FOR many, snooker’s golden era was the 1980s.
Steve Davis’ six World Championship titles, the emergence of Jimmy White and THAT 1985 final which saw Dennis Taylor pip Davis on the final black of the final frame.
The drama, the storylines and the characters transcended sport.
But on paper, it is the current crop who are the true golden generation.
Because in the 1980s, there were just eight 147 breaks across the entire decade.
Davis got the first in history at the 1982 Lada Classic, which saw him gifted a Lada car.
He never added to that maiden effort.
In the 1985 final, the highest break was a meagre 98.
Taylor, Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, John Spencer, Terry Griffiths and Joe Johnson boast 14 world championship titles between them.
And yet, collectively, they do not have a single 147.
Fast forward to 2025 and by the end of November, there were a gluttonous 25 maximums.
That smashed the previous record for 147s in a calendar year – which was set in 2024 with 14.
And in the 2025-26 season which runs from late June until May, the running tally of 16 is already a new record, too.
Ronnie O’Sullivan nailed two within two hours in Saudi Arabia in August, extending his record tally to 17.
Shaun Murphy has two, including one on his way to Masters glory.
Jackson Page became the first player with two 147s in the same tour match during World Championships qualifying, pocketing £167,000 in bonuses.
Even Aaron Hill, the world No43, has a pair of maximums this year.
So why are there more 147s? And is it actually good for snooker or not?
After all, the formula has not changed: 15 reds, 15 blacks, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black.
But in the 31 years from 1982 to 2013, there were 100 147s. Now there have been 233.
Snooker 147 official records
- FIRST: Steve Davis (vs John Spencer, Lada Classic, Jan 11 1982)
- LATEST: Chang Bingyu (vs Stephen Maguire, UK Championship qualifiers, Nov 24 2025)
- FASTEST: Ronnie O’Sullivan – 5 mins 8 secs (vs Mick Price, World Championship, Apr 21 1997)
- MOST: Ronnie O’Sullivan – 17 (1997-2025)
- OLDEST: Ronnie O’Sullivan – 49 years 253 days (vs Chris Wakelin, Saudi Arabia Masters, Aug 15 2025)
- YOUNGEST: Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon – 16 years 312 days (vs Barry Hawkins, Rhein-Main Masters, Oct 22 2010)
It would be even more but the likes of Mark Selby, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ken Doherty are among the unfortunate list to miss the black on 140 – the latter missing out on a £80,000 sports car.
Yes, the tables are better quality and there are more tournaments but there must be more to it than that – and snooker chiefs insist pockets are not bigger.
And the reality is simple: the snooker players are better quality.
In the 1980s, 50 breaks were impressive and celebrated. Nowadays, they’re a given.
The ‘Class of 92’ – O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams – spearheaded a new wave for the sport, the Rocket in particular inspiring a new generation and providing genuine hype thanks to his blockbuster snooker, such as his unbelievable five-minute-eight-second 147.
Today’s stars are actively targeting 147s and want their names etched into the record books – plus the cash bonuses on offer at many tournaments.
2005 world champ Murphy, 43, told BBC Sport: “I just think everyone’s getting better.
“Some of the players down the rankings that the general public have never heard of, on their day they can beat anyone.
“Players are chasing their career records and the tour are putting incentives out there.
“People are more aware of these challenges. They’re practising for them.”
On the art of completing the perfect 36-shot combination, Murphy added: “I think if there is a knack to it, it’s seeing it early, like with a 59 in golf when you make a few birdies in the first few holes and think ‘I’m on for something good here’.
“If you come to the table early and take a couple of reds and couple of blacks, and you see the black’s available to both pockets and the reds aren’t on cushions, we all think ‘hang on a minute, there’s a 147 on here’.
“Are maximums losing their magic? I don’t think so.”
They are certainly not losing their magic for relatively-unknown Hill.
The Irishman, 23, secured the first two of his career within four weeks – although on both occasions had to settle for a split of the high-break bonus rather than a specific 147 prize.
But after achieving something many of the sport’s greats could not, Hill is already now eyeing up O’Sullivan’s all-time total.
He said: “At the end of my career, I believe I’ll be well up there with maximum breaks.
“There will be a lot of players who haven’t had one. It was always a goal to have my name on the board of those who have. The buzz is great.
“Everyone on the tour now could make one. We’re almost expecting one in every tournament. It’s everyone egging each other on.”
But for Davis, the novelty has worn off.
The mystery of making a 147 is now no longer there… it’s no big deal
Steve Davis
He told SunSport: “The mystery of making a 147 is now no longer there. The more and more times you see it… it’s a bit like, Olga Korbut did the first backward somersault on the beam in gymnastics.
“Everybody thought it was the most amazing thing. Now everybody does three on the trot.
“The beam has not been made wider and I guarantee you the snooker pockets are not bigger. It’s the same beam but everybody just takes what is required and improves.
“So a 147 now is no big deal. But at one stage it was.
“Because it is not a big deal, nobody gets under pressure when they are close to making one, their heart rate is not going up.
“It’s just the players are getting better in my opinion at break building.”
A 147 break used to be newsworthy.
‘Lost its allure’ – Rob Maul on the rise of 147s
By Rob Maul
WATCHING a snooker player craft a 147 is one of the most wonderful sights in sport.
It is like witnessing someone achieve a hole-in-one in golf or a darts player nail the perfect nine-dart leg.
The memory of being there at the Crucible when Mark Selby cleared up all the balls in the correct sequence on night one of the 2023 World Snooker Championship final against Luca Brecel will last for a very long time.
Yet there is no denying that the art and mystery behind making a maximum in professional competition has somewhat lost its allure and impact over recent months.
There have been sixteen 147s this season – a record – and 25 in the calendar year, which is a rate of more than two a month.
Some have alleged that the pockets are, in fact, bigger, and it would be a scandal if the World Snooker Tour had actively done that to generate headlines and get more bums on seats.
Some of the top professionals do feel the tables are playing quicker and the pockets are more generous and, in their eyes, this levels the playing field with less skilful cueists.
Whatever the reason for the increase – and the standard is certainly better these days, compared to the 1980s, with more tournaments on the calendar – watching a 147 being compiled live is still a special treat.
It is not that once-in-a-lifetime experience that it used to be.
And while there is undoubtedly no diminishment in the skill, the gloss has faded.
So what is the next big thing to achieve in snooker and excite fans?
Two 147s in back-to-back frames.
A 167 at Riyadh Season – a regular 147 plus the 20-point golden ball for a $1million prize.
A woman to make an official 147 – the highest break is 145, although Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut did make a 147 in practice.
And maybe even a 155.
A 155 is technically the highest break possible in snooker if a player scores eight points from a free ball and then the regular 147.
And the way things are going, don’t dismiss the idea of O’Sullivan, Murphy and Hill battling it out to be the inaugural accomplisher of the never-seen-before feat.
