Snooker star's remarkable maximum break jackpot feat just hours after emergency hospital trip

And the first of those feats of top-flight green baize perfection is one of the most memorable in the history of the sport due to the circumstances it arrived in.

Ranked as the world number 50 at the time, Ford qualified for the main venue, televised stages of the 2007 Grand Prix which took place in Aberdeen, Scotland.

At that point, the initial phase of the ranking tournament was played in round robin groups of six with the top two players from each pool qualifying for the last 16 knockout rounds.

On the first day of the event, Ford narrowly lost his opening two matches to Ronnie O’Sullivan and Dominic Dale via deciding frames.

Pleasure and Pain: From emergency hospital trip to 147 joy

Ahead of day two, and his next fixture, against six-time world champion Steve Davis, Ford became unwell overnight, suffering with severe stomach pains.

The discomfort was so much that Ford went to hospital in the early hours of the morning where he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and placed on a drip.

But the Leicester cueman - who was due back on the baize in a few hours’ time at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference - was determined not to miss his meeting with snooker legend Davis, and ended up discharging himself from hospital.

Playing through the pain barrier, future top 16 star Ford took the opening frame before doubling his lead with a break of 122.

Then remarkably, given his preparation for the match, Ford sank 15 reds with blacks and all the colours for his first maximum 147 break on snooker’s top tier - at the time, the 58th overall to be put into the professionals record books.

Coming back down to earth following his achievement, Ford completed a 4-0 whitewash win over Davis with a run of 117, meaning he had constructed three century breaks in consecutive frames, with the 147 in the middle.

After the tie, Ford said: "my stomach has been really hurting, I don't know how I held my cue. I was really tired because I hadn't had much sleep. I never imagined I would make a 147".

Ford’s accomplishment would see him collect a £24,000 bonus - £20k for a maximum during the televised stages, and £4k for the highest break. At the time, this was by far the biggest payday of his career.

He very nearly had to share those prizes, though, as only a couple of days later, Peter Ebdon missed the final pink on 134 whilst going for a maximum in a group match against Mark Selby.

Since his first, Ford has (at time of writing) gone on to fashion four further maximum breaks.

Number two came at the 2012 Bulgarian Open, and number three was at the 2017 German Masters in Berlin.

The 152nd and 153rd entries on the list of professional maximums were both made by Ford; one at International Championship qualifying, and the other during the main venue stages of the English Open a few months later.

At present, in top flight competition, former Snooker Shoot Out winner Ford has racked up over 300 century breaks, and only 10 players have constructed more 147s than him.