Perrie Mans

Perrie Mans
Born (1940-10-14) 14 October 1940
Sport country  South Africa
Professional 1961–1987
Highest ranking 2 (1978/79)
Career winnings £44,892[1]
Highest break 85 (1980 World Championship)[1]
Best ranking finish Final (1978 World Championship)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 21

Pierre "Perrie" Mans (born 14 October 1940) is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African Professional Championship in 1965, and won the event 19 times. He won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1979 and reached the final of the World Championship in 1978.

Background

Mans' father, Peter Mans, who died in 1975, was also a professional snooker player,[2] making the quarter-finals of the 1950 World Snooker Championship.

Snooker career

Mans won the South African Amateur Championship in 1960, the only occasion in which he competed in the event. He then turned professional and took the South African Professional Championship from Fred Van Rensburg in 1965.[3]

Mans first entered the World Snooker Championship in 1970. His first victory in the Championship came in the 1973 event when he defeated Ron Gross 9–2 before losing 16–8 to Eddie Charlton.[4] However, in 1974 he pulled off a major surprise by defeating John Spencer 15–13 in the second round, before being soundly defeated by Rex Williams in the quarter-final 15–4.[5] In the 1976 event he defeated Graham Miles 15–10 and Jim Meadowcroft 15–8 to reach the semi-final where he lost 20–10 to defending champion Ray Reardon.[6]

In 1977 he was invited to take part in BBC TV's Pot Black programme which he duly won at his first attempt beating Fred Davis, Ray Reardon and Willie Thorne (over single frames) before defeating Doug Mountjoy 90 points to 21 in the final. During the final he also took the highest break prize with an effort of 59.[7]

His career peaked in 1978, when he reached the final of the world championships, losing 25–18 to Ray Reardon. During that championship he defeated reigning Champion John Spencer 13–8, before achieving wins over Graham Miles (13–7) and Fred Davis (18–16). In the final, he never led Reardon, but held him to 18–17, before Reardon pulled away.[8] He reached number two in the world rankings as a result; at that time rankings were based purely on the world championships of the three previous seasons.[9]

1978 also saw Mans win the Heidelberg 100 event, defeating Silvino Francisco 9–3 in the final. This same year brought him greater company in the South African professional ranks when Silvino Francisco, Mannie Francisco, Jimmy van Rensberg, Derek Mienie and Roy Amdor all turned professional.[10]

Mans' most notable tournament success was the Benson and Hedges Masters in 1979, beating Cliff Thorburn 5–4, Ray Reardon 5–3 and, in the final, Alex Higgins 8–4, winning the competition with a top break of just 48.[11]

In January 1980, Mans defeated Bill Werbeniuk 3–0 and John Spencer 3–2 before losing 4–2 to Alex Higgins in the final of the Padmore/Super Crystalate International event held at the Gala Baths, West Bromwich.[12]

In January 1981, he pulled off the shock of the season by defeating strong favourite Steve Davis 5–3 in the first round of the 1981 Masters event, compiling a highest break of just 36. Mans lost 5–4 to Cliff Thorburn in the quarter-final.[13]

In the 1982 World Championship, Mans ended the interest of the last surviving Barry Hearn managed professional, Tony Meo in the first round. Meo led 3–0, but Mans overtook him to lead 9–8. This looked likely to become 9–9 when Mans trailed 54 points to 0 in the penultimate frame. However, Mans then completed a total clearance of 62 to win frame and match. He went on to lose 13–6 in the next round to Jimmy White.[14]

Mans' last victory at the Crucible Theatre came in 1983 when he defeated Scottish debutant Ian Black 10–3, compiling breaks of 57, 65 and 69. However, an in-form Kirk Stevens defeated Mans 13–3 in the second round, a defeat which put Mans outside the top 16 in the world rankings.[15]

Mans last played in the World Championship in 1986. He defeated Les Dodd 10–7 in the final qualifying round[16] but despite holding Doug Mountjoy to 3–4, he lost his first round match 10–3.[17] Earlier in the season he had partnered Australian John Campbell to the Quarter-final of the Hofmeister World Doubles, where they lost just 5–4 to Ray Reardon and Tony Jones.[18]

Mans played in only two ranking events the following season (and the world doubles), failing to win any matches he slumped to fiftieth in the world rankings. He announced his retirement from professional snooker in July 1987 at the age of 46.[19] In terms of World Ranking and performances in the World Championship, Mans remains far and away the most successful South African snooker player.


