'On everyone's bucket list' – Neil Robertson's 147 magic shows why World Snooker Championship must never leave Crucible

His arms were raised to the sky like Dennis Lillee or Jeff Thomson celebrating another Test victim at the MCG. Neil Robertson’s splendid 147 at the Crucible Theatre on Monday night was finished off with all the flair and flow of the revered Australian fast bowlers at their ferocious best.

Ad/> Oddly enough, coming from an Aussie bloke with a record at the old joint as debatable as vegemite, the Melburnian's theatrical reaction at the theatre of dreams was also telling despite the deflating nature of a head-scratching 13-12 defeat to 'Jackpot' Jack Lisowski at the last-16 stage. World ChampionshipO'Sullivan opens up commanding lead over Maguire3 HOURS AGO Laurence Olivier would have toiled to capture such raw emotion in The Entertainer.

From the Old Vic to the old green baize, 147s occur in snooker these days with more regularity than a Crucible comfort break – this was the 12th since Sheffield first hosted the World Championship in 1977 – with Noppon Saengkham, Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham and Ronnie O'Sullivan all having a bash at their own version in the second round. The evolution of the 147 break at the Crucible has come a long way since Cliff 'The Grinder' Thorburn methodically compiled the historic first in 1983 while his opponent Terry Griffiths heartily sucked the life out of a snout in a red chair.

Cliff immediately reached for his complimentary cigs to calm the nerves after dropping to his knees in sinking the final black. The characters have changed over the years, but the scenes of glorious jubilation remain as animated.

Despite being a totem of rising standards, they remain truly black magic moments in the furnace of the sport’s ultimate event. “To make the 147 was unbelievable and tops the season off