Robertson makes history with maximum in final

Neil Robertson celebrates knocking in the final black of his 147. Picture: PA

In frame six of the showpiece at the Barbican Centre, the Australian held his nerve to pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks before clearing the colours to earn himself £44,000, as well as the congratulations of opponent Liang Wenbo.

The feat means that Robertson will go down in history as the first man to make a 147 break in the final of a “triple crown” event – that being the UK Championship, World Championship  or Masters.

Irishman Ken Doherty came close to doing it in the 2000 Masters final against Matthew Stevens but missed the final black off its spot to miss out.

Despite a rush of 147s in recent years – there have been 115 maximums made in professional matches – Robertson’s was the first this season.

He earns £4,000 for making the highest break at this year’s UK Championship in addition to a claiming the rolling 147 prize, which stood at £40,000.

It is the third maximum of the 33-year-old’s 15-year professional career, after one at the 2010 China Open and a second during the Wuxi Classic qualifiers in 2013.

The world No 3 still had the task of winning the final against Liang, and lifting the UK Championship trophy for the second time in three years, but refused to be distracted by his historic accomplishment – making a 69 break in the next frame and leading the Chinese cueman 5-3 at the end of the first session of the best-of-19 clash. Robertson’s effort also maintains the UK Championship’s recent streak of producing a maximum break.

The second-biggest event in the snooker calendar has now seen a 147 in each of the past four years, with John Higgins, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan the previous men to do so.

The latest might have been the most impressive of all as Robertson pulled off a plant of two reds while on 64 before making a tricky 13th red to the middle pocket seem straightforward.

The man nicknamed the “Thunder from Down Under” also found himself too straight on the final blue but rolled it in before sinking a nervy pink and stroking the black home to  complete the break.

While it was the first 147 in the final of a triple crown event, Robertson was not the first man to make a maximum in the final of a ranking event, which had occurred on five previous occasions – the most recent when O’Sullivan accomplished the feat against Ding Junhui in the 2014 Welsh Open final.

The achievement will have been particularly special for Robertson bearing in mind his comments following the quarter-final triumph over John Higgins, where he acknowledged he is concerned with his place in the annals of snooker history.

He said: “Every season I have to motivate myself to win things I’ve already won or do things to build my own legacy and end my career as high up as I can.”

l Eurosport is the Home of Snooker, showing all major ranking events including the World Championship, UK Championship the Masters and the exclusive “Ronnie O’Sullivan Show”. Available on Sky, Virgin Media & BT TV or online/mobile via eurosportplayer.com