What is worse than fluffing a maximum break in snooker on the last ball? Discovering that mistake just cost you ￡44,000 (US$66,000). That was the cruel fate that befell Thailand’s aptly named Thepchaiya Un-Nooh during a tournament in Britain late on Tuesday when a rushed final pot saw the black ricochet off the cushion.
Thepchaiya could barely believe his misfortune, returning to his seat crestfallen, his head in his hands.
However, the poor player’s disappointment was compounded after the match against Australia’s Neil Robertson when he was informed a successful maximum break would have netted him ￡44,000 from the tournament organizers.
Photo: AP
“￡44,000? I wish you had told me before the black,” Thepchaiya replied. “There was too much pressure.”
In snooker, a maximum break requires a player to pot 15 red balls, each time followed by the black, before finishing the colored balls in order, ending on the black to give the highest possible score of 147. It is an incredibly rare moment in the sport, with only a handful of professional players boasting one to their name.
“I feel bad for him more that he missed the chance to make a maximum break rather than the money — he can make money later,” said Borrirak Jongchotchatchawal, manager of the Hi-End snooker club in Bangkok where Thepchaiya often practices.
Thepchaiya went on to lose his match to world No. 3 Robertson at the UK Championship in York.
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