Un-Nooh hits record-extending maximum break in World Open final, but won't receive a penny

The Thai ace is celebrating the biggest title triumph of his career, having come back from four frames down to stun Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-7 in the final to pocket the £175,000 first prize - by far his weightiest-ever payday.

Things were looking very bleak for Un-Nooh - who travelled to China at the start of the week as the world number 39 - when he went 4-0 down early on to O’Sullivan.

But in a dramatic turnaround, he won the last five frames of the afternoon session to lead 5-4. He then extended his winning streak to six on resumption in the evening, before his opponent rattled in a trio of century breaks in consecutive frames to go back in front at 7-6.

However, momentum abruptly shifted again, as 40-year-old Un-Nooh conjured up one of the most destructive purple patches you’ll ever likely see at the business end of a big, professional snooker event final - compiling runs of 77, 132, 147 and 131 - in a memorable four-frame burst to the finish line.

Un-Nooh’s feat of snooker perfection in frame 16 - against the player who has made the most in the sport’s top-flight history - was his seventh 147 in professional competition. Only six cueists have ever registered more.

The record-breaking 147 season continues...

Un-Nooh’s maximum magic was a record-extending 23nd 147 of the 2025/26 professional snooker season, and there are still two tournaments to go, both long-formatted ones as well - the Tour Championship, and the World Snooker Championship.

The previous record for the most maximums made in a single top tier campaign was 15, a benchmark set last season (2024/25).

That previous record was equalled and then broken within a matter of days during the 2025 UK Championship qualifying rounds held in Wigan in November, as youngsters Liam Pullen and Chang Bingyu scored their maiden perfect frames in professional play.

This staggering sequence of 147s over the past several months on the World Snooker Tour started back in July when Fan Zhengyi slotted home 15 reds with blacks and all the colours at the Championship League Ranking Event.

Un-Nooh is now responsible for three of this season’s record tally - more than anyone else.

The first of those came at the Saudi Arabia Masters in August. He would have been in line for a £50,000 bonus for the achievement, but only received one-third of that due to, ironically, O’Sullivan hitting two 147s during the semi-finals later in the tournament.

Only a few weeks later, Un-Nooh mopped up again in Asia, this time at the Wuhan Open. Once more, though, he didn’t scoop the whole bonus prize himself as Xiao Guodong did the achievement the day before.

Zhang Anda, Zhou Yuelong, Aaron Hill, Ali Carter, Gary Wilson, Judd Trump, Zak Surety, Pullen, Chang, Chris Wakelin, Matthew Selt, Wu Yize and Zhao Xintong are the others to have joined this term’s 147 party.

Along with O’Sullivan, Hill, Xiao and Zhang have each struck two maximums.

Once again, O’Sullivan denies Un-Nooh a 147 bonus prize

Considering the biggest win of his life has just trousered him in excess of at least over £200,000 - due to qualifying for the upcoming Tour Championship, and a spot at the Champion of Champions later this year - the £5,000 highest break prize Un-Nooh misses out on may be a lot easier to swallow.

Despite his feat of green baize excellence, Un-Nooh’s 147 effort isn’t the highest break of the 2026 World Open - that bonus will go to O’Sullivan for his world record sequence of 153 during his quarter-final win over Ryan Day.

That unprecedented achievement was made possible due to O’Sullivan receiving a free ball with all 15 reds still on the table, so his record-breaking milestone was a 16-red total clearance, instead of Un-Nooh’s conventional 15-red contribution.

It does seem slightly harsh, though, that Un-Nooh’s was a maximum 147, whilst O’Sullivan - as staggering and historic as it was - potted two pinks en route to his score.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Open, visit here.