Maximum 147 Breaks

The maximum break in snooker is 147 — achieved by potting all 15 reds with 15 blacks, then clearing the colours. It is the pinnacle of break-building. 57 players in our database have achieved a maximum.

147 Records

Most career 147s	Ronnie O'Sullivan	15+
Fastest 147	Ronnie O'Sullivan	5 min 8 sec (1997 World Championship)
Oldest player to make 147	John Higgins	Age 48 (2024)
First televised 147	Steve Davis	1982 Lada Classic
First World Championship 147	Cliff Thorburn	1983

Players Who Have Made a Maximum

#	Player	Nationality	Highest Break	Career Centuries
1	Ronnie O'Sullivan	England	153	1,318
2	Judd Trump	England	147	1,146
3	John Higgins	Scotland	147	1,058
4	Neil Robertson	Australia	147	1,035
5	Mark Selby	England	147	959
6	Stephen Hendry	Scotland	147	778
7	Shaun Murphy	England	147	776
8	Ding Junhui	China	147	721
9	Mark Williams	Wales	147	689
10	Mark Allen	Northern Ireland	147	685
11	Stuart Bingham	England	147	631
12	Kyren Wilson	England	147	556
13	Marco Fu	Hong Kong	147	552
14	Stephen Maguire	Scotland	147	538
15	Barry Hawkins	England	147	525
16	Ryan Day	Wales	147	478
17	Ali Carter	England	147	459
18	David Gilbert	England	147	441
19	Ricky Walden	England	147	391
20	Jack Lisowski	England	147	385
21	Peter Ebdon	England	147	380
22	Ken Doherty	Ireland	147	371
23	Matthew Stevens	Wales	147	361
24	Xiao Guodong	China	147	359
25	Steve Davis	England	147	356
26	Jimmy White	England	147	354
27	Tom Ford	England	147	317
28	Gary Wilson	England	147	307
29	Mark Davis	England	147	302
30	Liang Wenbo	China	147	284
31	Graeme Dott	Scotland	147	263
32	Zhou Yuelong	China	147	255
33	Martin Gould	England	147	253
34	Matthew Selt	England	147	230
35	Luca Brecel	Belgium	147	226
36	Thepchaiya Un-Nooh	Thailand	147	221
37	Robert Milkins	England	147	206
38	Zhang Anda	China	147	189
39	Ben Woollaston	England	147	183
40	Jamie Jones	Wales	147	175
41	Noppon Saengkham	Thailand	147	172
42	Jak Jones	Wales	147	162
43	Hossein Vafaei	Iran	147	161
44	Andrew Higginson	England	147	161
45	Chris Wakelin	England	147	143
46	Alfie Burden	England	147	139
47	Wu Yize	China	147	137
48	Joe O'Connor	England	147	120
49	Si Jiahui	China	147	113
50	Cao Yupeng	China	147	81
51	Xu Si	China	147	72
52	Fan Zhengyi	China	147	66
53	Jackson Page	Wales	147	63
54	Aaron Hill	Ireland	147	48
55	Zak Surety	England	147	46
56	Ross Muir	Scotland	147	41
57	Liam Pullen	England	147	23

About the Maximum Break

A maximum break of 147 is achieved by potting all 15 reds, each followed by the black (15 × 1 + 15 × 7 = 120), then clearing all six colours in sequence (yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7 = 27). Total: 120 + 27 = 147.

Breaks higher than 147 are possible when the opponent commits a foul with reds still on the table, awarding a free ball. The highest possible break is 155 (free ball used as an extra red, potted with black, then a standard 147). Breaks of 148-155 have occurred in professional play.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 at the 1997 World Championship, completed in 5 minutes and 8 seconds, is widely considered the greatest single break in snooker history.