Joe Perry (snooker player)

Joe Perry

Perry at the 2014 German Masters
Born (1974-08-13) 13 August 1974
Wisbech, England
Sport country  England
Nickname The Fen Potter
The Gentleman
Professional 1991–
Highest ranking 9 (March 2015–present)[1]
Current ranking 11 (as of 2 May 2016)
Career winnings £1,612,166[2]
Highest break 145 (2004 World Snooker Championship)
Century breaks 216[3]
Tournament wins
Ranking 1
Minor-ranking 2
Non-ranking 2

Joe Perry (born 13 August 1974) is an English professional snooker player. Often referred to as the "Fen Potter" and also nicknamed "the Gentleman", he was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. He climbed the rankings steadily after turning professional in 1991, and reached the top sixteen for the first time in 2002.[4]

His first ranking final came at the 2001 European Open and he had to wait another 13 years for a second which came at the 2014 Wuxi Classic. Perry then won his first major ranking title at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final, at the age of 40 and in his 23rd season as a professional. He also won the minor-ranking 2013 Yixing Open and 2015 Xuzhou Open, and has also reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 2008, and back-to-back UK Championship semi-finals in 2004 and 2005.

Career

Perry's breakthrough came when he reached the final of the European Open in 2001. He first reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship in 2004, beating then defending champion Mark Williams 13–11 along the way, also making the tournament's highest break of 145 (which remains Perry's best in competition), before losing to Matthew Stevens.[5] He repeated this run in 2008 when he defeated Graeme Dott and Stuart Bingham, and bettered it by going on to beat Stephen Maguire 13–12 and earn his place in the semi-finals, which he narrowly lost to Ali Carter.[6] Previously, he had also reached the last 16 on his Crucible debut in 1999, beating Steve Davis on the final black in the last 32.

He reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship in both 2004 and 2005. The 2004 defeat was especially notable as Perry led 8–7 and had potted a colour to leave his opponent, David Gray, requiring a snooker – however, Perry's pot had also left him snookered on the final red, which he failed to hit, allowing Gray to clear the table and ultimately win the deciding frame with a total clearance of 139. This run left Perry provisionally fifth in the world, but he failed to win a match in the remaining five tournaments and dropped to 14th at the end of the season as a result. In 2005, he lost to eventual champion Ding Junhui.

In the 2007/08 season, he reached two quarter-finals: in the Grand Prix (losing 5–3 to Gerard Greene) and the Welsh Open (with victories over John Parrott 5–2, Peter Ebdon 5–1 and Stuart Bingham 5–2 before Shaun Murphy beat him 5–0), as well as the last 16 of the UK Championship, where he beat Neil Robertson 9–6 after being 5–3 down, before losing 9–2 to Marco Fu. He followed that up by reaching the semi-finals of the world championship, where he was knocked out by Ali Carter 17–15. These results ensured him a return to the prestigious top 16 of the rankings (at No. 12, his highest ranking ever), meaning automatic qualification for major tournaments. He also finished the 2007/2008 season on another high, by winning the Championship League, to qualify for the Betfred Premier League for 2008. He has said he feels that he is learning to cope with the high pressure of major tournaments, having had more experience over the last season.[7]

Perry opened 2008-09 with three last-sixteen runs, leaving him inside the top eight of the provisional rankings. However he went one better in the UK Championship beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–5 having trailed by 5–3, in one of the best victories of his career. However, he lost 9–7 to Marco Fu in the quarter-finals. In the new year he lost very narrowly (6–5) to O'Sullivan in the Masters, the rest of the season was unspectacular as he failed to win a match in a ranking event. He was unable to repeat his 2008 run in the World Championship losing 10–6 to an in-form Jamie Cope in the first round. This meant that he finished the season ranked at number 12. In 2009/2010 he only reached one quarter-final and consequently slid to 19th in the rankings. In the World Championship he beat Michael Holt 10–4 and trailed Ali Carter 10–6 before winning five frames on a row to lead 11–10 but lost 13–11.

