I am copy-pasting my previous comment from here:

For those totally unfamiliar with Snooker, let me explain a couple of points: Putting the black earns you 7 points, but you'll have to put one red before putting another.

So there really is only ONE way to get 147. you have to put all the balls in exactly this order. red,black,red,black.... and so on until all reds are down, then you HAVE to do yellow,green,brown,blue,pink and finish it of with black. ONLY that order. He could NOT, for instance, pop down the blue or something in the middle there, it HAS to be in this particular order.

Now, most of you have probably tried pool. And if you think pool is hard (like me) try just looking at a snooker table, its about twice as big, and the balls are smaller, and the holes are f¤%&&ing IMPOSSIBLE to put into. Not only are they smaller, but unlike a pool table, they have these rounded edges that makes it even harder.

So when I said this is hard, I really, really mean it. Only an elite few in the world can do this, and it doesnt happen often. Even in big star games like this reaching 100 is considered really, really good. The fact that O'sullivan does this one in 6 and a half minutes, and another one in 5 minutes and 20 seconds, makes him one of the coldest sons'o'bitches on the whole planet IMO, and its one of the greatest sports achievements ever.

Points for the various colors:

red-1

yellow-2
green-3
brown-4
blue-5
pink-6
black-7

Every color, except red, gets placed back on the table, for as long as there are reds left, so you COULD do red-blue,red-yellow, red-black and so on, except then you are "using up" reds to put low-scoring balls, so to make 147, you have to start with red-black,red-black etc.

When all the reds are down, the remaining balls, have to be done in the order of their points, from 2 to 7

I'll add to the comment above by saying that Ronnie O'Sullivan has the highest number of maximum breaks ("147s") in a tournament in the world, he has 12. considering the fact that he has played hundreds and hundred of matches, each consisting of 7-10 ish frames (the video shows one frame)= thousands of tournament frames, he has an extremely impressive 733 "century breaks" that is frames where he has scored more than 100 points.
Still, getting the maximum break he has only managed 12 times, which is the most anyone has ever managed.

This, coupled with the above description should give you an idea of how hard this is.

And then he goes and finishes a FINAL with it, a final, of course, brings out the nerves etc on a much higher scale than training in your basement does, which again makes it so much more difficult.

the man's a Sith lord

Astonishing. Shows how exciting snooker can be. That black to make it 96 was so skillful.

And to add, this guy makes it look ridiculously easy.

The red that makes 113 is the key shot, that red was out of place and he did it left-handed (O'Sullivan is right-handed, but is one of the few players who can really play both hands), not only was it a long shot, but he manage to get the white back to get a shot on the black.

Indeed! I forgot the left-handed shots he does. To do that during a 147 and on key shots is remarkable. I reckon he could play professionally as a leftie.

Man, Snooker really needs a Happy Gilmore.

Only in Britain do sports have a butler.

I used to love the smokey, boozy, atmosphere in snooker halls. A, usually, male arena filled with characters. A great game which, tactically, could be as intriguing as chess. But when smoking and, in many clubs, drinking was banned, the atmosphere became sanitised; kids were running around, and the clubs started to die off. Not unlike, it has to be said, the British pub trade, which has declined for similar reasons.

If someone can't initiate a conversation without a smoke in their hand, they're not much of a character

Amazing break by Ronnie, thanks for sharing!

Learn to read. I did not say that. Try it again taking note of the syntax.

Of course you didn't say it, I said it - however that doesn't mean you didn't imply it. 'Implying something' is actually a thing you know. if you can suggest a good place to learn to read, please do tell

Pot/potting, not put/putting. That's golf

Also, @BicycleRepairMan don't forget that he plays both left and right handed shots, finishes with a left handed black to increase the difficulty for himself. Practically no one does this, and certainly not at his level. It's widely accepted that O'Sullivan is the best player the game has ever seen, and he'd still be one of the best solely with his left hand.

@A10anis - pub closures are nothing to do with that. Kids aren't even allowed in pubs, so i don't know what on earth you're basing that on. The economic crisis and subsequent austerity issues are the cause of pub closures; that's why it's been in the news recently that the government needs to do more to help pubs out because they're closing at a rapid rate. I can't honestly believe you're suggesting that banning indoor smoking is causing pub closures. Or snooker hall closures, but i'm afraid i don't have any current knowledge to counter that argument as i do with pubs.

*promote the Rocket

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Wednesday, March 5th, 2014 12:20pm PST - promote requested by radx.

Thanks ever so much for the detailed explanation. I was able to enjoy the entire 7+ minutes after reading that.

One question still remains for me though: How is the position of the black ball decided? It seems the position at the end of the table was covered by a red ball initially, so the old dude (is there a term for that character?) put it in the center of the table. What if the center of the table was also covered by another ball? Would it be placed at the other end? And if so, what if that was covered? Where then would it go?

Just curious. : )

Kind of sucks that the video starts after the break. I'd like to have seen that as well.

If the "natural" spot for the ball is covered, as you noted it was originally, then it moves to the next open spot for a non-red ball on the table in descending order.

So first, it would have gone to the pink spot, but that was taken, after that comes the blue which is in the center of the table. Since the blue was out of position, this is where the black was placed in this frame. However, if all of the spots were covered, then the black would be placed as close as possible to its "natural" spot. It would be placed on the direct line between the near cushion and that spot without touching the "covering" ball. If that wasn't possible it would be placed between its spot and the far cushion.

That's some *quality snooker right there.

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by Zawash.

Hell yea. Snooker is a blast to play. Far more enjoyable than 8 or 9 ball.

Thanks for the rules explanation. I have one more small question: What are the rules of the break? Does the initial break shot have to put a ball down in order for the breaker to continue play or does the breaker get a break shot and then a next shot no matter whether a ball is sunk or not?

Not sure where you live but here in the UK kids ARE allowed in pubs. Also, it's not austerity closing pubs. The tennants association have stipulated the banning of smoking as the number one reason..

I did not even imply that having a cigarette was necessary to initiate a conversation. Jeez, are you being deliberately obtuse, an annoying troll, just ignorant, or all three? I'm done.

In theory, the player performing the break could pot a red and then continue on that break, but that would be extremely unlikely and probably a very bad move. At no point in snooker do you get two shots in one turn, not even on the break.

The break shot requires that the player hits a red ball first. Since the pink is at the top of the rack (the triangle of balls), this prevents the player from breaking like you would in a game of 8 or 9-ball. Therefore, you are unlikely to get a red ball to move with enough momentum to make it to a pocket. And if you did manage to do that, everything on the table would be scrambled to hell which does not lend itself to easy, predictable shots or high scores (following the red-black-red-black pattern).

So, instead, in snooker the perfect break sees the cue ball striking one of the bottom corner balls, sending it in to the bottom cushion with the momentum moving along the back line of balls sending the other corner ball into the side cushion. Ideally, both of those balls will return very close to their starting position with the rack essentially undisturbed. At the same time, you want the cue ball to move around the table and come to rest either against the top cushion (as far away from the reds as possible) or hidden behind the green, brown, or yellow ball.

TLDR: No, breaks in snooker are defensive in nature.

Congratulations sir, you did it! You beat your opponent with wit and logic instead of accusing them of being a troll, then running away. I wait in breathless (sorry, had to) anticipation for another enlightening conversation the next time you romanticize smoking.

Do you know, I now fancy a trip to a snooker hall. It's been so long and I'll be worse than I ever was given my declining eyesight but so much fun.

*dead

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