What Is a 147 Break in Snooker?

A 147 break is the maximum possible score in a single visit to the table in standard snooker, which is why it is known as the “maximum break.” A player makes one by potting all 15 reds, taking the black after each red, and then clearing the six colours in order — adding up to exactly 147 points without a foul.

It is snooker’s version of a perfect game: rare, dramatic and instantly recognisable to fans. Here is exactly how a 147 is constructed, why 147 is the ceiling, the one situation that can beat it, and the players whose names are tied to the feat.

How the 147 adds up

Snooker’s scoring is what makes 147 the magic number. There are 15 red balls, each worth 1 point, and six colours worth 2 to 7 points. During the reds phase, after potting each red a player may pot any colour, which is then returned to its spot. To score the maximum, you always choose the most valuable colour — the black, worth 7.

• Reds and blacks: 15 reds x (1 red + 7 black) = 15 x 8 = 120 points
• The colours cleared last: yellow (2) + green (3) + brown (4) + blue (5) + pink (6) + black (7) = 27 points
• Total: 120 + 27 = 147 points

Once all the reds are gone, the colours must be potted in ascending value order, and they stay down. Clearing them cleanly from yellow to black is the second half of every maximum.

Why 147 is the ceiling

The reason you cannot beat 147 in a normal frame is simple: 147 assumes you took the highest-value colour (the black) after every single red, then swept all six colours. There is no higher-scoring path. Any other choice — taking a pink instead of a black, say — scores fewer points. So 147 represents perfect shot selection as well as perfect potting.

That combination of accuracy and decision-making is what makes the maximum so hard. A single missed pot, a bad safety leave, or being forced to take a lower colour ends the run below 147.

The one way to score more

There is a single exception. If an opponent fouls and leaves you unable to hit a red at the start of the frame, the referee awards a free ball — you may nominate any ball to act as a red. Potting that free ball as an “extra red,” then a colour, before going on to make a full clearance can lift the maximum above 147, all the way to a theoretical 155.

A 167 break, sometimes asked about, is not possible under the rules; 155 is the absolute ceiling, and it is vanishingly rare because it depends on an opponent’s early foul. For practically every purpose, 147 is snooker’s perfect break.

The famous maximums

The maximum break has produced some of snooker’s most memorable moments.

Milestone	Player	Note
First televised 147	Steve Davis (1982)	Made at the Lada Classic
First 147 at the World Championship	Cliff Thorburn (1983)	The Crucible’s first maximum
Fastest competitive 147	Ronnie O’Sullivan (1997)	Completed in 5 min 8 sec
Most career maximums	Ronnie O’Sullivan	Record holder in professional play

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 1997 maximum, completed in just over five minutes, remains the benchmark for speed, and he holds the record for the most maximums in professional competition. Stephen Hendry also built a famous collection of career 147s during his era of dominance.

A perfect break, and a cue-sport rarity

The 147 endures as snooker’s ultimate single-visit achievement because it demands flawless potting and flawless choices in the same run. It is the sport’s showpiece, the moment a commentator’s voice rises and the crowd senses history.

If you enjoy how different cue sports build their own signature challenges, our guides to 8-ball rules and the wider family of types of pool games show how scoring and shot selection change from table to table, while our look at the best pool players covers the stars of the pocket-billiards side of the cue-sports world.

The short version: a 147 is snooker’s maximum break — 15 reds each with a black (120), then all six colours in order (27), totalling exactly 147. Only a free ball can push a break higher, up to a theoretical 155, and Ronnie O’Sullivan is the sport’s most prolific maker of maximums.