"A pretty cool moment" O'Sullivan thanks snooker fans after record break at World Open

The seven-time world champion made the highest break ever made in professional snooker competition when he conjured up a 16-red total clearance of 153 during the opening frame of his 5-0 whitewash win over Ryan Day at the Yushan Sports Centre.

The unprecedented green baize feat was made possible due to the utilisation of a freeball red before any of the 15 'normal' reds were potted.

In a snooker behind the green, opponent Day failed to escape, leaving the cueball in the baulk area. O'Sullivan was awarded a freeball by the referee as he was unable to see both sides of any of the 15 reds towards the top end of the table.

O'Sullivan nominated the green as his freeball - which essentially became an extra red - potted it, then the black, to move on to a break of 8 with all 15 reds still on the table.

The record 41-time ranking event winner then proceeded to pot 13 reds all with blacks, and it was looking like he could make the highest possible break in snooker which is 155.

However, after getting slightly the wrong position on the penultimate red that resulted in a cannon that saw the black pushed to the top cushion, O'Sullivan elected to take an 'easier' pink in order to keep his hopes alive of the highest professional break, ever.

The pink went in, as did the final red with another pink, before he went about clearing the colours.

On 146, 'The Rocket' - who has a record 17 maximum 147 breaks to his name in top-flight play - was faced with a tricky final black along the rail for a piece of snooker, and sporting history. And he withstood the pressure, depositing it for a mind-boggling 153.

The break broke the existing record of 148 set by Jamie Burnett during the 2004 UK Championship qualifying rounds - the first, and before today only, sequence of above 147 in top-flight snooker competition.

Widely recognised as the greatest snooker player of all-time, O'Sullivan went on to compile two further century breaks during the match - extending his record ton tally on that count, too - to sweep aside four-time ranking event winner Day, who was only allowed to score a total of 38 points throughout the entire contest.

Next up for O'Sullivan in the £825,000 world ranking event is Chinese youngster Wu Yize in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Even O’Sullivan - who in the past has ‘downplayed’ making a 147 as he has recorded so many throughout his long, illustrious career in practice and matchplay - acknowledged that what he had just achieved was something very special indeed.

In a short video uploaded to social media, O’Sullivan said: “Just want to say a big shout out to all the people that have been messaging me, congratulating me on the 153.

“Yeah, it was a pretty cool moment, really happy to do it.

“Thank you to everyone out there who's supported me and all that so, keep enjoying the snooker in Yushan. Take care.”

The 50-year-old will now turn his attention to winning the top prize of £175,000 on offer at this week’s World Open, an accolade he has not won before.

O’Sullivan is aiming for his first title on the World Snooker Tour of any description in over two years. That will not be straightforward this weekend, though, as he faces one of the sport’s hottest properties in Wu, who fashioned breaks of 140 and 109 during his 5-1 quarter-final victory over former world number one Mark Allen during the same session.

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