Snooker
Who Has Made a 155 Break in Snooker?
SportsBoom research who has made a 155 break in snooker.
England's Kyren Wilson plays a shot/Getty Images
Who Has Made a 155 Break in Snooker?
One of snooker’s biggest appeals is seeing the best players in the world crafting together century breaks. It is like watching an artist painting a picture on his easel, or even poetry in motion, watching players make such difficult things look so effortless.
All snooker players and fans alike know that the maximum break in snooker is compiling a 147 break, consisting of 15 reds, each followed by 15 blacks, then the six colours in its usual order of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black.
However, depending on the certain scenario in a frame, players can compile a 155 break. A 155 break has happened on camera only once throughout the sport’s long history, where we will discuss in detail the events of that faithful day.
Notable 155 Breaks in Snooker History
| Player | Location/Environment | Year | Evidence |
| Jamie Cope | A practice match | 2006 | Word of Mouth |
| Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | A practice match in a snooker hall | 2021 | Video Footage (Security Camera) |
| Mark Allen | A practice match | 2020 | Word of Mouth |
Firstly, what is a 155 break?
A 155 break is such a rarity that to have the opportunity in the first place relies on a free ball situation at the start of your visit on the green baize in that frame. This instance normally happens if the opposition fouls and leaves you snookered behind any colour that isn’t red.
You then decide a colour to pot for your “free ball”, giving you a point (the same value of the red ball) and then another opportunity to pot any ball. If successfully converted, you earn the ball’s actual value.
Therefore, if a player pots a free ball followed by the black ball at the start of the frame, before crafting the maximum, that will present the player with a 155 break.
As mentioned earlier, the rarity of such an achievement has only been seen on camera once before. Snooker players display lots of bottle to compile century breaks, let alone maximums and in this instance, the highest break you could pot in extenuating circumstances.
To put into perspective, at the time of writing in March 2025, 214 maximum breaks have occurred in sanctioned and organised tournaments, dating back to 1982 since Steve Davis became the first in the Lada Classic.
The only recorded 155 break on camera
While competing in a practice match at the Q House Snooker Academy in Darlington in 2021, Thai player Thepchaiya Un-Nooh completed this remarkable feat against Iranian star Hossein Vafaei.
The now 39-year-old is a seasoned professional on the circuit, with his one major ranking tournament win occurring at the 2019 Snooker Shoot Out, defeating Michael Holt in the final.
Nicknamed ‘F1’ because of his pure speed and precision around the table, his nickname encapsulated the achievement perfectly as the break was completed in under nine minutes.
Mark Allen and Jamie Cope’s 155 breaks
Jamie Cope was the first person to achieve a 155 break back in 2006, but there was no video footage to back up the accolade. Cope had several witnesses who saw the break first hand and lived to tell the tale.
Cope was a mainstay on the tour from 2002 to 2004 and 2005 to 2017, having accumulated 164 century breaks throughout his career. He finished runners-up in two ranking tournaments, the 2006 Grand Prix and the 2007 China Open, losing to Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott, respectively.
Masters winner Mark Allen stated he completed this feat in a practice game in 2020 too, but once again his achievement was not broadcasted.
Will we ever see a 155 break on TV?
The roll of the dice would have to see a more than favourable table for a 155 break to ever happen. Given these very rare instances, it seems virtually impossible for anyone to complete this in a professional setting.
Players must rely on the opposition to leave them with a free ball situation at the start of the frames, which alone shows that the probability is at an extraordinary low number.
The three best players of all time with the most maximums, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, and Stephen Hendry, have never completed a 155. You’d have to count their lucky stars to be presented with that opportunity at the start of the frame, and don’t forget the former two’s longevity over a three-decade period at the highest level.
Don’t forget that the environment on the big stage is different to what you’d see in the local club, the added pressure of the TV cameras and the crowd tracing your every movement would make such a feat that much harder.
Henry Cheal is a versatile freelance sports journalist with extensive experience in the industry. Henry has previously worked at the 2024 World Snooker Championship and earned a Multimedia Sports Journalism degree from UCFB in 2023.