In the early morning of March 7, Beijing time, the 2022 Snooker Welsh Open ended in Newport, giving birth to the second-oldest ranking champion in snooker history, he was born in 1974 at the age of 47 and a half england veteran Joe Perry. Now ranked 42nd in the world, he defeated No. 4 seed Judd Trump 9-5 in the final to win the second ranking championship of his career after seven years, which is quite difficult and admirable.
Joe Perry is a year older than the famous "75 Three Masters", and has been racing in the snooker arena for more than 30 years since he turned professional at the age of 17, but he has only won one ranking tournament before, which was in the PTC (Players Tour Championship) Finals in 2015. Therefore, it can only be said that his talent is average, far less than O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and Higgins, the top masters of his time. But Joe Perry's valuable thing is that he insists, although he does not have any weighty titles, he can always play conscientiously from the qualifiers when participating in various ranking matches, and often reach the round of 16 and 8 in some events, so he can always see the confrontation between him and the master or the Chinese player in the live TV broadcast, but due to the lack of staying power, he always plays the role of a loser in the late elimination stage of some events. Joe Perry has played very badly this past season, dropping to 42nd in the world ranking due to his poor form, and his world ranking at his peak was only in the round of 32.
But this time it seems different, the Welsh Open is like it was specially prepared for Joe Perry, the veteran is on. He reached the ranking final for the sixth time in his 31st year of his career and the second individual ranking title after reaching the ranking final in the United Kingdom for the first time. Born on August 13, 1974, Perry became the second-oldest ranking champion in history at the age of 47 and 205 days, behind the 50-year-old and 14-day star Ray Lilton (coincidentally, Perry lifted the championship trophy "Ray Lilton Cup"), and Joe Perry also became the 39th player in history to win the ranking tournament more than once. Perry's world rankings also jumped sharply to 23rd, jumping to 17th in a single season.
A total of 80 single-shot breakers were born at the Welsh Open, including 22 in the qualifying round and 58 in the main tournament. Perry single-handedly scored 7 breakers (6 in the main round and 1 in qualifying), becoming the player with the most breakers. Perry and Michael White scored 142 points during qualifying and regular seasons respectively, tied for the tournament's highest single score, with the two equally dividing the £5,000 single-shot prize money. After Joe Perry won the championship, he also received a championship prize of 70,000 pounds, and the limelight went to Joe Perry, and it was because of the above that there was a saying that "this tournament is like it was specially prepared for Joe Perry".
Since this game was held in the United Kingdom, Joe Perry's elderly parents also came to the sidelines to watch the game to cheer up their son, although the son was nearly half a hundred years old, which was a very emotional and moving scene for the audience. Joe Perry said, "My parents have supported me since I was ten years old. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be a snooker player. I've won an event before, but no one was there (his first title was won in Thailand). But I know they're always proud of me, and that's fantastic. ”
In his acceptance speech, Joe Perry also said: "I can't believe it. This is an absolute highlight that is much higher than my career. In fact, I thought my career was coming to an end, but now I've experienced the best moments of my snooker career. Winning against a great champion like Judd is the icing on the cake. I've said this so many times this week that I really thought the days I had won the championship were over. Winning 1 title in 30 years doesn't give you more confidence in winning at my age. From now on, no matter what happens, I have to remember this. ”
The inspirational story of 47-year-old uncle Joe Perry tells us that even if you are the oldest active player, even if you only get a crown in 30 years, even if you are ranked outside the top 40, as long as you work hard, plus a little luck, you still have the opportunity to stand on the championship podium, so you must not give up.
Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin