# Maximum and century breaks made by Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan holds the record for the highest numbers of competitive centuries and maximum breaks, as well as the fastest maximum break of all time, in the professional sport of snooker.

## Maximum breaks

Ronnie O'Sullivan has made fifteen official maximum breaks in professional competition, the highest number completed by any player. This total only includes maximum breaks that have been ratified by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA); it does not include maximums compiled in exhibition matches, or in events that are not sanctioned by the world governing body.
In addition to the fifteen maximum breaks officially recognised by the WPBSA, other high-profile maximums include a 147 compiled against Joe Swail in the quarter-final of the 2007 Irish Masters. The maximum break prize of a Citroën Coupe, worth €20,000, was withdrawn when the organisers were unable to obtain insurance against a 147 being made. However, this was concealed from the players and O'Sullivan only learned of the withdrawal of the prize after he had made the maximum.
At the 2016 Welsh Open, O'Sullivan was on course for a 147 after potting 14 reds and 13 blacks, but then opted to pot the pink instead of the black, meaning he finished with a 146 break instead. He said this was in protest against what he believed to be the insufficient prize money awarded for the maximum, which in that tournament stood at £10,000 for the 147 in addition to the £2,000 highest break prize. A similar incident had occurred six years earlier in a match at the 2010 World Open (listed as number 10 in the table below). In this case, however, he was eventually persuaded to pot the final black by the referee Jan Verhaas. O'Sullivan has been criticised for such behaviour, which has been labelled unsportsmanlike and disrespectful to snooker fans, as well as to the socio-economically disadvantaged, who might benefit from a charitable donation of the ostensibly insufficient prize money. However, he has defended his behaviour whilst also conceding that in hindsight he would rather have given the money to charity. In an interview, he asserted his right to enhance his own enjoyment of the game, as well as the spectacle for his fans, by engaging in such characterful, mischievous, and showmanlike behaviour.
Completed in 5 minutes and 8 seconds, O'Sullivan's first 147 break, against Mick Price in their second-round tie at the 1997 world championship, set a world record (yet to be broken) for the fastest maximum officially recognised in professional competition. Initially Guinness World Records recorded the time of the break at 5 minutes and 20 seconds. However, an analysis undertaken by Deadspin in 2017 revealed that the time recorded by Guinness World Records was incorrect, as a result of the timer being started too early on the BBC footage. Breaks are not officially timed in snooker and the official rules of snooker do not specify how they should be timed, instead leaving the timing to the discretion of the broadcaster. World Snooker has since suggested that a break starts when the player strikes the cueball for the first time in the break; this would result in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, which is the time now officially recognised by both World Snooker and Guinness World Records. However, this methodology for timing breaks is inconsistent with the one employed in shot clock events where timing for a player's shot begins when the balls have come to rest from the opponent's previous shot, and under this convention the break would have been timed at 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
Additionally, O'Sullivan holds the record for the most 147 breaks to be completed during the final frame of a match. He has made a maximum in a final frame on six occasions, one of these in the deciding frame of his semi-final victory over Mark Selby at the 2007 UK Championship.

### Full list

A full list of O'Sullivan's competitive maximum breaks is given below:
Table legend :
| $^Q$ | Qualifying round of the tournament |
| $^F$ | Final frame of the match |
| $^D$ | Deciding frame of the match (also implicitly the final frame of the match) |
| $^L$ | Match ended in a loss for O'Sullivan |
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Round |
| 1 | 1997 | World Championship | Mick Price (ENG) | Last 32 |
| 2 | 1999 | Welsh Open | James Wattana (THA) | Quarter-final |
| 3 | 1999 | Grand Prix | Graeme Dott (SCO) | Last 32 |
| 4 | 2000 | Scottish Open | Quinten Hann (AUS) | Last 32 |
| 5 | 2001 | LG Cup | Drew Henry (SCO) | Last 16 |
| 6 | 2003 | World Championship | Marco Fu (HKG) | Last 32$^L$ |
| 7 | 2007 | Northern Ireland Trophy | Ali Carter (ENG) | Last 16 |
| 8 | 2007 | UK Championship | Mark Selby (ENG) | Semi-final$^D$ |
| 9 | 2008 | World Championship | Mark Williams (WAL) | Last 16$^F$ |
| 10 | 2010 | World Open | Mark King (ENG) | Last 64$^{Q,F}$ |
| 11 | 2011 | Paul Hunter Classic | Adam Duffy (ENG) | Last 32 |
| 12 | 2014 | Welsh Open | Ding Junhui (CHN) | Final$^F$ |
| 13 | 2014 | UK Championship | Matthew Selt (ENG) | Last 16$^F$ |
| 14 | 2018 | China Open | Elliot Slessor (ENG) | Last 64$^L$ |
| 15 | 2018 | English Open | Allan Taylor (ENG) | Last 64$^F$ |

