By Elliott West
“I actually thought it was coming to an end, and now I‘ve had the best moment of my snooker career. And to do it against a great champion like Judd is the icing on the cake.”
Joe Perry commenting after winning the 2022 Welsh Open.
Introduction
Joe Perry has lived and breathed snooker for the last thirty years. One of the infamous ‘Class of ‘92’, Joe has endured many a defeat but has always remained positive and reflective, getting up and dusting himself down for the next encounter. On this long snooker episode, he has beaten all the top players along the way including Ronnie O’Sullivan with the constant support of his parents. A guiding parental light since his father first bought him a snooker cue at the age of 10 and encouraged him to take up the game after spotting his natural talent. However, this talented player could easily have disappeared if Joe had executed his decision to retire from snooker. A dip in form had caused Perry to fall out of love with snooker and the numerous matches on the back tables have definitely taken their toll on him.
The Green Light
It is amazing what a week in snooker can do for a player. For Joe Perry, that victory switch was pressed and he played some of his best snooker at this year’s Welsh Open. It’s true that this Wisbech man has had prior glories, having the 2013 Yixing Open, 2015 Xuzhou Open, 2015 Players Tour Championship Finals and came close to beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the 2017 Masters, losing 7-10. However, he was by far the best player of the week but I was worried during his semi-final match whether he would make it to the final. His match against Jack Lisowski was littered with errors, largely due to Joe literally having trouble seeing due to a massive headache he was suffering from at the time. This was his worst performance of the tournament but the one that prepared him for the final to come. A learning curve that smashed the first juncture by beating Jack 6-5.
The Final
The key moment in this match was when Judd Trump failed to pot a crucial red in the last frame of the afternoon session to go 5-3 up in the match. By Perry taking the frame, he remained firmly in the match at 4-4. What ensued was a barnstorming performance that left Judd glued to his seat for most of the evening session. A beleaguered Trump was only able to capture one more frame before Perry sealed the deal with a 9-5 victory.
This was an emotional win with Joe celebrating at the table with his parents as he was photographed by the media with the Ray Reardon Trophy. He becomes the second-oldest player to win a title, second only to Reardon and received a massive £70,000 payout. The secret of his success is firmly down to keeping snooker at an arm’s distance, mixing it up by turning his hand to commentary and coaching. A tonic that brought his enthusiasm for snooker back and prepared him for the task of trying to claim his first trophy after a seven-year drought.
To still be an active and great snooker player verging on the brink of 50, would have been unheard of several years with those active, certainly not playing at their best. Joe and others have defied the odds of time and proved that natural talent combined with hard practice, can still keep you at the top of the game. Perhaps this will be the highlight of Perry’s career or it could encourage him to win future tournaments. It is a victory that he didn’t even get time to celebrate as he had to scramble to the airport to take a flight to Turkey for the start of the Turkish Masters.
Joe now jumps up in the world rankings from 42nd to 23rd and beat the likes of Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson, Ricky Walden and Jack Lisowski to claim this hallowed Welsh prize. A man who is just a thoroughly nice guy and always take time to speak to you if seen at a tournament. A grafter and a true gem, Perry can savour this winning moment on Welsh soil and pays justice to the decision by World Snooker to move the tournament from its previous home of the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff to the ICC in Newport. A victory that denied Judd Trump his maiden Welsh Open title. He will now play Liang Wenbo in the Turkish Masters after beating Lee Walker in the qualifiers.
