Higgins hits 147 \o/

celticfc

....only a few minutes ago.

From BBC:

Preston 147 for Higgins

Former world champion John Higgins compiled a brilliant 147 break against Ricky Walden at the Preston Grand Prix.
The 29-year-old Scot was trailing 2-0 in his first-round match when he racked up the fifth competitive maximum of his career to win a £20,000 bonus.

Higgins also struck a 147 in his last match at Preston, a 9-5 loss to Mark Williams in the 2003 LG Cup final.

It was the 49th competitive maximum in the history of snooker and the first of the new season.



I can't wait for the highlights show at 11:20 on BBC 2.

/me gets TV card set up to record

celticfc

Pity he lost the match tho.

That Ricky Walden played great.

eirebhoy

Did I hear them right on BBC saying Higgins has got the last 5 televised maximum's? :eek:

celticfc

eirebhoy wrote:

Did I hear them right on BBC saying Higgins has got the last 5 televised maximum's? :eek:

No, not quite, it's his 5th 147 in tournament play, but he's got the last 3 televised maximums.

2004 Grand prix
2003 British Open
2003 LG Cup

eirebhoy

Thats it, I thought I heard a 3.

Flukey

Celticfc, that BBC report is wrong. There have been lots of televised 147s but I don't think there has ever been a televised maximum break on TV. So there is absolutely no way that John Higgins has had 3 of them on TV. It would be great to see a maximum, but as far as I know it has never been done in a televised tournament. Maybe one day it will happen, but the chances of it are very remote.

eirebhoy

Flukey, would you like to tell your definition of a maximum? In my eyes, and everyone in the snooker world's, its a 147.

Google it.

celticfc

Flukey wrote:

Celticfc, that BBC report is wrong. There have been lots of televised 147s but I don't think there has ever been a televised maximum break on TV. So there is absolutely no way that John Higgins has had 3 of them on TV. It would be great to see a maximum, but as far as I know it has never been done in a televised tournament. Maybe one day it will happen, but the chances of it are very remote.

Erm, your wrong there, there's been 49 maximums in tournament play & about 30 or so have been on TV.

I remember seeing at least 2 147's live as they happened on TV (John Higgins in 2000 at Goffs & Ronnie O'Sullivan at WC in 1997). There's nothing like seeing one live when your not expecting it.

Full list of the 49 maximums are here

I know for a fact that 4 of John Higgins' 5 147's have been televised, his 1st one at the nations cup wasn't.

Flukey

There have been plenty of 147s on TV as I have said, but never a maximum. What is my definition of a maximum? It would be the same as yours and anyone else's: The highest score possible from one single visit to the table. If you know snooker you will know that that is 155 and not the common misconception of 147.

It is highly unlikely, but you can have a so-called "16-red break." With the 15 reds still on the table a player can find himself in the situation of having a free ball. He would pot a colour as a red and then the black. He would then continue with 15 reds and 15 blacks and clear the colours giving a total of 155. A free ball is a valid start of any break. It is highly unlikely to have a free ball with 15 reds on the table, but it has happened in tournament play. There have been breaks of over 147. I think the highest was 153.

There have been many "16-red breaks." Steve James made one in Sheffield at the World Championships in 1990, though it was less than 147. So not only is 147 not the maximum break, it is only the 9th highest possible break. A 147 is indeed commonly known as a "maximum" but in reality it is not one. As I said, it would be great to see a 155 break. 147s are great to watch, but a true maximum would be something special. Maybe one day we will see one live on TV.

eirebhoy

There was actually a thread on this forum about breaks over 147 and we all know that you can get breaks of over 147 but its still called a maximum. The highest break was 151.
http://www.laboremus.no/Snooker/Plr/records.shtml

Flukey

As I keep saying I know a 147 is called a maximum, but it isn't. At the world championship they have a prize for a 147 of £147,000 and a car as well of course as the high break prize. What'll they do if the highest break is ever over 147 during the tournament? The best 147 still has to be Cliff Thorburn's in the 1983 World Championship. From the first fluked red right through to the dramatic, emotional finish, with the players on the adjoining table watching on having finished their session. It is among the great televised moments in Snooker. There have of course been faster and more skillfully crafted 147 breaks, but for drama and emotion it still is the best.

celticfc

Flukey wrote:

As I keep saying I know a 147 is called a maximum, but it isn't. At the world championship they have a prize for a 147 of £147,000 and a car as well of course as the high break prize. What'll they do if the highest break is ever over 147 during the tournament? The best 147 still has to be Cliff Thorburn's in the 1983 World Championship. From the first fluked red right through to the dramatic, emotional finish, with the players on the adjoining table watching on having finished their session. It is among the great televised moments in Snooker. There have of course been faster and more skillfully crafted 147 breaks, but for drama and emotion it still is the best.

Ah, see what your on about now, but I'd still regard a 147 as a maximum tbh. After all it is a maximum that can be got from open play (ie. without the aid of fouls) That's just the way I look upon it.

BTW, I was on for a 155 break myself a week or two ago. I took the blue for the freeball, down nicely for the black, split the pack well. Pity I missed a black of the spot & broke down on 25.

As for the best 147, I have Cliff's from '83 here on video, 'twas a good break indeed, but it didn't half go on a bit. :yawn:

Flukey

Yes, he was no Whirlwind, Hurricane or Rocket, but the slow patient build-up just added to the tension. It gave you a chance to live with every shot. That reminds me of another misnomer they have in snooker. They still talk of him as being the last overseas player to win the World Championship, in 1980, neglecting the fact that there is a sea between Britain and the nation of Alex Higgin (82), Dennis Taylor (85) and Ken Doherty (97).

Snooker has lost a lot of its popularity that it had back in the 1980's. Moving the last day of the final to Monday has impacted on the World Championship Final, even though it is a Bank Holiday in Britain. Reducing the frames in the UK Final and having very few long matches in any other tournament is also flaw. A best of 9 doesn't have the attraction of the longer matches and the twists and turns they bring. Remember that Dennis Taylor was 8 - 0 down in 1985 and that final black was the first time he led in the whole match.