Ronnie O'Sullivan, Luca Brecel and Si Jiahui feature in Top 5 plants from the 2022/23 snooker season

ByEurosport

Updated 04/08/2023 at 18:27 GMT

147 breaks, centuries, long pots, tactical brilliance, doubles and trebles are all key moment of the professional game, but there is nothing in snooker that is guaranteed to bring a round of applause quite like a plant. There is nothing more exciting for the watching audience than seeing a player pot one red by using the other red as his marker. Why has the plant shot stood the test of time?

'Like one of those trick shots you see!' - Robertson pots two balls in amazing plant

Snooker fans have always enjoyed a plant-based diet when it comes to getting their teeth into the meat of the professional game.

Since the sport began broadcasting live on terrestrial TV in the 1970s, millions across the globe have been bewitched by witnessing a player pull off the fabled plant shot.

Using one red to pot another red has always been guaranteed to bring an instant round of appreciative applause from fans in attendance, but the level of decibels among diehards in an arena tends to go up a notch with the increase in difficulty levels.

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"What about that? Coming off the cushion for a plant," said the 1986 world champion Joe Johnson after watching Judd Trump produce a remarkable plant during last year's Scottish Open in Edinburgh via a side rail.

Using the angle of the first red with distance between the balls to squeeze the angle for the pot is probably as close to an exhibition or trick shot you will see during the serious confines of a competitive match.

'Even when he can't see them he's dangerous!' - Watch Trump's wonder plant

When a player has to use two or even three balls to pot the object ball, they are guaranteed to bring the house down, a bit like performing a tweener in tennis or the flop shot in golf.

When it comes off, there is a sense of unique sporting creativity to please a crowd. All the greats of the game have never retreated when a plant presents itself.

The difficulty of plants has evolved over the years with Luca Brecel and Si Jiahui both unearthing memorable efforts, apparently without a thought for safety cover, during the World Championship in April and May.

Enjoy five of our favourite plant shots from the 2022/23 snooker season here: