Watch every 147 of the new season in snooker loopy start to campaign with Chang Bingyu rivalling unique Ronnie O'Sullivan maximum record

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After a 2025/26 season that witnessed a whopping 24 maximum breaks, a record total in the modern era, the new snooker campaign has sparked to life with another remarkable scoring burst that has seen five 147s compiled ahead of the China Open.

WATCH: Chang sinks 147 for potting perfection at Shenzhen Open

Video credit: TNT Sports

Michael Holt celebrated his maiden competitive 147, and the first of the season, in China Open qualifying against Mark Joyce in Leicester.

And the fifth, from Xiao Guodong against Neil Robertson, came only 47 days later at last week's Shanghai Masters.

To put this into perspective, when Steve Davis, the six-time world champion, produced the first 147 against John Spencer at the Lada Classic in 1982, it took another six years for Tony Meo to roll in the fifth perfect break against Stephen Hendry at the Matchroom League.

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It could also easily have been a greater number this season with several chances of maximums narrowly eluding some of the game's finest potters.

Xu Si missed the final black on a maximum in a 6-1 victory over Jamie Jones at the China Open that would have seen the sport witness a quickfire second two days after Holt's effort.

And Kyren Wilson, the 2024 world champion, missed the 15th black in the seventh frame of an epic 10-8 win over Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals in Shanghai.

Chang Bingyu unearthed his clinical scoring class with the third 147 of his fledgling career coming in the fourth frame of a rapid 5-0 whitewash of Chatchapong Nasa in Shenzhen Open qualifying.

At the age of 23, Chang is the second-youngest player to achieve three maximums, with Ronnie O'Sullivan only 30 days younger when he managed his treble at the Grand Prix in Preston in 1999.

The aspiring Chinese player collected £147,000, plus £10,000 at the World Championship qualifiers in April, and another £15,000 for the main event high-break prize to revel in a massive £172,000 bonus.

'What a pity' - Black miss scuppers Wilson's 147 attempt

Video credit: TNT Sports

But unlike the maximum gold rush, the financial incentives have dried up for achieving the feat due to the remarkable regularity of an achievement compared in difficulty to a nine-dart finish in darts or a hole-in-one in golf.

Davis once won a Lada car after his historic effort in 1982, but 44 years later Chang earned only £5,000 for his highest break 147 in qualifying at the Shenzhen Open.

While Xiao Guodong picked up a modest £10,000 for producing the 246th maximum in history, the latest to enter folklore and the fourth of his career in the third frame of a 6-5 defeat to Roberston in the last 16 in Shanghai.

It is not absurd to imagine the 247th being pieced together at the China Open in Taiyuan, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max between August 8-16, such is the mood music on slicker tables and the rising standards.