clearing the colours.
| Part of the break | Balls | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Free ball taken as a red | Brown | 1 |
| Colour after the free ball | Brown | 4 |
| Fifteen reds | Reds | 15 |
| Colours after the reds | Twelve blacks, two pinks, one blue | 101 |
| Final colours | Yellow to black | 27 |
The total, 148, shows how the free ball can lift a break above the normal maximum without a perfect sequence. Burnett did not take the black after every red; the free ball's extra points made up for it.
It was not a 147 and it did not count as a maximum. For many years it remained the only professional break above 147, and it is the one most often cited. Burnett, a Scottish professional, was playing in a qualifying event, away from the cameras, which is why the break is better known in the record books than on film.
The 155s from practice tables
Breaks of 155 have been reported from practice, in which a player sets up the free-ball position or encounters it by chance. They have no official status. Practice tables vary in their pocket sizes and conditions, there is no referee, and the free ball is often set up deliberately rather than arising from a foul. Players have described making one, but a practice break, however well witnessed, never enters the record.
The first maximums: from Joe Davis to the Crucible
The first officially recognised maximum was made by Joe Davis in January 1955, at Leicester Square Hall in London, against Willie Smith. It was ratified later by the governing body of the day, and it is counted as the first 147 in the record books.
Davis's maximum came in a match that would not meet modern standards for an official break, being closer to an exhibition than to a professional tournament. It predates the tournament circuit as it now exists, and it is counted because the governing body of the day ratified it. Later exhibition 147s have not been given the same treatment.
Spencer's unratified 147
John Spencer made a 147 in 1979 at a tournament in Slough. It was not ratified. The table was found to have pockets larger than the official template, and the usual account is that the television crew were not recording at the time. It is a famous near-miss in the history of the record.
The first televised maximum
Steve Davis's maximum at the Lada Classic in Oldham in January 1982 was the first made in front of television cameras and the first in the modern professional record. Fittingly, the opponent was Spencer.
The first at the Crucible
Cliff Thorburn made the first maximum at the Crucible Theatre, during the second round of the 1983 World Championship, against Terry Griffiths. The final black is one of the most replayed moments in snooker, with Thorburn sinking to his knees by the table. Our guide to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield covers the venue.
| Year | Player | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Joe Davis | Match at Leicester Square Hall | First officially recognised maximum |
| 1982 | Steve Davis | Lada Classic | First televised maximum |
| 1983 | Cliff Thorburn | World Championship | First at the Crucible |
| 1984 | Kirk Stevens | The Masters | First at the Masters |
| 1997 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | World Championship | Fastest maximum on record |
| 2023 | Mark Selby | World Championship final | First in a World Championship final |
Selby's maximum in the 2023 final against Luca Brecel came 40 years after Thorburn's. It was the first made in a World Championship final.
The fastest 147 in snooker and its two times
Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum against Mick Price in the first round of the 1997 World Championship is the fastest on record. It was long quoted as five minutes 20 seconds. The record books now give five minutes eight seconds.
Both figures describe the same break. The shorter one came from a later retiming of the recording, and it is the one now used in the record books. Accounts differ on exactly where each timing started and stopped, which is the honest reason two numbers survive.
Either way, the break was extraordinary. O'Sullivan played at a pace no maximum had been made at before, and the break became a defining image of his career. Nobody had made a faster one under tournament conditions by the end of the 2024-25 season.
Why speed is hard to compare
Fast maximums depend on the positions available as well as on the player. A frame where the reds spread easily, with the black open, can be cleared quickly; one with awkward clusters cannot. Speed records also depend on how the time is measured, as the two O'Sullivan times show. The fastest-maximum record is therefore one of the most argued-over in snooker, and other quick breaks are often compared to O'Sullivan's without a common standard.
Who has made the most maximum breaks
At the end of the 2024-25 season, Ronnie O'Sullivan had made more official maximum breaks than any other player. His total has stood at the top of the list for many years and moves when he makes another, so any number is a snapshot. John Higgins, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and Stephen Hendry are among the other players with high totals.
The total number of official maximums has grown steadily. It was in single figures through most of the 1980s, passed a hundred during the 2010s, and has kept rising since. The official list maintained by World Snooker Tour is the reference for both the career totals and the overall count, and both change during each season.
The leading totals reflect long careers and sustained form. O'Sullivan has been a professional since 1992, and his maximums span most of that period.
What the totals do not show
Career totals do not show when maximums were made, which matters for comparison. A player in the 1980s had far fewer chances, with fewer tournaments and fewer frames played in front of a referee. A player in the 2020s plays many more frames in official competition. Raw totals say more about opportunity and longevity than about the relative difficulty of the achievement.
What makes a maximum break official
A 147 is official only if it is made in professional competition, under the conditions set by the governing body.
The conditions are specific. The break must be made in a recognised professional tournament, with a qualified referee in charge. The table must meet the official specifications, including pockets cut to the professional templates, which is why Spencer's 1979 maximum was not ratified. Our guide to snooker table dimensions and specifications covers the template standards.
Exhibitions and practice
Exhibition maximums are not counted. Exhibitions are played without the same conditions; tables vary, the matches are not competitive, and the player may set up positions. Practice maximums are not counted either, however many witnesses there are.
