View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook
|
Player Profile: Joe Perry
| Category: |
Professional |
|
| First Name: |
Joe |
| Last Name: |
Perry |
| Born: |
London |
| Town/Country: |
Chatteris, England |
| DoB: |
13 August 1975 |
| Club: |
Supercue, Wisbech |
| High Break: |
142 (1997 Embassy
World
Championship) |
| Ranking: |
13th
(2002/3) |
| Turned Pro: |
1991 |
|
| Biography: |
Joe Perry was a good if not spectacularly successful amateur but
decided to try his luck on the professional tour in 1992/93
after it had been opened up to all comers the previous season.
In his first season he managed to reach the first round proper
in just one event but did not progress beyond the qualifiers at
all in the next. Nevertheless he achieved a ranking of 265 out
of some 600 players by the end of that second season.
In 1994/95 he made it to the last 64 of the UK Championships
otherwise it was a story of only modest qualifying results but
he still leapt another 70 places up the ranking list to 195 and
despite again failing to get beyond the qualifiers in 1995/96,
he rose again to 166. In the next season he reached the last 64
twice, going on to the last 48 in one of them and made the
significant step into the top 128.
1997/98 was his best season yet reaching the last 32 of both the
Regal Welsh and Regal Scottish and the last 48 in the world
championships as well as the German Open and only losing his
opening match twice. This performance moved him up another 49
places to 74th. Even better was to come in the next campaign.
Again he only failed in two events to win his first match and
ended the season by qualifying for the Crucible for the first
time. There he beat six-times champion, Steve Davis, 10-9 in the
first round before losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second. He
was now knocking on the door of the top 32 at 34.
He made it into the top 32 at the end of his next season in
which, in the China International, he reached his first ranking
quarter final. Good, consistent performances in the other
ranking events took him up to 31st. He moved up another four
places in 2000/01 following two last -16 and three last-32
finishes.
He began the 2001/02 season by reaching the last 32 of the
British Open and although he failed in the LG Cup, in the
European Open in Malta he beat Joe Swail, Matthew Stevens, Jimmy
White and world number one, Mark Williams to reach his first
ranking final when he lost 9-2 to Stephen Hendry. Suddenly he
was in with a chance of making it into the top 16. With three
last-16s and two last-32s in the next five events, when he
qualified for the final stages of the world championship, that
place in the game's elite was virtually secure. He made
absolutely certain with a first round victory over Joe Swail and
even though he lost to eventual winner, Peter Ebdon, in the
next, a ranking of 13th was assured.
Having moved up the rankings every season since he turned pro,
Joe was unable to continue this record in 2002/03. In fact he
only won two matches all season and only the points he carried
forward from the previous campaign enabled him to retain his top
16 place. He just squeezed in at number 16 but he will go into
the next season provisionally down to 34th with his work cut out
to even stay in the top 32.
Joe has been something of a late developer compared to the other
top players in whose company he now finds himself having taken
ten years to reach this level. At his best he is tough to beat
but he will need to find some form if he is not to fall back
into relative oblivion. |
|
|
|
|
Achievements:
|
World
Professional Championship Last 16 1999, 2002
European Open runner-up 2001
China International quarter-finalist 1999
Chris Turner
June 2003
|
|
|