In 1997, Mans returned briefly to the UK snooker scene after a twelve-year hiatus, participating in the "Seniors" Pot Black special on BBC2 timed to coincide with the 1997 World Championship, which marked the 20th anniversary of the tournament being held at the Crucible Theatre. At 57, Mans lost to eventual winner Joe Johnson. Mans returned again to play in the seniors event in the autumn of 2000, losing his first match 82 points to 13 to Canadian Jim Wych.[20]

Playing style

A left-hander,[21] Mans was particularly famous for his long powerful pots, as well as his fashionable waistcoats.

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1970/
71		 1971/
72		 1972/
73		 1973/
74		 1974/
75		 1975/
76		 1976/
77		 1977/
78		 1978/
79		 1979/
80		 1980/
81		 1981/
82		 1982/
83		 1983/
84		 1984/
85		 1985/
86		 1986/
87		 1987/
88		 1988/
89
Ranking[22] No ranking system 7 10 2 7 7 15 11 17 24 30 36 [nb 1] [nb 1]
Ranking tournaments
International Open[nb 2] Tournament Not Held NR 2R LQ LQ 1R WD A A
Grand Prix[nb 3] Tournament Not Held 2R A 1R 1R WD A A
UK Championship Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event LQ 1R WD A A
Classic Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event A A 2R LQ A A
British Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event A 2R LQ A A
World Championship RR A 2R QF 1R SF 1R F 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R LQ A 1R A A A
Non-ranking tournaments
South African Professional Championship W W W W W W W W W SF W W W W A A QF SF W
Masters Tournament Not Held A A QF A W QF QF A A A A A A A A
Former non-ranking tournaments
Pot Black A A A A A A W A SF RR A A A A A A Not Held
International Open[nb 5] Tournament Not Held 2R Ranking Event
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. 1 2 He was an amateur.
  2. ↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  3. ↑ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
  4. ↑ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  5. ↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
World Championship (0–1)
Other (0–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1978 World Snooker Championship Wales Ray Reardon 18–25

Non-ranking finals: 23 (21 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
The Masters (1–0)
Other (20–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1–12. 1965–1977 South African Professional Championship (1–12) South Africa Various challengers N/A
Winner 13. 1977 Pot Black Wales Doug Mountjoy 1–0
Winner 14. 1978 South African Professional Championship (13) South Africa Silvino Francisco 9–5
Winner 15. 1979 The Masters Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 8–4
Runner-up 1. 1980 Padmore Super Crystalate International Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 2–4
Winner 16–20. 1980–1984 South African Professional Championship (14–18) South Africa Various challengers N/A
Runner-up 2. 1984 South African Professional Championship South Africa Jimmy van Rensberg 10–7
Winner 21. 1989 South African Professional Championship (19) South Africa Robbie Grace 8–5

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1960 South African Amateur Championship South Africa

References

  1. 1 2 http://cuetracker.net/Players/Perrie-Mans/Career-Total-Statistics
  2. ↑ "Perrie Mans profile". WorldSnooker.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  3. ↑ Everton, Clive., Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker, 1982, p74
  4. ↑ Everton, Clive., Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker, pp89 & 91
  5. ↑ Everton Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1974, pp9 & 14
  6. ↑ Everton, Clive, (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1976, p13
  7. ↑ Perrin R, (Ed.) Pot Black, BBC Books, 1984, p86
  8. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, pp11–17
  9. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, p28
  10. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, p27
  11. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, March 1979, pp16–17, top prize was £3000
  12. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1980, p12
  13. ↑ Everton, Clive (ed.) Snooker Scene, March 1981, pp3 and 7
  14. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.), Snooker Scene, June 1982, pp17 & 20/21
  15. ↑ Everton, Clive, Snooker Scene, June 1983, pp11, 21, 28
  16. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene May 1986, p15
  17. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1986, p9
  18. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1986, p17
  19. ↑ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, August 1987, p15
  20. ↑ Cue Sport Magazine (Ed. John Dee), October 2000, p20
  21. ↑ "1978: Reardon makes it six". BBC Sport. 7 April 2004. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  22. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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