One of the biggest questions in sports is what is harder between a hole-in-one in golf, a nine darter in darts or the maximum 147 break in snooker.Stars from the respective sports will always claim their own profession is the hardest, although some have claimed to have achieved all three so are in the best place to make a judgement.One man who claims to be in that exclusive club is 2005 snooker World Champion, Shaun Murphy, with The Magician claiming all three have been achieved by himself, ranking the maximum in snooker ahead of a nine darter and the hole in one the easiest on the list.

Is a 147 harder than a nine darter?

Unless someone has achieved both feats at professional levels in actual matches, it will be hard to find someone who has the most valid opinion or trusted data to call upon, leaving us all to make our own opinions.

Personally, as a lover and player of both sports, the 147 in snooker is much harder to achieve, especially when you consider what you have to rely on as well as having immense talent. That’s not taking anything away from the nine darter though, as that in its own right is a remarkable achievement.

Adding up the 15 reds and blacks, followed by clearing the colours equals 36 balls that have to be potted in order to make a maximum, whereas in darts you have just nine individual darts that have to be perfect. Also, in snooker you likely have to rely on luck at some point, specifically when trying to split the pack of reds, although the right shot at the right time gives you the best chance.

In snooker, you have alternate shots, meaning your next visit is influenced by your opponent, in darts you can throw a 180 regardless of what goes before you, although the pressure can be put on depending what your opponent throws.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Ronnie O'Sullivan of England plays a shot during the Betfred World Snooker Championship Quarter Final match between Ronnie O'Sullivan of England and Stephen Maguire of Scotland at Crucible Theatre on April 26, 2022 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Michael van Gerwen calls out Ronnie O’Sullivan

During the Scottish Open, the punditry team of Ronnie O’Sullivan and Alan McManus were discussing the 147 vs nine darter vs hole-in-one debate. Angles was a top, top player in his day, but he never achieved a maximum in competition, but he has bagged himself a hole-in-one.

Talking about the contrasts, the Scot claimed: “No never a maximum, I had a hole-in-one this summer actually, playing golf with John Higgins, but there’s a lot of luck involved isn’t there? A hole-in-one there’s a lot of luck, darts, I don’t think is all that difficult of a game.

“Thing about it, darts, every shot is the same isn’t it, it’s that, that, that. So snooker’s, every shot is a little bit different, so you know I’m going to be biased but a maximum is tough.”

Michael van Gerwen

Current World Champion O’Sullivan has been focussing on his punditry in Scotland following his early exit from the tournament, echoing those sentiments from Angles, before calling out darts’ Green Machine. The Rocket stated: “I don’t know, I’m terrible at darts, so I’m flabbergasted at how they keep peppering the triple 20s and doubled and all that.

“Mind you, I did have a darts lesson the other day off someone at my local pub and he got me releasing, knowing when to release a dart and they were going near the treble and I thought, you know what? I’m getting on the darts tour mate, forget the snooker tour I’m coming, I’m coming for you van Gerwen.”

Video: Ronnie O’Sullivan and Alan McManus discuss 147s vs nine darters

All three tasks require an inordinate amount of skill in their own right, nothing on the list is ‘easy’ to achieve, with anyone lucky enough to find perfection in their retrospective fields having a moment to cherish for the rest of their career.

Michael van Gerwen responds to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s claims

It didn’t take the three-time World Champion long to respond, tweeting: “I’m up for this, me v @ronnie147 at the Palace? @OfficialPDC any takers?”

View: Michael van Gerwen calls out Ronnie O’Sullivan

Now I’m sure that would be a spectacle, both men are at the top of their retrospective fields, and have been for a long time now, so there will be plenty eager to watch a showdown.

Following the darts World Championship at Ally Pally, the second Triple Crown event of the season takes place there, with The Masters getting underway early in the New Year, so hopefully MVG can return to that and the pair can have a frame of snooker too!

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