FIVE of Rocket Ronnie O’Sullivan’s best century breaks

The Rocket brought the house down at Preston’s Guild Hall on Sunday night, winning the Players Championship against Neil Robertson with a break of 134, with his final shots given a standing ovation.

He may be best known for his quickfire maximum breaks, but the 43-year-old has scored a number of other memorable three-figure breaks.

Here, we pick out five of the best of them.

147 v MICK PRICE, 1997 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Regarded as probably the greatest break in history, O’Sullivan rattled in a Crucible maximum in a record-breaking five minutes and 20 seconds in his first-round match against the outclassed Price. None have come close to eclipsing it.

113 v NEIL ROBERTSON, 2007 PREMIER LEAGUE

In the unlikely surroundings of the Glades Arena in Kidderminster, O’Sullivan achieved the noteworthy mark of his 500th competitive century, as he rattled in a 113 en route to a 5-1 win over the Australian. Two more centuries swiftly followed.

141 v ALI CARTER, 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

As ever, O’Sullivan chose to rise to the occasion as he set a new mark for the biggest break in a Crucible final. His 141 in the first session against Ali Carter helped him establish a 10-7 advantage, which he subsequently won 
18-11 to claim his fourth world crown.

103 v BARRY HAWKINS, 2013 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

O’Sullivan rewrote yet another snooker record at the 2013 World Championships. His break of 103 in the 15th frame of the final against Barry Hawkins was his 128th at the Crucible, eclipsing the previous mark set by Stephen Hendry. 
He also became the first player to score six centuries in a single 
world final.

146 v BARRY PINCHES, 2016 WELSH OPEN

After potting 14 reds and 13 blacks, O’Sullivan deliberately gave up his shot at a maximum break by drifting up for the pink instead. Afterwards he called the £10,000 on offer “too cheap” for a 147. Snooker chief Barry Hearn responded furiously, calling O’Sullivan’s 
display “unacceptable” and “disrespectful”.