Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan made history in the sport once again after he compiled a landmark 153 break on Friday, in the first frame of a 5-0 win over Ryan Day at the World Open in China.
The seven-time world champion completed the highest ever break recorded in professional snooker -- surpassing the 'maximum' break of 147 and and a record of 148, set by Jamie Burnett in 2004.
For a sport built on fixed geometry, rigid scoring rules and quick maths, the obvious question is raised -- how can a player even score more than the maximum?
How a 153 break is even possible
Under normal circumstances, the arithmetic of snooker is simple.
There are 15 reds, each worth one point.
After each red, a player can pot a colour -- with black being the highest-value target of seven points.
If a player pots every red, followed by a black, then all the colours to clear the table, a player reaches 147 points.
The famed 147 carried a bonus of £40,000 at the World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield last year.
However, there is one wrinkle in the rulebook: the free ball.
If a player is snookered after a foul by their opponent -- meaning there are no reds in a clear line of sight -- they can nominate one of the colours as a "free ball", which temporarily counts as a red.
Crucially, that means one can, in effect, create an extra red at the start of a break.
What O'Sullivan actually managed
Early in the first frame, O'Sullivan forced a foul from Day, leaving him snookered.
The referee called a free ball. O'Sullivan nominated the green, potted it as if it were a red for one point, before potting a black and continuing his break from there.
In nine minutes, O'Sullivan potted all 15 reds, pairing them with 13 blacks and two pinks -- which are worth six points -- before cleaning up the remaining colours to make snooker history.
Because of the extra 'red' at the start of the frame, his total climbed above 147, although the feat will not go down as an official maximum break.
Why O'Sullivan's feat was so rare
His 153 total was the highest in history, and just two points shy of a theoretical maximum of 155, and six more than the crowning achievement of a 147.
But for a break to surpass that number, the specific situation of a free ball must occur before a single ball is even potted, before clearing the table with little room for error.
Curiously, because O'Sullivan potted two pinks and 13 blacks, rather than 15 blacks, he did not actually hit a 'perfect' 147 within the break.
However, to hit 145 points after the rare early free ball takes nothing less than sheer control and mental clarity. Slight positional inaccuracies in the middle of his break stopped O'Sullivan from potting just black balls, and reaching 155.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is seen by many as the greatest snooker player of all time, with seven World Championship wins and 1,317 professional century breaks.
O'Sullivan hit two 147s in the same match earlier this season -- in the semifinals of the Saudi Arabia Masters in August 2025.
"Big shout out to all the people who have messaged me and congratulated me on the 153," O'Sullivan said in a video posted on X.
"It was a pretty cool moment, really happy to do it. Thank you to everyone out there who has supported me."
Responding to the achievement, former world champion Neil Robertson said on X that O'Sullivan was "the best ever and the best there ever will be."
Snooker thought it had discovered its upper bound.
O'Sullivan, once again, emphatically disagreed.
The Press Association and Associated Press contributed to this report.