One lucky snooker star could bank a massive £441,000 maximum break bonus on top of their regular tournament earnings this season. But they would have to do something quite remarkable to pull it off.
Snooker chiefs are sticking with an initiative whereby a player will be rewarded with a £147,000 bonus if they hit two 147 breaks at one of four major tournaments this season. The cash will only be paid out if a player notches the two maximums in a qualifying or main draw match at the World Championship, the UK Championship, the Masters, or the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which starts on Friday.
A 147 is a rarity on its own so it’s not guaranteed that a player will manage two of them at the same event. Last season, world No.34 Jackson Page was the only one to do it and he used the ‘life-changing’ money to buy a house for his family.
“I’ll be going for it again this season,” said the 23-year-old, who hit the two 147s in one World Championship qualifying match against Joe O’Connor, which he lost 10-7. “The feeling when I potted the last black of the second 147, I can’t describe how that felt, it was an incredible buzz.
“It is life-changing money but also the feeling of achieving something that no player had done before. It definitely brings extra excitement to each tournament and I’m sure a lot of players will have an eye on 147 chances in Jeddah.”
The payout will be sanctioned up to three times. And, however unlikely, if the same player hits two maximums at one of the four eligible tournaments on three separate occasions, they will bank all three bonuses, equating to £441,000.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will be one of the players with his eye on a cash boost when he rocks up to the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters this week. The Rocket had nearly three months’ rest after losing to eventual winner Zhao Xintong in the World Championship semi-finals in May.
O’Sullivan returned at the Shanghai Masters last week, where he lost to another eventual winner in Kyren Wilson. The seven-time world champion is normally self-critical but he claimed to be pleased with his performance against Barry Hawkins in the opening round, which may bode well for his upcoming bid for glory in the Middle East.
He said: “Barry played pretty good. I played probably the best I have played for, maybe since I won the World Championship in 2022.”