## Century breaks

By the start of the 2007–08 snooker season, O'Sullivan had made 479 century breaks. He then made one century in the 2007 Euro-Asia Masters Challenge, seven in the 2007 Grand Prix, six in the 2007 Premier League Snooker before the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy, and six more in the Northern Ireland Trophy, bringing his total to 499. His 500th century was recorded on 15 November 2007, in the second frame of his Premier League match against Neil Robertson.
By the start of the 2010–11 snooker season, O'Sullivan had made 597 century breaks. He made one century in the Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 1, and four during the Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 4 which was played from 14 to 16 August 2010, making his 600th century during the tournament. He had made 695 century breaks at the start of the 2013–14 snooker season. He made four in the European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 1 to take his century total to 699. His first-round match in the European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 3 was against Lyu Haotian on 16 August 2013; Lyu led 3–1 but O'Sullivan came back to win 4–3, making his 700th century in the deciding frame. He made his 750th century on 22 August 2014 in the 2014 Paul Hunter Classic against Robbie Williams.
O'Sullivan had made 773 century breaks at the start of 2015. On 13 January, in the first round of the 2015 Masters, he made two centuries to equal Stephen Hendry's record of 775. Two days later, in his second-round match, he made his 776th century and broke Hendry's record. He made his 800th century on 5 January 2016 in a Championship League group match against Barry Hawkins, and his 900th on 10 November 2017, in the semi-final of the Champion of Champions against Anthony Hamilton. His 1,000th century was recorded on 10 March 2019, in the final of the Players Championship against Robertson. O'Sullivan made his 1,100th century on 22 March 2021, in his quarter-final match at the 2021 Tour Championship against John Higgins. His 1,200th century came in a second-round match against Hossein Vafaei at the 2023 World Snooker Championship. At the 2022 Scottish Open, O'Sullivan scored a century in 3 minutes 34 seconds — just 3 seconds slower than the fastest televised century break, which was made by Tony Drago in 1996.