Perry was a losing finalist in Event 1 (Ronnie O'Sullivan won 4–0) and Event 12 (Stephen Maguire won 4–2) during the minor-ranking 2011/2012 Players Tour Championship series. These results helped him qualify for the Finals as he finished 11th on the Order of Merit.[8] It was at the Finals where Perry had his best run in a ranking event during the 2011/2012 season as he beat Fergal O'Brien and Graeme Dott, before being defeated by Neil Robertson 1–4 in the quarter-finals.[9] In the other ranking events during the year he reached the second round three times, culminating in a 7–13 defeat to Maguire in the World Championship.[9] Perry finished the season ranked world number 24. He began the 2012/2013 season by reaching the second round of the Wuxi Classic thanks to the withdrawal of Matthew Stevens and lost 4–5 to Ricky Walden.[10] He was beaten 1–5 by Marco Fu in the first round of the Australian Goldfields Open, before recording his best result of the year at the Shanghai Masters.[10] He beat Barry Pinches in qualifying, Stevens 5–2 in the first round and then whitewashed Neil Robertson 5–0 to make the quarter-finals.[11] There was never a frame between Perry and Mark Williams in their quarter-final, with Perry making a 131 break to force a deciding frame which he lost.[12] He won two more matches in ranking events during the rest of the season, the first being a 4–0 triumph over world number one Mark Selby in the first round of the Welsh Open.[13]

He was knocked out 3–4 by veteran Alan McManus in the subsequent round.[10] The second was in the PTC Finals which Perry had qualified for by finishing 20th on the Order of Merit.[14] He beat Stuart Bingham 4–2, before losing 3–4 to Ben Woollaston.[10] Perry's season ended when he was beaten 3–10 by world number 83 Sam Baird in the final round of World Championship Qualifying.[15] His end of season ranking was world number 20.[16]

First title

In June 2013, Perry won the first tournament carrying ranking points of his 22-year professional career at the Players Tour Championship event, the Yixing Open, with a 4–1 defeat of Mark Selby in the final.[17] A week later he outplayed Ding Junhui in the second round of the Wuxi Classic to win 5–1 an then beat David Gilbert 5–2 in the following round, before being defeated 5–2 by John Higgins in the quarter-finals.[18][19] Another quarter-final followed at the Australian Goldfields Open where he was eliminated 5–2 by home favourite Neil Robertson.[20]

Perry won a quarter-final at the third time of asking this season at the International Championship with a 6–1 victory over Ryan Day.[21] His semi-final match against Marco Fu was extremely close and laden down with long spells of tactical play as many frames lasted 40 minutes, which Fu edged 9–8 on the colours.[22] He also participated in the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia, where he represented the UK. He won his first game against Brendan O'Donoghue but subsequently lost in the quarter finals to eventual gold medalist Aditya Mehta.[23]

Joe Perry at the 2014 German Masters

Perry's good play continued into 2014 as he advanced to the quarter-finals of the German Masters with the loss of just three frames, but he then lost 5–2 to Ding.[21] He secured a very impressive 5–1 win over Selby in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, stating that his new found casual approach to the game was a key reason to his successful season.[24] However, it was Ding who once again halted his run in a ranking event as he beat Perry 6–4.[25] A sixth quarter-final appearance of the season came at the PTC Finals, but he lost 4–2 to Judd Trump.[21] Perry fought back from 6–3 down after the opening session of his first round match with Jamie Burnett at the World Championship to win 10–7 and set up a second round clash with reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.[26] Perry started the better of the two as he established a 5–3 lead after the opening session and maintained his two frame advantage after the second, although he missed a chance in the final frame to be 10–6 ahead.[27] Perry went on to lead 11–9, before O'Sullivan leveled the match and then made back-to-back century breaks to win 13–11, with Perry remarking afterwards that he had been "blown away by a genius" in the last few frames.[28]

Perry said that if he could maintain his own attitude and mindset he would win his first major ranking title in the future.[29] Perry ended the campaign as the world number 15, inside the top 16 for the first time in five years.[30]

Major success

Joe Perry at the 2015 German Masters

At the 2014 Wuxi Classic, Perry dropped just four frames to reach the semi-finals and then beat Martin Gould 6–4 to reach his second career ranking final and the first in 13 years.[31] He played friend and practice partner Neil Robertson and from 8–6 down won three unanswered frames to stand on the edge of his first ranking title, but Robertson then made breaks of 87 and 78 to edge Perry out 10–9. Afterwards, Robertson suggested that Perry's talent should see him become a top 10 player in the future.[32] Perry failed to advance beyond the last 32 in the next four ranking events.[33]

It has been a lifelong ambition for me. I've been playing snooker since I was 12, and all I've ever wanted to do is win a major tournament. When I lost 10–9 in the final in Wuxi I thought that might have been my chance. So I'm delighted to do it at last.

