Joe Perry will have to qualify for the Betfred World Snooker Championships after crashing out of the China Open in the first round.
Perry’s poor form at the Beijing-tournament continued today against Iran’s only professional snooker player, Hossein Vafaei, who secured a 5-2 victory.
Defeat for Perry means he is now out of the world top 16 and will have to win three of his qualifying matches at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, to stand a chance of playing at the Crucible next month.
Perry tweeted after his defeat: “Ponds Forge here I come!”
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