What Is 153 Break? How Ronnie O'Sullivan Snookered Into Record Books At World Open

Ronnie O'Sullivan keeps breaking records in snooker — now, at age 50, he's made the highest ever break in the history of the professional game.

The seven-time world champion cleared the table for a break of 153 in the first frame of his 5-0 win over Ryan Day at the World Open in China. The highest possible break is 155.

The previous biggest break in competition was 148, made by Jamie Burnett in qualifying for the UK Championship in 2004.

The “maximum” break in snooker is 147 — 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colors — but a player can score more if he starts it with a free ball. That happens when a player is snookered on all the reds following a foul by the opponent, so can nominate another ball as a red, before potting a color and then starting his break as normal.

This is what happened to O'Sullivan, who followed a free ball and a black by potting 15 reds, 13 blacks and two pinks to reach the colors, which he cleared up under huge pressure with history on the line. He smiled and laughed as he shook hands with Day, and appeared confused as he looked at the scoreboard.

O'Sullivan is widely regarded as the greatest ever snooker player. He is tied for the record of most world titles with Stephen Hendry, has the most major titles (23), the most ranking titles (41) and most 147 breaks (17), including the quickest in just 5 minutes, 8 seconds at the world championship in 1997.

Already this season, O'Sullivan, who has rarely played, has made two 147s in one match — in the semifinals of the Saudi Arabia Masters.