“
”

Perry on winning his first ranking title at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final.[34]

Perry defeated Ding Junhui in the first round of the Masters – his first ever win in the tournament – but then lost 6–3 to Mark Allen with both players missing a catalogue of easy balls during the match which Allen described as embarrassing afterwards.[35] However, less than a week later, Perry won the Xuzhou Open by beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–1 in the final to claim his second Asian Tour title in as many years.[36]

Perry's form on the PTC circuit saw him seeded seventh for the Grand Final in Bangkok, Thailand. Perry defeated Ding Junhui 4–1, Anthony McGill 4–3 from 3–1 down, and Michael Holt and Stuart Bingham 4–1 each to reach his third major ranking final and second of the season.[33] He recovered from 3–0 down against Mark Williams to win 4–3 and claim the first major title of his 23-year playing career, in addition to his highest prize earning of £100,000 and a place inside the world's top ten.[34] When Perry finished the season at ninth in the rankings it marked his highest year-end ranking to date.[37]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17
Ranking[38][nb 1] UR[nb 2] 327 265 195 166 123 74 34 31 27 13 16 20 14 18 18 12 12 19 27 24 20 15 9 11
Ranking tournaments
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 3] Not held NR Not held 1R 1R QF 1R QF
Shanghai Masters Not Held LQ 2R 1R LQ LQ QF WR 1R 1R
International Championship Not Held LQ SF 2R QF
UK Championship LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R 1R 3R 6R 2R 2R 3R SF SF QF 2R QF 1R LQ LQ LQ 4R 3R 2R
German Masters[nb 4] Not Held LQ LQ LQ NR Not Held QF 2R 1R QF 2R LQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 3R LQ 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R 2R QF 1R 1R 1R LQ 2R SF 3R SF
World Grand Prix[nb 5] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R QF 1R QF QF 2R QF LQ 2R LQ 1R NR SF
Players Championship Grand Final[nb 6] Not Held DNQ QF 2R QF W DNQ
China Open[nb 7] Not Held NR LQ QF LQ 2R Not Held LQ QF LQ 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ 1R 1R
World Championship A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ LQ 2R 1R QF LQ 1R 1R SF 1R 2R 1R 2R LQ 2R 2R 1R
Non-ranking tournaments
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held A A SF
The Masters A A A A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R WR A WR LQ LQ 1R 1R A A A 1R QF 1R
Championship League Not held W SF RR A RR RR 2R A RR
General Cup [nb 8] Not Held A Not Held A NH A A RR SF RR
Variant format tournaments
Six-red World Championship[nb 9] Tournament Not Held A 1R QF NH 2R QF 2R QF
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 2R 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R
Former ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 10] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Not Held Non-ranking LQ NR Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 11] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R NR Not Held NR Not Held
Scottish Open[nb 12] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 3R LQ 3R 1R 3R 2R 3R Not Held MR Not Held
British Open LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R 2R 3R 1R Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event 2R 1R LQ NH NR Not Held
Malta Cup[nb 13] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NH 1R Not Held F 1R 2R LQ 2R LQ NR Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Not Held NR 1R 2R 3R Not Held
Bahrain Championship Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] Not held Non-ranking 2R QF F NH
Indian Open Not held 3R QF NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Scottish Masters A A A A A A A A A LQ LQ Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Not Held WR Ranking Event Not Held
Malta Cup[nb 13] Ranking Event NH R Not Held Ranking Event RR Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] Tournament Not Held SF RR QF A Ranking Event
Premier League[nb 15] A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A SF A A A A Not held
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 2R R
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ↑ The event was called the Australian Open in 1994/1995 and the Australian Masters in 1995/1996
  4. ↑ The event was called the German Open from 1995/1996–1997/1998
  5. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1992/1993–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004), the World Open (2010/2011) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  6. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals from 2010/2011–2012/2013
  7. ↑ The event was called the China International from 1997/1998–1998/1999
  8. ↑ The event was called the General Cup International (2004/2005–2011/2012)
  9. ↑ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International in 2008/2009 and the Six-red World Grand Prix in 2009/2010
  10. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Classic in 1995/1996 and the Asian Classic in 1996/1997
  11. ↑ The event was called the Asian Open in 1992/1993 and the Thailand Open from 1993/1994–1996/1997
  12. ↑ The event was called the International Open from 1992/1993–1996/1997 and the Players Championship in 2003/2004
  13. 1 2 The event was called the European Open from 1992/1993–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004 and the Irish Open in 1998/1999
  14. 1 2 The event was called the Jiangsu Classic from 2008/2009–2009/2010
  15. ↑ The event was called the European League from 1992/1993–1996/1997

