Snooker world champion banked just £166 for making his first 147 break | Other | Sport

Reigning world snooker champion Zhao Xintong only made £166 for achieving his first maximum break at the Championship League. The man from China pulled off a stunning 147 in the first frame of his whitewash victory over Jak Jones on Thursday. He took just over seven minutes to clear the table, with a brilliant pot on a yellow at pace along the baulk cushion arguably the pick of the bunch.

Snooker players are often paid thousands for making 147s in high-profile tournaments. Last year, Ronnie O’Sullivan picked up a whopping £180,333 for producing the first double maximums in the same session of a match at the Saudi Arabia Masters. Zhao, however, only received a tiny fraction of that amount for his majestic effort.

He was paid just £166, a far cry from the huge sums of money up for grabs at other events. This is because he was forced to share the high break prize with two other players.

Wu Yize and Xiao Guodong also made 147 breaks in the Championship League, meaning the three men had to split the modest prize of £500 three ways.

There are a wide range of prizes on offer for players who achieve maximum breaks across snooker’s biggest tournaments. Any player making two this season at the World Championship, Saudi Arabia Masters, UK Championship or Masters will land £147,000.

Jackson Page was the first to benefit when he collected £162,000 for making two 147s in qualifying for last season’s World Championship.

That figure included a two-thirds share of the £15,000 top prize with Mark Allen, who also compiled a maximum at the Crucible.

The sport is currently experiencing a record splurge of 147 breaks, with 21 already being made over the course of the current season. That is already six more than last season’s record total of 15.

Five maximums have already been recorded in January alone with Zhao joining Wu, Chris Wakelin and Matthew Selt in celebrating their maiden 147s.

Meanwhile, a total of 238 maximum breaks have been achieved since Steve Davis made history with the very first one in 1982.

O’Sullivan currently holds the record for the most 147 breaks in professional history, having made 17 over the course of his glittering career.