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Perry hopes to pot gold on two fronts
CHATTERIS cueman Joe Perry hopes there will be two pots of gold waiting for him at the end of the snooker rainbow.
CHATTERIS cueman Joe Perry hopes there will be two pots of gold waiting for him at the end of the snooker rainbow.Perry heads to the fabled Crucible venue in Sheffield for the 888.com World Championship which gets under way on Saturday not only chasing the biggest prize in the sport, but also bidding to secure a coveted top 16 spot for next season.
Perry qualified for the blue riband event by beating the legendary John Parrott in a qualifier and his reward is a clash against former winner Graeme Dott in his opening round clash on Tuesday.
But that match is in doubt after the Scotsman admitted he is yet to decide whether to play due to personal troubles.
However, such speculation is of no concern to Perry who is concentrating all his efforts on winning the one match that will guarantee him a return to snooker's elite group and hopefully lay the foundations for a fine World Championship run.
Perry said: "There is a story doing the rounds at the moment about Graeme being a doubtful starter, but I am not taking too much notice of it to be honest. There has never been a walkover at the Crucible yet and I don't think there will be one this year either.
"Graeme has certainly taken a lot of pressure off himself by saying he is considering not playing, but I don't think he is the sort of guy who has done it to try and get an edge.
"I have had to earn my place in the tournament and the qualifier was the hardest match I've had all year. All I can do is prepare for my first round match."
Snooker is currently enjoying a resurgence after a few years in the doldrums with Perry keen to establish himself among the top players.
"The big sponsors are coming back and the game is on the up again, but the top 16 is where all the money is," he continued. "Being in the top 16 gives a player automatic entry to the tournaments the following year and the guaranteed earnings are 100 per cent greater than for the players ranked between 17 and 32.
"It has been a progressive season for me with a couple of quarter-finals and only one first round defeat. A good run at the Crucible and a place in the top 16 would be the perfect way to end it.
"Winning one match would make certain of getting into the top 16 but I could still end up doing it even if I lose depending on other results."
That is not something Perry is considering as he hopes for a role reversal after a couple of years of Crucible disappointment in which he suffered first round exits despite arriving in Sheffield in great form.
And those setbacks have convinced him not to set any lofty expectations for this tournament.
Perry, who celebrated his 33rd birthday at the weekend, added: "For the last two years I have gone there full of confidence after playing some of the best snooker of my life in practice, but I then have been awful.
"This year I am not playing so well but I am hoping that might prove to be a good thing and I can hit top form in the tournament."
Perry's Crucible best is his run to the 2004 quarter-finals which included a defeat of reigning champion Mark Williams. He was eventually beaten by Matthew Stevens despite putting together a career-best 145 break.
His best-ever performance in a ranking tournament was his runner-up finish at the 2001 European Open in Malta.
He is warming up for the World Championship by playing in a long-running snooker league competition this week in Essex.
"It is not one of the major events but it is handy having a lot of table time and matchplay practice before the big one," continued Perry.
Factfile... on the World Championship
World Championship odds:
3-1 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
11-2 - Mark Selby
7-1 - Stephen Maguire
8-1 - Shaun Murphy
10-1 - Ding Junhui, John Higgins
20-1 - Neil Robertson
25-1 - Ken Doherty
33-1 - Marco Fu, Mark Allen, Mark Williams, Peter Ebdon, Ryan Day, Stephen Hendry
50-1 - Jamie Cope, Joe Perry, Matthew Stevens
66-1 - Ali Carter
80-1 - Graeme Dott, Stephen Lee
100-1 - Barry Hawkins, Stuart Bingham.
125-1 - Liang Wen Bo
150-1 - Anthony Hamilton
200-1 - Michael Judge
250-1 - Dave Harold, Liu Chuang, Mark Davis, Mark King, Nigel Bond, Steve Davis
World Championship draw:
First round: Ken Doherty v Liang Wenbo; John Higgins v Matthew Stevens; Ali Carter v Barry Hawkins, Ding Junhui v Marco Fu; Mark Selby v Mark King; Peter Ebdon v Jamie Cope; Neil Robertson v Nigel Bond; Steve Davis v Stuart Bingham; Ryan Day v Michael Judge; Ronnie O'Sullivan v Liu Chuang; Mark Williams v Mark Davis; Graeme Dott v Joe Perry; Shaun Murphy v Dave Harold; Stephen Lee v Joe Swail; Stephen Hendry v Mark Allen; Stephen Maguire v Anthony Hamilton.
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