How Snooker Shoot Out produced greatest 147 since Ronnie O'Sullivan's iconic Crucible maximum – 'Unbelievable break'
By Desmond Kane
Updated 04/12/2024 at 11:13 GMT
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The Snooker Shoot Out is set to produce some more magic and mayhem when the 15th edition of the manic ranking tournament gets underway in Leicester on Wednesday afternoon (December 4-7, live on Eurosport and discovery+). Mark Allen defends the trophy he won last year, an event that produced arguably the finest moment in Shoot Out history when Shaun Murphy compiled its first 147 break.
'Phenomenal achievement' - Murphy makes first maximum 147 break at Shoot Out
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Snooker Shoot Out is set to mark the first anniversary of one of the greatest 147s of all time, when the rapid one-frame ranking event is staged by Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
The event runs from December 4-7, and is live on Eurosport and discovery+.
Shaun Murphy made the only maximum in the 13-year history of the competition against Bulcsu Revesz in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, December 7, 2023 at the Swansea Arena.
Hungarian teenager Revesz broke off and did not play another shot as his opponent etched his name in history by clearing the table in only seven minutes and 35 seconds.
The feat was even more impressive, achieved under the pressurised confines of a shot clock which restricts competitors to only 15 seconds for the first five minutes of the frame, before being reduced to 10 seconds for the second half of the frame.
Former world champion Murphy potted several tough balls in his astonishing break, including a fiendish third-last red remaining on the table, before slotting the final black with two minutes and 26 seconds on the clock, prompting warm congratulations from Revesz and the match referee.
It was immediately hailed as the second-best maximum of all time behind Ronnie O'Sullivan's iconic world-record effort of five minutes and eight seconds against Mick Price at the 1997 World Championship.
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What is the greatest 147? White, Evans talk rankings with Murphy after his Shoot Out maximum
Video credit: TNT Sports
"Absolutely amazing," said six-time world finalist Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White, who placed it above Cliff Thorburn's landmark 147 at the 1983 World Championship, the first in Crucible history.
"You've made history in the Shoot Out. I don't think that will be equalled. To do it in the Shoot Out with the shot clock and crowd...
"Ronnie’s 147 was absolutely amazing because of how quick it was, Thorburn because it was the first one at the Crucible.
"But I think we have to put Shaun’s second in the all-time 147 because of the situation."
Mark Williams felt a maximum at the Shoot Out was "impossible" until Murphy's "unbelievable" total clearance.
"I started watching it when he was on about 40, but I’d always thought that a 147 in this event was impossible," he said.
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'That was great fun' - Murphy ecstatic after 147 break at Shoot Out
Video credit: TNT Sports
"It was an unbelievable break in this format with all the noise from the crowd. The third last red was one of the best shots you’ll ever see, given that he only had 10 seconds.
"It’s got to be up there with the best-ever achievements in snooker."
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Murphy, who faces Sean O'Sullivan in his opener on Thursday afternoon after UK Championship finalist Barry Hawkins withdrew, was more thrilled about the break than where it ranks in the all-time list of 147s.
"I have no idea, to be in the conversation is grand," he told Eurosport. "I think that’s for other people to rank it.
"It was completely bonkers. Absolutely incredible. No-one was more surprised than me. It was amazing."
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Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Shoot Out, live and on demand on Eurosport and discovery+
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