### Partial list

Since the start of the 2007–08 season, O'Sullivan has made the following centuries:
| Tournament | Centuries made |
| Career total, end of 2006–07 season | 479 |
| 2007 Euro-Asia Masters Challenge | 1 |
| 2007 Grand Prix | 7 |
| 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy | 6 |
| 2007 Premier League Snooker | 11 |
| 2007 UK Championship | 6 |
| 2008 Masters | 1 |
| 2008 Welsh Open | 6 |
| 2008 World Championship | 12 |
| Season total, end of 2007–08 season | 50 |
| Career total, end of 2007–08 season | 529 |
| 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy | 6 |
| 2008 Shanghai Masters | 5 |
| 2008 Grand Prix | 2 |
| 2008 Premier League Snooker | 4 |
| 2008 UK Championship | 5 |
| 2009 Masters | 8 |
| 2009 Welsh Open | 1 |
| 2009 China Open | 2 |
| 2009 World Championship | 5 |
| Season total, end of 2008–09 season | 38 |
| Career total, end of 2008–09 season | 567 |
| 2009 Shanghai Masters | 3 |
| 2009 Grand Prix | 2 |
| 2009 Premier League Snooker | 6 |
| 2009 UK Championship | 6 |
| 2010 Championship League | 1 |
| 2010 Masters | 5 |
| 2010 Welsh Open | 1 |
| 2010 World Championship | 6 |
| Season total, end of 2009–10 season | 30 |
| Career total, end of 2009–10 season | 597 |
| Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 1 | 1 |
| Players Tour Championship 2010/2011 – Event 4 | 4 |
| 2010 World Open | 3 |
| 2010 Premier League Snooker | 9 |
| 2011 Welsh Open | 1 |
| 2011 Championship League | 6 |
| 2011 China Open | 1 |
| 2011 World Championship | 7 |
| Season total, end of 2010–11 season | 32 |
| Career total, end of 2010–11 season | 629 |
| Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 1 | 8 |
| Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 2 | 2 |
| Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 4 | 4 |
| 2011 Shanghai Masters | 2 |
| Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 7 | 5 |
| Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 9 | 5 |
| 2011 Premier League Snooker | 3 |
| 2011 UK Championship | 2 |
| 2012 Masters | 2 |
| 2012 German Masters | 3 |
| 2012 Welsh Open | 4 |
| 2012 China Open | 1 |
| 2012 World Championship | 12 |
| Season total, end of 2011–12 season | 53 |
| Career total, end of 2011–12 season | 682 |
| 2013 World Championship | 13 |
| Season total, end of 2012–13 season | 13 |
| Career total, end of 2012–13 season | 695 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 1 | 4 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 3 | 2 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 4 | 1 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 5 | 2 |
| 2013 International Championship | 2 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 6 | 2 |
| European Tour 2013/2014 – Event 7 | 6 |
| 2013 Champion of Champions | 5 |
| 2013 UK Championship | 4 |
| 2014 Masters | 2 |
| 2014 Welsh Open | 8 |
| 2014 Players Tour Championship Grand Final | 2 |
| 2014 World Championship | 13 |
| Season total, end of 2013–14 season | 53 |
| Career total, end of 2013–14 season | 748 |
| 2014 Paul Hunter Classic | 3 |
| 2014 Shanghai Masters | 1 |
| 2014 International Championship | 4 |
| 2014 Champion of Champions | 8 |
| 2014 UK Championship | 6 |
| 2015 Masters | 4 |
| 2015 Championship League | 4 |
| 2015 German Masters | 6 |
| 2015 Welsh Open | 1 |
| 2015 World Grand Prix | 1 |
| 2015 China Open | 1 |
| 2015 World Championship | 7 |
| Season total, end of 2014–15 season | 46 |
| Career total, end of 2014–15 season | 794 |
| 2016 Masters | 5 |
| 2016 German Masters | 1 |
| 2016 Welsh Open | 10 |
| 2016 Championship League | 9 |
| 2016 World Championship | 5 |
| Season total, end of 2015–16 season | 30 |
| Career total, end of 2015–16 season | 824 |
| 2016 European Masters | 2 |
| 2016 English Open | 1 |
| 2016 International Championship | 2 |
| 2016 Champion of Champions | 6 |
| 2016 Northern Ireland Open | 6 |
| 2016 UK Championship | 10 |
| 2016 Scottish Open | 4 |
| 2017 Masters | 3 |
| 2017 German Masters | 1 |
| 2017 World Grand Prix | 2 |
| 2017 Welsh Open | 1 |
