Ding Junhui hit the fourth maximum 147-break in the history of the Masters against Ronnie O'Sullivan on Monday.
Ding appeared to be down and out in the opening stages against O'Sullivan after the seven-time Masters champion raced to a 4-0 lead.
But O'Sullivan was made to pay for a costly error in the fifth frame, which appeared to kick Ding into gear.
After halving the deficit in the sixth frame, Ding embarked on the perfect frame with a 147 break quickly becoming a possibility.
Ding Junhui hit a maximum break against Ronnie O'Sullivan
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The pack of reds were opened up early in the frame and O'Sullivan's missed long red attempt gave the Chinese snooker icon a chance for a big break.
Stephen Hendry was the first to note early on whilst on commentary for the BBC that the 147 break was on after Ding opened up the reds even more.
"Who's going to go first John [Virgo]? You or me? Three reds and three blacks. There I've done it," Hendry said after Ding's break sat at just 24.
But there was still plenty of work for the 36-year-old to do throughout the frame to keep the 147 as a possibility.
A deep screw on the penultimate black was needed to give him position on the yellow, which he pulled off expertly.
It was a matter of keeping his composure from there with Ding potting the final black to pull off the second maximum break of his career at the Masters.
Ding reacted by punching his fist in the air as the Alexandra Palace crowd got up out of their seats to applaud his achievement.
O'Sullivan also showed his class by offering his congratulations to Ding for the 147 break.
1️⃣4️⃣7️⃣
— Live Snooker (@Livesnooker) January 8, 2024
Ding Junhui makes his second maximum break at the Masters. 👏 #MastersSnooker pic.twitter.com/rSom03XHuN
Ding becomes the first player in history to hit more than one 147 break at the Masters after first achieving the feat back in 2007.
The only other two players to hit a maximum break at the Masters were Kirk Stevens (1984) and Marcu Fu (2015).
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Ronnie O'Sullivan congratulated Ding Junhui
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Ding has now given himself a shot at winning the huge £147,000 bonus on offer from the World Snooker Tour.
It was announced back in November that the record bonus would be available to players who managed to hit two maximum breaks across the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship this season.
There have been 14 maximum breaks at the World Championship with Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson achieving the feat last year.
