Ronnie O’Sullivan fires dig at snooker chiefs after Zhang Anda hits ‘perfect’ 147 at UK Championship
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN fired a dig at snooker chiefs after Zhang Anda hit a “perfect” 147 at the UK Championship.
China’s Potting Panda secured the third maximum break of his career – and the sixth of this snooker season – in frame four of his UK Championship Last 32 with compatriot Lei Peifan.
Zhang – who has changed his nickname from Mighty Mouse to the Snooker Panda – showed nerveless composure as he cleared all the balls.
The Sheffield-based potter, 32, punched the air as he walked off for the mid-session interval while the Barbican crowd gave him a standing ovation.
The world No.11 – who earned four extra points for a Lei foul – will go down in the record books for compiling the 208th 147 break in professional snooker.
And whatever he does in the tournament this week, Zhang is in line for a £15,000 bonus – though that would be shared if someone else achieves the feat before Sunday evening.
Should he celebrate a 147 at either the Masters or the World Snooker Championship this season, he will be eligible for a £147,000 bonus.
This was relayed to seven-time world champion O’Sullivan and in a dig to World Snooker Tour bosses, he joked: “Okay, cool.
“So one’s not enough? You have got to make two these days to get it?
“Make them work a bit harder! No free lunch! No free lunch, mate!”
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O’Sullivan, sitting in the Eurosport commentary studio, added: “He’ll be buzzing. It’s a great feeling to make a 147.
“You look at 147s, that is the perfect 147. He’s never out of position.
“Some people are potting blacks from here, reds from here. I’m like, that doesn’t really count.
“That was the perfect break. Such a good positional player.
“He’s so composed. When you have got such good positional play, then inside you feel calm.
“You’re confident you will be on the ball. Everything becomes a bit more calmer.”
O’Sullivan, 48, holds the record for 147s – his 15th was hit in October 2018 – but famously at the 2016 Welsh Open, he refused to go for one as the prize money on offer was “too cheap”.
He turned down the £12,000 cash prize and ended up hitting a 146 instead.
Five of the six 147s this season have been hit by Asian players – Mark Allen flies the flag for the home nations with his effort at the British Open in September.
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FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O'Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
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