Neil Robertson Joins Elite 147 World Championship Snooker Club

Until this year’s Betfred World Championship, only seven players had made a maximum break of 147 at the iconic Crucible snooker venue. Now there are eight, with Australia’s Neil Robertson joining that ulta-elite group.

Unfortunately, the 40-year-old Australian was unable to capitalise on that magical effort by winning his second round match against Jack Lisowski, but he was still clearly overjoyed at achieving the feat. 

“To make the 147 was unbelievable and tops the season off because that is on everyone’s bucket list, to make a maximum at the Crucible. Once I split the reds I knew I had a chance. The tension was building, so to clear the colours without much stress, then get the cheer from the crowd, it was absolutely fantastic. As a kid you just want to have those kinds of moments.

“My mum was in the crowd, and she was buzzing about it. She’ll probably be more disappointed than me about the result, but at least she got to see something special. I have won four big titles this season, it has been a dream.”

Robertson joined Cliff Thorburn, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Ali Carter and John Higgins as the only players to score a perfect break in 45 years of snooker at the Crucible. It was the fifth maximum of his career and his first since the 2019 Welsh Open. There have now been 176 official 147s in snooker history, including 10 this season.

As for the match itself, Lisowski rallied from 12-11 down to win the last two frames and seal a place against John Higgins in the quarter-finals. It was the eighth consecutive year that former world number one Robertson had failed to reach the semi-finals.

Nevertheless, he is the only Australian to have won a ranking event, and the only player from outside the UK to have completed snooker’s coveted “Triple Crown”, with victories in the 2010 World Championship, 2012 and 2022 Masters, and 2013, 2015 and 2020 UK Championship.

In total he has won 23 ranking events, and won at least one professional tournament every year since 2006. 

Noted as one of the game’s most proficient and prolific break builders, he has compìled more than 800 career century breaks in competition, and in 2013-2014 he became the first player in history to make 100 centuries in a single season (finishing with 103).

View Neil Robertson’s 147 World Championship break here.

Crucible 147s – The Elite Eight

• 1983 Cliff Thorburn
• 1992 Jimmy White
• 1995 Stephen Hendry
• 1997 Ronnie O’Sullivan
• 2003 Ronnie O’Sullivan
• 2005 Mark Williams
• 2008 Ronnie O’Sullivan
• 2008 Ali Carter
• 2009 Stephen Hendry
• 2012 Stephen Hendry
• 2020 John Higgins
• 2022 Neil Robertson

***** Photo courtesy of WST