No Eastern delight for Fenland potter

Perry was beaten by home player Lyu Haotian 5-3 after a scrappy encounter in Guangzhou.

The heavy playing conditions were not ideal for the best players in the world and Perry struggled for fluency throughout as did his opponent.

Perry led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but Haotian battled his way to victory in three successive frames to clinch victory.

Perry’s best break was a 66 in frame three, while Haotian’s best effort was just 52 in frame two.

Perry is currently ranked 25 in the world. Haotian is ranked 52.

Perry said: “Poor show today. I tried hard, but unfortunately I don’t have the cue power to play in conditions like that.”

Perry had played much better in the first round when he saw off fellow Englishman Mark Joyce 5-1.

The Fenland Potter recorded breaks of 88, 67 and 61 in that match, losing just the fourth frame to a century break. He fought back from 69 down to win the final frame.

The next event on the World Snooker calender is the European Masters in Belgium (October 1-7).