Joe Perry confirmed that he will end his 33-year run as a professional snooker player at the conclusion of the Halo World Championship, but extended his career by a few days at least after beating Dylan Emery 10-6 at Crucible qualifying.
The Gentleman turned professional back in 1992, the same year as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins. Although he’s not quite performed to the level of those all-time greats, Perry has enjoyed a tremendous career on the World Snooker Tour.
Perry secured a maiden ranking title at the 2015 Players Championship Grand Final in Thailand and won a first title on British soil at the Welsh Open in 2022. The Englishman made the semi-finals at the Crucible in 2008.
He came into this afternoon with Welsh opponent Emery holding a 5-4 advantage, but it was Perry who used his experience to grasp control of the tie.
Breaks of 57, 129 and 59 helped him to take six of seven frames and surge to a 10-6 win. He will now face Yuan Sijun for a place in Judgement Day.
“I’ve officially retired. As soon as my participation in this event is over, my time as a professional snooker player is up,” said 50-year-old Perry.
“I was less nervous today than I’ve been in the last few years coming here. Now I’m just trying to enjoy it. That isn’t easy when you play like I have done recently. The pressure is different as I know when my opponent gets to nine it could be my last ever frame. I’ve taken a long time to come to the decision. It isn’t a rash one.
“I’m trying as hard as ever out there. If I can play my last match at the Crucible, that would be wonderful. If it ends up being here, then that is what it is. It is going to be tough. The players are so good these days and the standard is tough. When I’m around I have a chance.
“My debut at the Crucible was very memorable, to win 10-9 on the black against a legend like Steve Davis. Getting to the one table setup in 2008 was good. I also beat Mark Selby when he was defending champion. The orange powder protest is one that springs to mind, but that was a bad memory. I’ve seen a lot at the Crucible and I’ve enjoyed my time.”
Marco Fu kept alive his hopes of a first Crucible appearance since 2018 alive with a 10-3 defeat of Ben Mertens.
Fu had to overcome a minor emergency this evening, just as the play was about to commence his tip came off. After getting it replaced, he lost the first two frames of the evening, but got over the line to seal victory. He now goes on to face Elliot Slessor
On the tip incident, Fu said: “It reminded me of playing Mark Selby in the semi-finals at the Crucible in 2016. My tip came off at 8-8. This was a similar feeling, but having an 8-1 lead helped me and gave me time to warm up the tip. I think the damage was done this morning. I played very well.”
“It would be nice to get to the Crucible but I still have to win two very tough games. I’m looking forward to the challenge and if I do qualify then it would be like a dream. I’ve got to take one match at a time.”
Zhao Xintong survived a tough challenge from Long Zehuang to prevail 10-8 and will now play a third straight Chinese compatriot in Lyu Haotian.
India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha boosted his tour survival hopes with a 10-2 win over Mateusz Baranowski and Ross Muir did the same by beating fellow Scot Liam Graham 10-5. Shoot Out finalist Graham will need other results to go his way in order to survive.
Joe Perry will probably not be remembered as one of the “all time greats” but he’s a very fine player and is highly respected by his peers. I hope that he will at least play a bit on the seniors tour. Joe’s contribution to snooker however is broader than what his tally of successes shows. He is someone who has always supported the young and upcoming players. Neil Robertson in particular would probably not be the top player he is if it wasn’t for Joe Perry who took him under his wing when the very young Neil came to the UK, armed with a cue, talent and ambition, but quite lonely and, at times, lost in an alien country where he knew no one. And Neil knows it … I will always remember the final of the 2014 Wuxi Classic: Neil and Joe were playing each other, the match went to a decider. Joe had not yet won a ranking event at the time, this would have been his first. Neil was at the table, on his winning break in the final, and he was crying because it broke his heart to deny his friend but he had a job to do and he did it. And Joe, despite the bitter disappointment, found it in himself to be happy for his friend. That’s Joe.
Marco Fu made the seventh 16-red clearance in professional snooker history during his Halo World Championship qualifying match against Ben Mertens on Thursday.
Fu’s rare break came in the fourth frame as a foul from Mertens left him with a free ball. Hong Kong ace Fu took the brown as an extra red, then potted the green, and went on take all 15 reds with colours then cleared the table for a total of 139.
The highest break in snooker history was compiled by Jamie Burnett during the UK Championship qualifiers in 2004 when a free ball at the sart of the frame helped him make a 148. The seven 16-red clearances are:
148 – Jamie Burnett (2004 UK Championship) 141 – Ricky Walden (2008 UK Championship) 141 – Mark Selby (2018 China Open) 140 – Liam Highfield (2020 Scottish Open) 139 – Ryan Day (2023 Tour Championship) 139 – Marco Fu (2025 World Championship) 135 – Steve James (1990 World Championship)
Fu’s break put him 4-0 up in the second round qualifying match and he went on to lead Mertens 8-1 at the end of the first session.
3 thoughts on “The 2025 World Snooker Championship Qualifiers – Day 4”
Yesterday was the first really tense day, with some late drama on several tables. Some players were relegated from the tour in final frame deciders.
Gong Chenzhi alternated brilliance with crass stupidity, but ultimately did extremely well to beat Stuart Carrington in a suspended match. The final frame lasted about 90 minutes and featured excellent safety from both players, plus a few misses.
There were also late finishes in Akani-Grace and Lam-Davies. These matches could have gone either way.
Long Zehuang did very well to test Zhao Xintong to the limit. Remarkably, Zhao’s opponents (Cheung Ka Wai, Long Zehuang, Lyu Haotian) are all the same age and grew up playing each other. Long is a tough competitor who has won tournaments in various pool disciplines, before concentrating on snooker. The quality in that match may have been higher than anything to be played here this week. Long came away with nothing (literally £0) but I hope he stays with snooker.
Some players fell far behind , and almost seemed ready to give up, such as Graham, Ursenbacher, Liu, Mertens. But they managed to win a few frames when the pressure was off.
Ursenbacher has a huge problem with not being able to clinch a frame when in a reasonably strong position. It happened time after time in his match.
Yes he has a technical problem which surfaces when he is under pressure, such as close to winning a frame. He got a beautiful 136 total clearance when he was 9-4 behind.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yesterday was the first really tense day, with some late drama on several tables. Some players were relegated from the tour in final frame deciders.
Gong Chenzhi alternated brilliance with crass stupidity, but ultimately did extremely well to beat Stuart Carrington in a suspended match. The final frame lasted about 90 minutes and featured excellent safety from both players, plus a few misses.
There were also late finishes in Akani-Grace and Lam-Davies. These matches could have gone either way.
Long Zehuang did very well to test Zhao Xintong to the limit. Remarkably, Zhao’s opponents (Cheung Ka Wai, Long Zehuang, Lyu Haotian) are all the same age and grew up playing each other. Long is a tough competitor who has won tournaments in various pool disciplines, before concentrating on snooker. The quality in that match may have been higher than anything to be played here this week. Long came away with nothing (literally £0) but I hope he stays with snooker.
Some players fell far behind , and almost seemed ready to give up, such as Graham, Ursenbacher, Liu, Mertens. But they managed to win a few frames when the pressure was off.
Ursenbacher has a huge problem with not being able to clinch a frame when in a reasonably strong position. It happened time after time in his match.
Yes he has a technical problem which surfaces when he is under pressure, such as close to winning a frame. He got a beautiful 136 total clearance when he was 9-4 behind.