Ronnie O'Sullivan made the seventh maximum break of his career at the Northern Ireland Trophy - and set an amazing new record in the process.


The maximum came in the fifth frame of his 5-2 defeat of Ali Carter at the Waterfront Hall and is worth a £20,000 bonus plus £2,000 for the top break if it's not equalled this week.

But perhaps more remarkably, O'Sullivan made five centuries - the first time that has ever been achieved in a ranking event best-of-nine match.

Four players had previously made four centuries in a best-of-nine: Peter Ebdon, Tom Ford, Stephen Hendry and Shaun Murphy.

He warmed up with 108, 122 and 107 in taking a 3-1 lead before the magical maximum came. Carter pulled one frame back then O'Sullivan closed with a 129 total clearance to book a quarter-final place against Fergal O'Brien or Barry Hawkins.

For the 147, O'Sullivan potted 15 reds with blacks and looked perfect on the colours, even playing the yellow left-handed, until he played a loose positional shot on the green to leave the cue ball on the side cushion.

But he thumped in the brown and added blue, pink and black to complete his first maximum since the 2003 World Championship. With seven to his name, he is now just one behind Stephen Hendry's record of eight.

It's the 59th 147 in professional snooker history, the 36th in a ranking event, the 30th on television and the third of the season after those from Jamie Burnett and Tom Ford.

"I was going for the maximum early in the break," said two-times World Champion O'Sullivan. "Once I got down to the last red there was a lot of pressure because you don't want to get so far and then miss.

"I got a bounce off the cushion on the green and ran about two feet further than I wanted to. The brown was very tough but I hit it sweet. After that I kept position pretty well. It's nice to make a maximum because I've not had one for ages."

However, O'Sullivan refused to accept adulation for his achievements. "I'm playing rubbish," he added. "I just got lucky today and Ali made it easy for me by missing a few balls. I can't face practising because I'm playing so badly." (less info)