Where should I start ??? “Extraordinary” doesn’t even come close to accurately describe what happened yesterday at the EIS as Jackson Page made not one but TWO maximum breaks in his match against Allan Taylor, and earned by far his biggest pay day as a professional snooker player. Those were and the 215th and 216th maximums in professional snooker. Page actually became the first player ever to make two maximums in one match. They came in frames 8 and 12. Jackson had never made a 147 in professional play before and it earned him the “147,000 pounds Triple Crown bonus”.
Jackson Page made history by becoming the first ever player to craft two 147 breaks in a single match, claiming a massive £147,000 bonus in the process.
The Welshman made two maximums during his 10-2 win over Allan Taylor in the third round of Halo World Championship qualifying. His first came yesterday afternoon and astonishingly a second came in the last frame of the match today.
As a result, Page earns the £147,000 bonus on offer for making two maximums across snooker’s four majors this season. The 23-year-old is also in line to scoop a further £10,000 for making a 147 in the qualifiers and the £15,000 high break prize for the event. That could potentially take the total payout to £172,000, by far the biggest payday of his career.
The two perfect breaks were the first and second 147s of Page’s fledgling career. There have now been 14 maximums so far this season, which breaks the record for a single campaign. Today’s break was the 216th maximum in the history of professional snooker.
World number 35 Page said: “It feels great. Breaking records is brilliant. I’ve made a lot of 147s leading up to this event in the club. It felt routine out there in the end. I’m over the moon to have got it done.
“I never ever go for them in matches. I do when I’m practising. When I’m at the club I could be on the first black and think that the maximum is on. Here you try and win the frame. After I made the first one yesterday, I had to have a go for the second. It paid off, maybe I’ll start going for more.“
And this came in the last frame of the match as well!
Here is the first one:
Hitman Halts The Ballrun
Michael Holt moved one match away from a first Crucible appearance in nine years, after a 10-6 win over 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham at Halo World Championship Qualifying.
The Hitman’s professional career came under threat in 2022, when he fell off the circuit. During two years away from the World Snooker Tour, he set about a career coaching amateur players. However, Holt’s performances on last season’s Q Tour ensured the 46-year-old regained his professional status.
He’s enjoyed a good first season back, highlighted by a run to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship before Christmas.
Defeat for Bingham ends a 14-year run of consecutive Crucible appearances. He last missed out back in 2010.
Victory for Holt sees him earn a Judgement Day meeting with Fan Zhengyi, who beat Robbie Williams 10-6. The Nottingham cueman last appeared at the Theatre of Dreams in 2016, when he beat Neil Robertson before losing to Mark Williams.
Looking ahead to the final qualifying round, Holt is fully aware of the unique tension it comes with.
Holt said: “It’s a funny one. There’s a slightly different atmosphere. I think you can just sense it. The Crucible is such a special place to play snooker. You never forget it, whether it has been good or bad. You just want to get there. It is a twitchy game, you have to put it to the back of your mind and get to ten.
“It was great qualifying for the UK Championship. It was a nice story after being off the tour and now being back on. It would be great to get back to the Crucible again. When you drop off the circuit you don’t know whether you will get there again or even play professional snooker again. I’ve got another mountain to climb and ironically if I do manage that I’m only at base camp.”
Jackson Page made history by becoming the first ever player to craft two 147 breaks in a single match, claiming a massive £147,000 bonus, following a 10-2 win over Allan Taylor.
The £147,000 bonus is for any player who can make two 147s across snooker’s four majors. However, Page is also in line to scoop a further £10,000 for making a 147 in the qualifiers and the £15,000 high break prize for the event. That could potentially take the total payout to £172,000.
Page will now face Joe O’Connor on Judgement Day, but whatever happens he has comfortably secured the biggest payday of his career so far.
World number 35 Page said: “It feels great. Breaking records is brilliant. I’ve made a lot of 147s leading up to this event in the club. It felt routine out there in the end. I’m over the moon to have got it done.
“I never ever go for them in matches. I do when I’m practising. When I’m at the club I could be on the first black and think that the maximum is on. Here you try and win the frame. After I made the first one yesterday, I had to have a go for the second. It paid off, maybe I’ll start going for more.”
Ali Carter put on a battling display to come from 7-6 down and beat Ian Burns 10-8. The Captain will now play He Guoqiang, who scored a 10-9 win over Scott Donaldson. Despite a strong run, Burns suffers tour relegation after today’s result.
Former European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson held his nerve to beat 18-year-old Stan Moody 10-9. He now faces Matthew Selt, who beat Anthony Hamilton 10-3. Defeat for Hamilton means he will require Q School to return next season.
This is what comes for us, and the players of course, today and tomorrow:
Screenshot – snooker.org
Who do I believe will go through?
Gary Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Zak Surety, Ben Wollaston, Zhao Xintong, Ryan Day, Chris Wakelin, David Gilbert, Hossein Vafaei, Michael Holt, Joe O’Connor, Pang Junxu, Matthew Stevens, Lei Peifan, Jimmy Robertson, Ali Carter
Who do I want to go through?
Gary Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Rick Walden, Ben Wollaston, Zhao Xintong, Sunny Akani, Chris Wakelin, David Gilbert, Wang Yuchen, Michael Holt, Jackson Page, Pang Junxu, Wu Yize, Lei Peifan, Jimmy Robertson, He Guoqiang
Anyway… all of them are there on merit.
Good luck to all the players involved in the grueling Judgement Days!
One thought on “The 2025 World Snooker Championship Qualifiers – Day 8”
Yesterday was my last day in Sheffield – I’m now on my way back home (London) to watch Judgement Days on stream. So my last action was a wonderful break by He Guoqiang to overcome Scott Donaldson. I was also very fortunate to witness both of Jackson Page’s maximums.
There were some very mature performances by underdogs, but some of the seeded players (Bingham, Maguire, Milkins) were really awful. At the start of the evening session, all of the matches were very close (5-4 or 6-3, with some of the 6-3’s being led by the underdog), but remarkably only the Donaldson-He match ended up on a knifeedge. In the other matches the stronger player (on the day) eased to victory.
I broadly agree with your predictions, but I slightly favour Slessor (let’s not forget how few tournaments Zhao has played in the last 3 years), Hill (who improves every time I see him), Yuan (Zhou has a 6-month old baby and has looked distracted this season – Yuan is 21 places higher on the 1-year list), Gao (hungry, ambitious and competitive – he destroyed Maguire 10-3 yesterday and narrowly missed a 147) and Wu.
And if Ross Muir qualifies, the may be an exploding television somewhere near Leicester…!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yesterday was my last day in Sheffield – I’m now on my way back home (London) to watch Judgement Days on stream. So my last action was a wonderful break by He Guoqiang to overcome Scott Donaldson. I was also very fortunate to witness both of Jackson Page’s maximums.
There were some very mature performances by underdogs, but some of the seeded players (Bingham, Maguire, Milkins) were really awful. At the start of the evening session, all of the matches were very close (5-4 or 6-3, with some of the 6-3’s being led by the underdog), but remarkably only the Donaldson-He match ended up on a knifeedge. In the other matches the stronger player (on the day) eased to victory.
I broadly agree with your predictions, but I slightly favour Slessor (let’s not forget how few tournaments Zhao has played in the last 3 years), Hill (who improves every time I see him), Yuan (Zhou has a 6-month old baby and has looked distracted this season – Yuan is 21 places higher on the 1-year list), Gao (hungry, ambitious and competitive – he destroyed Maguire 10-3 yesterday and narrowly missed a 147) and Wu.
And if Ross Muir qualifies, the may be an exploding television somewhere near Leicester…!