Snooker legend reveals surprising opinion when quizzed about age-old 147 v nine-darter debate

The 1986 Crucible conqueror was being interviewed by Valliant Live Derby, the host venue for this December's British Seniors Snooker Open.

They asked Johnson which feat of sporting perfection was harder to do, to which the 73-year-old replied: "Well, I've never had a nine-darter but I've had a few 147s.

"I would say a nine-darter is probably more difficult than a 147 because now we're seeing 147s at nearly every tournament we're playing and becoming so frequent.

"In fact, two people have made 147s in the same match which is incredible. That probably makes it a little bit easier for a 147 than a nine-darter."

The former world number five's response may have been a surprising one and seems to go against the general consensus within the snooker community - and perhaps wider sporting community according to comments on social media surrounding the discussion - but it does come after an incredible sequence of 147s on the World Snooker Tour in recent months.

A total of 13 maximum 147 breaks have already been compiled on snooker's top flight this season - the latest of those was by Aaron Hill at the Xi'an Grand Prix in China on October 7th.

With several months of the term still to go, the all-time record amount for seasonal 147s - 15, set last season - will surely not only be broken, but smashed.

The calendar year record for 147s on the professional circuit has already been obliterated; the previous benchmark was 14 last year but 2025 has produced 22, so far, with two months still to go.

As Johnson referred to, twice this year players have made two maximum 147 breaks within the same match - this had never been achieved once, yet alone twice.

Welsh youngster Jackson Page was the person to put his name in the record books when he struck two 147s during his 2025 World Championship qualifying round match against Allan Taylor earlier this year. He made his first during the opening session, and the next day he returned for the concluding session where he doubled up and realised the unprecedented feat.

At the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah in August, the professional game's greatest-ever 147 break-builder Ronnie O'Sullivan made two maximums during his semi-final win over Chris Wakelin. These came during the same session.

World number one Judd Trump - who fashioned the ninth 147 of his top tier career at October's Xi'an Grand Prix, just a few hours before Hill did his - believes that this influx of maximums in recent times is now snooker's 'new normal'.

When talking about the 147 v nine-darter debate, there are variables to consider, as the route to a 147 hasn't changed with 15 reds with blacks and all the colours in order still required.

Is the increase in 147s down to players simply getting better, and a result of playing competitively so much, or just a numbers game with so many events on the World Snooker Tour?

It's universally acknowledged that conditions these days are more conducive for players to make big breaks, albeit pockets being generally less forgiving than for generations before. In the past, cloths were thicker and balls were heavier, making it a different challenge and process to score centuries. A similar situation has occurred in darts down the years with equipment getting better.

Johnson never made a 147 in professional competition but came very close at the 1987 UK Championship during his semi-final match against Jimmy White. Trailing 2-0, Johnson sank 15 reds with blacks, yellow, green and brown, however, after getting wrong side of the blue, he dropped it in and elected to leave a mid-distance pink, that he missed.

Had Johnson potted pink and black, it would have been only the fifth officially recognised maximum break in top flight snooker; at the time of writing, 230 have now been registered. Johnson would have also scooped a whooping £57,000 bonus for the feat - a £50k jackpot on offer for a 147, and the £7,000 prize for the highest break made during the televised stages of the tournament.

No 147 was crafted during the recent Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. The next event on the calendar is the 2025 International Championship in Nanjing, China. At least one maximum break has been constructed in each of the last six competitions to be held on mainland China.