Maximum break

A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a one-four-seven) is the highest possible break in snooker in normal circumstances^[a] and is a special type of total clearance. A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points, followed by all six colours for a further 27 points. Compiling a maximum break is regarded as a highly significant achievement in the game of snooker, and may be compared to a nine-dart finish in darts or a 300 game in ten-pin bowling.

Joe Davis made the first officially recognised maximum break in a 1955 exhibition match in London. At the Classic in January 1982, Steve Davis achieved the first recognised maximum in professional competition, which was also the first in a televised match. The following year, Cliff Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum at the World Snooker Championship. As of October 2024, over 200 officially recognised maximum breaks have been made in professional tournament play.^[1] Ronnie O'Sullivan holds the record for the most maximum breaks in professional competition, with 15, and also holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest competitive maximum break, which he made at the 1997 World Championship in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds.^[2][3]

Maximum breaks have become more frequent in professional snooker. Only eight recognised maximums were achieved in professional competition in the 1980s, but 26 occurred in the 1990s, 35 in the 2000s, and 86 in the 2010s. As of the 2024 International Championship, 52 officially recognised professional maximums have been made thus far in the 2020s. In the 1990s, some players received £147,000 for making a maximum break, but as the frequency of maximums increased, the reward was changed to a rolling prize pot that began at £5,000, leading to discontent among players. For the 2019‍–‍20 season, World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn replaced the rolling prize with a conditional £1 million bonus, to be awarded if 20 or more maximum breaks were attained in the season. The 20 maximums were not achieved. Thereafter, players who made a maximum would win or share a tournament's highest break prize, although some events still offer a separate bonus for a 147. The 2022 World Snooker Championship offered a bonus of £40,000 for a maximum break made at the Crucible and £10,000 for a maximum made in the qualifying rounds, in addition to the £15,000 highest break prize.^[4] In 2023, the World Snooker Tour introduced a £147,000 bonus for any player making two maximum breaks during the season's Triple Crown Series. The bonus could be awarded up to three times, for a total of £441,000, meaning that the same player could potentially win £441,000 by making six maximums in the events.^[5]

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