Career finals

Ranking event finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Legend
World Championship (0–0)
UK Championship (0–0)
Other (1–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2001 European Open Scotland Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 2–9
Runner-up 2. 2014 Wuxi Classic Australia Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson 9–10
Winner 1. 2015 Players Championship Grand Final Wales Williams, MarkMark Williams 4–3

Minor-ranking event finals: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2011 Players Tour Championship – Event 1 England O'Sullivan, RonnieRonnie O'Sullivan 0–4
Runner-up 2. 2012 FFB Snooker Open Scotland Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire 2–4
Winner 1. 2013 Yixing Open England Selby, MarkMark Selby 4–1
Winner 2. 2015 Xuzhou Open Thailand Un-Nooh, ThepchaiyaThepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–1

Non-ranking finals: (2 titles )

Pro-am wins

Team wins

References

  1. ↑ "World Rankings after the Players Championship 2015" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Prize Money – All-time, Professional". CueTracker – Snooker Database. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Centuries". Pro Snooker Blog. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Profile". Sporting Life. 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Williams crashes out". London, UK: BBC. 24 April 2004. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  6. ↑ "Perry beats Maguire in epic clash". London, UK: BBC. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  7. ↑ "Perry learning to handle pressure". London, UK: BBC.co.uk. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  8. ↑ "Order of Merit". WWW Snooker. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Joe Perry, 2011-12". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Joe Perry 2012-13". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Williams reaches Shanghai Masters quarters, Robertson shut out". Eurosport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Williams & Higgins into Masters semis". ESPN (UK). Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Welsh Open: Joe Perry thrashes Mark Selby in round one". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Order of Merit 2012-13". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Betfair World Championship Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Perry Wins in Yixing". World Snooker. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Wuxi Classic: Ding Junhui beaten by Joe Perry in second round". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Wuxi Classic: John Higgins to face Matthew Stevens in semi-finals of Chinese event". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "Australia's Robertson through to Goldfields Open snooker semi-finals". BendigoAdvertiser.com. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 "Joe Perry 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "Fu Wins Epic Semi". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "Snooker at the World Games 2013". snooker.org. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Hawkins And Perry into Semis". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Welsh Open 2014: Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "World Snooker Championship: Jamie Burnett 'fed up' with game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan trails Joe Perry at the Crucible". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan rockets back to beat Joe Perry at world championship". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  29. ↑ "Joe Perry 'gutted' after Ronnie O'Sullivan defeat". Cambridge News. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  31. ↑ "Perry into Second Ranking Final". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  32. ↑ "Robertson Rules in Wuxi Again". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  33. 1 2 "Joe Perry, 2014-15". Snooker.org. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  34. 1 2 "Perry Wins Maiden Title". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  35. ↑ "Mark Allen fights back against Joe Perry to secure place in semi-finals of the Masters". Daily Mail. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  36. ↑ "Perry Takes Xuzhou Crown". World Snooker. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  37. ↑ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  38. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  39. ↑ Turner, Chris. "Merseyside Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  40. ↑ "Hall of Fame". wlbsa.com. World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  41. ↑ "WLBSA – 2011 World Championship Results". wlbsa.com. World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  42. ↑ Dunkley, Tim (22 April 2012). "Tatjana Vasiljeva & Joe Perry clinch mixed pairs hat-trick". Maximumbreak.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

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