Nigel Chiu
Sports Journalist
Ding Junhui made his second 147 at the Masters to become the first player to make multiple maximum breaks in snooker’s biggest invitational event; Ding went on to lose to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round of the event at Alexandra Palace on Monday afternoon
Last Updated: 08/01/24 4:59pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Ding Junhui 6-3 despite his opponent’s historic 147 in the seventh frame
Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Ding Junhui 6-3 in a memorable first-round match at the Masters after the Chinese player made a history-making 147.
Ding became the first snooker player to make two 147s at the Masters after he delivered a maximum break in the seventh frame of the best-of-11 encounter.
The 36-year-old made his first 147 at the Masters in 2007 and only two other players have made one at the biggest invitational triple crown event of the season – Canada’s Kirk Stevens in 1984 and Hong Kong’s Marco Fu in 2007.
O’Sullivan raced into a 4-0 lead after Ding missed chances to win the opening three frames. The fourth of those frames saw O’Sullivan make the 1,231st century of his 32-year career after Ding missed a red to the bottom right pocket.
It looked like O’Sullivan was going to go 5-0 up but he missed a relatively easy frame ball and Ding capitalised with a 56 clearance. Momentum was now on Ding’s side and a 92 break was followed by the brilliant 147 as he trailed 4-3.
However, the maximum seemed to work against Ding as O’Sullivan dug in and won the next two frames to get over the line, with both players receiving a standing ovation from the Alexandra Palace crowd at the end of the match.
“Unbelievable 147 from Ding. I knew he was going to make it from about the second or third red. His positional play is so good and he wasn’t out of position once,” said O’Sullivan.
“What a magnificent player. A great break and I was pleased to get over the line in the end.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan looking for an eighth Masters
O’Sullivan beat Ding less than two months ago in the UK Championship final and is looking for an eighth Masters crown this week before targeting a record-breaking eighth World Championship later this year in Sheffield.
He played exhibition events in Macau and Tibet during the Christmas period, along with Ding and some of snooker’s other top players including Judd Trump and Mark Williams.
The 48-year-old will play Neil Robertson or Barry Hawkins in his 25th Masters quarter-final but isn’t sure about his form.
“I just tried. My cueing is really not great. I was just trying to manufacturer stuff out there,” he said.
“I tried and there was nothing more I could do. I don’t even know what to say!”