Joe Perry has admitted he needed a bit of luck to defeat defending champion Mark Selby in round one of the World Championship at the Crucible. The 43-year-old had to come through three tough matches in qualifying last week to book his spot at the World Championship, and he put in a stunning performance to advance to round two on Saturday. Perry, who is priced at 25/1 to win the World Championship outright, missed out on a place at the Crucible last year but his 10-4 victory will give him confidence to go and mount a serious challenge in Sheffield. The Gentleman made a positive start to the clash and opened up a 7-2 lead in the morning session, which proved too big a deficit for Selby to turn around.
Selby did overturn a five-frame gap in last year’s final to defeat John Higgins, however, that wasn’t to be the case this time. Perry admitted that he needed luck on his side to prevail, while also revealing his admiration for Selby. “I’m delighted, chuffed,” said Perry. “When the draw came out, I knew I’d have to perform to the best of my ability. Luck was on my side today, I had a few nice little bits of run which I capitalised on. All in all, I’m really pleased with my performance. “The frame to go 9-4 up was massive. I sensed that for the first time all day he could smell blood. Luckily he didn’t get on a ball when he split the reds and I took full advantage with a good break. “Mark is the best player we’ve got, he’s the best ambassador we’ve got and I didn’t want to celebrate too much at the end. I’ve got too much respect for him and it must be horrible for him to lose. I’ve lost here before lots of times, and never experienced being the reigning champion.”
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