| 2017 Players Championship | 3 |
| 2017 China Open | 3 |
| 2017 World Championship | 6 |
| Season total, end of 2016–17 season | 50 |
| Career total, end of 2016–17 season | 874 |
| 2017 Hong Kong Masters | 3 |
| 2017 China Championship | 4 |
| 2017 English Open | 12 |
| 2017 International Championship | 2 |
| 2017 Champion of Champions | 6 |
| 2017 Shanghai Masters | 4 |
| 2017 Northern Ireland Open | 1 |
| 2017 UK Championship | 10 |
| 2017 Scottish Open | 4 |
| 2018 Masters | 3 |
| 2018 World Grand Prix | 10 |
| 2018 Welsh Open | 4 |
| 2018 Players Championship | 5 |
| 2018 China Open | 2 |
| 2018 World Championship | 4 |
| Season total, end of 2017–18 season | 74 |
| Career total, end of 2017–18 season | 948 |
| 2018 Shanghai Masters | 5 |
| 2018 English Open | 4 |
| 2018 Champion of Champions | 11 |
| 2018 Northern Ireland Open | 10 |
| 2018 UK Championship | 8 |
| 2019 Masters | 5 |
| 2019 Welsh Open | 3 |
| 2019 Players Championship | 6 |
| 2019 Tour Championship | 8 |
| 2019 World Championship | 1 |
| Season total, end of 2018–19 season | 61 |
| Career total, end of 2018–19 season | 1,009 |
| 2019 Shanghai Masters | 8 |
| 2019 English Open | 2 |
| 2019 Champion of Champions | 1 |
| 2019 Northern Ireland Open | 4 |
| 2019 UK Championship | 4 |
| 2019 Scottish Open | 7 |
| 2020 World Grand Prix | 5 |
| 2020 Welsh Open | 5 |
| 2020 Championship League | 4 |
| 2020 World Championship | 12 |
| Season total, end of 2019–20 season | 52 |
| Career total, end of 2019–20 season | 1,061 |
| 2020 European Masters | 1 |
| 2020 English Open | 1 |
| 2020 Northern Ireland Open | 6 |
| 2020 UK Championship | 1 |
| 2020 Scottish Open | 3 |
| 2020 World Grand Prix | 2 |
| 2021 Masters | 4 |
| 2021 Championship League (invitational) | 7 |
| 2021 Welsh Open | 6 |
| 2021 Players Championship | 5 |
| 2021 WST Pro Series | 1 |
| 2021 Tour Championship | 4 |
| 2021 World Championship | 5 |
| Season total, end of 2020–21 season | 46 |
| Career total, end of 2020–21 season | 1,107 |
| 2021 Northern Ireland Open | 2 |
| 2021 English Open | 9 |
| 2021 Champion of Champions | 1 |
| 2021 UK Championship | 5 |
| 2021 Scottish Open | 2 |
| 2021 World Grand Prix | 2 |
| 2022 Masters | 3 |
| 2022 Championship League (invitational) | 2 |
| 2022 Players Championship | 1 |
| 2022 European Masters | 10 |
| 2022 Tour Championship | 10 |
| 2022 World Snooker Championship | 15 |
| Season total, end of 2021–22 season | 62 |
| Career total, end of 2021–22 season | 1,169 |
| 2022 Championship League (ranking) | 2 |
| 2022 World Mixed Doubles | 1 |
| 2022 Hong Kong Masters | 5 |
| 2022 Champion of Champions | 7 |
| 2022 UK Championship | 4 |
| 2022 Scottish Open | 1 |
| 2022 English Open | 1 |
| 2023 Masters | 3 |
| 2023 World Grand Prix | 1 |
| 2023 Welsh Open | 2 |
| 2023 WST Classic | 2 |
| 2023 World Snooker Championship | 4 |
| Season total, end of 2022–23 season | 33 |
| Career total, end of 2022–23 season | 1,202 |
| 2023 Shanghai Masters | 8 |
| 2023 English Open | 3 |
| 2023 Wuhan Open | 5 |
| 2023 International Championship | 6 |
| 2023 UK Championship | 6 |
| 2024 Masters | 3 |
| 2024 World Grand Prix | 7 |
| 2024 Players Championship | 1 |
| 2024 Championship League (invitational) | 3 |
| 2024 World Masters of Snooker | 6 |
| 2024 World Open | 4 |
| 2024 Tour Championship | 6 |
| 2024 World Snooker Championship | 4 |
| Season total, end of 2023–24 season | 62 |
| Career total, end of 2023–24 season | 1,264 |
| 2024 Shanghai Masters | 1 |
| 2024 Xi'an Grand Prix | 3 |
| 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters | 4 |
| 2024 International Championship | 2 |
| 2024 Champion of Champions | 1 |
| 2024 UK Championship | 2 |
| 2024 Snooker Championship (Riyadh) | 2 |
| 2025 Championship League (invitational) | 3 |
| Current season total | 18 |
| Current career total | 1,282 |
    As of 8 January 2025

#### Notes

* ↑ This list excludes two centuries made in the 2011 Snooker Shoot-Out.
* ↑ Three of these centuries were made in late 2014 during qualifying for the 2015 German Masters.