Is the World Snooker Tour set for a record number of 147s this season?

Selby struck perfection at the Championship League Invitational on Wednesday, going on to defend the title later the same day on home soil in Leicester. Xu fashioned his second maximum of the season on Thursday during his 4-2 victory over Bulcsu Revesz to qualify for next week’s Welsh Open.

These were the 10th and 11th 147 breaks of this 2024/25 professional snooker season, and numbers 212 and 213 on the all-time list.

With six tournaments still to go this term - Welsh Open, World Open, World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and World Championship - there is a real possibility that a new record could be set for the most number of maximum breaks compiled within one season.

Surprisingly, there was a little wait for the first maxy of the campaign, with none hit during the opening three tournaments - the Championship League Ranking Event, Shanghai Masters and Xi’an Grand Prix.

Thai ace Noppon Saengkham opened that particular account at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, an effort that earned him £50,000. Saengkham had also produced the most recent 147 on the pro circuit before that, only a few months earlier at the World Championship qualifiers.

Fan Zhengyi made his maiden 147 in professional competition in the English Open, and at the following event, Mark Allen compiled the fourth of his career at the British Open on a table he had critised earlier in the week.

Si Jiahui scored his first maximum on the tour during a scintillating semi-final win over world number one Judd Trump at the Wuhan Open, and Xu also achieved perfection on home soil at the next tournament, the International Championship.

The final professional 147 of 2024 came at the York Barbican when Zhang Anda lit up the UK Championship with his 15 red, 15 black heroics.

In the new year, Shaun Murphy registered the ninth maximum break of his illustrious career en route to claiming the Masters crown.

Having made a 147 during the three biggest competitions of the season, so far, should Saengkham (Saudi Masters), Zhang (UK Championship) and/or Murphy (Masters) make another one at the 2025 World Championship (either the qualifying rounds or at the Crucible) they will bank a huge £147,000 bonus for their two-max contribution.

Completing this season’s 147 roll of honour - at the time of writing - are Jak Jones, David Gilbert and Selby (all during the Championship League Invitational) and Xu.

The most number of maximum 147 breaks compiled in a professional snooker season is 13 - this record was set in the 2016/17 season, and has been matched in each of the two most recent completed campaigns (2022/23 and 2023/24).

The yearly calendar 147 record is also under threat

Top tier snooker in 2025 has started with a big bang; we’re barely in February and already five maximum 147 breaks have been made.

14 147s were notched up throughout 2024, a new record for a calendar year, eclipsing the 12 that were made in 2018.

With the number of tournaments now held on the professional circuit, and the strength and depth of the player roster, you wouldn’t disregard that record being broken again by the end of the year.

Since 2016, 98 147 breaks have been fashioned - nearly half of all the 213 maximums made in the professional history of the sport.

For the full list of maximum 147 breaks made in professional snooker competition, please visit here.