The break is one visit, nothing more
A maximum is a single visit to the table. Points the player scored earlier in the frame, and penalty points from the opponent's fouls, have no bearing on it. A player who receives four points from a foul and then makes 147 has 151 in the frame, but the break is 147. Equally, a maximum cannot be built across two visits: if the player misses after ten reds and blacks and later clears the table, the frame contains two breaks, neither of them a maximum.
The frame must also be live. Once a frame is conceded, it is over, and nothing potted afterwards counts. In tournaments, a match ends when one player has won enough frames, so a maximum cannot be made in a dead frame at the end of a match.
Qualifying rounds
Maximums in professional qualifying rounds count, provided the conditions are met. Many official maximums have been made in qualifying, away from the television cameras. Burnett's 148, which was not a maximum, was also made in qualifying.
Amateur and other circuits
Maximums in amateur competition, including national championships run under WPBSA or IBSF rules, are not part of the professional list. Nor are those made on the senior and women's circuits, which are listed separately.
How rare a 147 is, then and now
In the 1980s, a maximum was a rare event. Years could pass between official ones, and each was treated as a special occasion with extensive coverage.
That has changed. Maximums are now made several times a season on the professional tour, and in some seasons many more. A 147 still makes news, and the reaction of a crowd at a televised event is still memorable. But it no longer carries the novelty it did in the 1980s.
What the referee does during one
A referee in a maximum attempt has more to do than in an ordinary break. Each black must be respotted on its own spot after it is potted, and the spot must be clear: if a red is lying on the black spot, the black goes to the highest available spot, and the maximum may be in trouble. The referee must place each ball precisely, because a black respotted a fraction off its spot changes the angles. Referees at professional level are trained to respot quickly and accurately so the player's rhythm is not broken, and to stand clear of the player's line of sight as the colours are cleared.
Calls during a maximum are rare. The most common is a foul by the striker, such as a touched ball in a reach over the pack, which ends the break immediately. A referee who sees a foul must call it whatever the occasion, and the points scored before it stand as an ordinary break.
Why maximums became more common
Several reasons explain the change. The professional tour has expanded, with more tournaments, more players and many more frames each season. More frames mean more chances.
The standard of play has risen. Modern professionals practise long hours from childhood, many in specialised academies, and the break-building standard at the top level is far higher than it was. A 147 requires sustained precision, and more players have it.
Table conditions have become more consistent. Modern cloths and cushions play more predictably, and the tour uses standard equipment, making it easier for players to judge pace and angles.
Players also go for maximums more often. In the 1980s many players would take a pink rather than risk the break; modern players are more likely to attempt the maximum when it is on, in part because of the rewards described below.
Bonuses, rolling prizes and the 146 that was not a 147
A maximum break has usually carried a financial reward on top of the tournament's prize money. The form of the reward has varied.
Some tournaments have offered a fixed bonus for a maximum. Others have used a rolling prize, which grows from one tournament to the next until someone makes a 147, then resets. The tour has also at times offered a bonus for a maximum made in particular events. Each scheme is set by the tournament or the tour and has changed over time, which is why no figure is quoted here.
The highest-break prize
Most tournaments also offer a prize for the highest break, which a maximum usually wins. The highest-break prize is separate from any maximum bonus, and two players with the same highest break usually share it.
The 146 at the Welsh Open
In 2016, at the Welsh Open, Ronnie O'Sullivan was on for a maximum against Barry Pinches and, after the fifteenth red, took the pink instead of the black, so the clearance finished on 146. He said afterwards that the prize on offer for a maximum was not enough. The decision drew criticism from some commentators and players, and support from others who agreed with his point about the reward. It remains the most famous example of a player declining a maximum.
The episode raised a question that the rules do not answer. A player is not obliged to make a maximum, and the rules have nothing to say about what a player chooses to pot. Whether declining one is a failure of sportsmanship or a reasonable protest is a matter of opinion.
Maximum, total clearance and the sixteen-red clearance compared
Several terms are used around the 147 and are easily confused. A total clearance is any break that pots every ball on the table in one visit, whatever the score. A maximum is a total clearance with the black after every red. A sixteen-red clearance is a clearance after a free ball has been awarded with all fifteen reds on the table.
| Term | What it means | Is it a 147? |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum break | Fifteen reds, fifteen blacks and the six colours | Yes, always 147 |
| Total clearance | Every ball potted in one visit from the start of the frame | Only if the black follows every red |
| Sixteen-red clearance | A clearance including a free ball taken as an extra red | Can be higher or lower than 147 |
| Highest break of a tournament | The biggest single break in the event | Only if a maximum was made |
| Century break | Any break of 100 or more | No, unless it reaches 147 |
The terms matter in records. A total clearance of 140 is a fine break, but it is not a maximum. A sixteen-red clearance of 148, like Burnett's, is higher than a maximum but is recorded separately. And the highest break of a tournament is a prize category, which a maximum wins but which is often won with a lower break.
The wider pattern of tournaments where maximums have been made, from the Masters and its history to the World Championship, is covered in our other snooker guides, and the full range of British sport is on the England hub.