how did ronnie get a 153 break

Ronnie O’Sullivan got a 153 break by using a free-ball situation at the very start of the frame, which effectively gave him an “extra red” before he began the normal scoring sequence.

Quick Scoop: How the 153 Worked

Think of it as a “maximum with a twist”:

• Ryan Day fouled early in the frame and left Ronnie completely snookered on all the reds.

• Because of that, the referee called a free ball , which lets the incoming player nominate any colour to count as a red for that one shot.

• Ronnie nominated the green , potted it as if it were a red (1 point), then potted a black (7 points), so he was already on 8 points before touching a real red.

• After that:
  • He potted 15 actual reds.
  • With those reds he took 13 blacks and 2 pinks as the colours.

* Then he cleared all the remaining colours in order (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black) to finish the clearance.

Under normal rules, the highest break is 147 (15 reds + 15 blacks + all colours), but the free ball lets you “create” an extra red–colour pair at the start, which makes 153 possible in this case (and 155 the absolute theoretical maximum).

Why Everyone’s Talking About It

• It’s now the highest break ever recorded in professional snooker , beating Jamie Burnett’s old 148 from 2004.

• Ronnie did it in just nine minutes in a 5–0 win at the World Open in Yushan, China, which only adds to the “only Ronnie” aura around it.

• Fans and forums are buzzing because:
  • Breaks over 147 are incredibly rare and can only happen with that obscure free-ball rule.
  • Ronnie is already the king of 147s, so him being the guy to push the record even higher feels almost inevitable to many fans.

Mini FAQ

Is 155 possible?
Yes. With a free ball treated as an extra red, you could (in theory) go: free ball + black, 15 reds + 15 blacks, then all colours for 155.

So why “only” 153?
Because during the reds, Ronnie didn’t take black every single time – he used 13 blacks and 2 pinks, which knocks a couple of points off the theoretical maximum.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.