Welsh Open Final: Extraordinary Joe has the trophy in sight

Gary Moss
06 March 2022
4:00:00 min read

Perry is dreaming of silverware

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An inspired Joe Perry has been the player of the tournament at the Welsh Open - but can he go one step further and land the biggest win of his career?

"If he can land a big win over Trump and lift a trophy in front of a packed crowd at the Celtic Manor Resort, it will without doubt be the single biggest moment of his professional career."

With the drama of two deciding-frame semi-finals behind us, it's time for an all-English BetVictor Welsh Open final between Judd Trump and Joe Perry.

Perry - fresh from staving off illness and a spirited Jack Lisowski comeback - is dreaming of a landmark moment on the baize.

While Trump had to recover from 5-3 down to beat Hossein Vafaei but now gets the chance to re-enter the winner's circle after a short but much documented absence.

A week to remember for the Gent

Naturally, a lot of the attention will be on the former world number one and 22-time ranking event winner Trump when they come out for the final.

But Perry has probably been the player of the tournament so far in Newport and cannot be taken lightly.

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Despite a quiet couple of seasons which has seen him slide outside of the top 32 in the world rankings, he's been in inspired form this week and has had to navigate through a difficult route to reach the final. He's beaten Cao Yupeng, Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson, Ricky Walden and Jack Lisoswki - and will hope he's not done yet.

The dream for Perry is obvious. He's looking to add to his career haul of one ranking title when he won the Players Championship in 2015. This time though there'll be a trophy waiting to be lifted at the end. His maiden triumph in Bangkok was special but the moment lacked shine when no silverware was given as part of the presentation party.

If he can land a big win over Trump and lift a trophy in front of a packed crowd at the Celtic Manor Resort, it will without doubt be the single biggest moment of his professional career which dates back to 1992.

This result would be welcomed by many on the circuit. Perry isn't nicknamed The Gent for nothing. He's one of the sport's real good guys and is a popular figure among fans as well as his fellow professionals.

A monumental task

The task in front of Perry is of course vast as he takes on a player much more familiar on this big stage than himself. Trump has become accustomed to playing big in showpiece finals in recent years.

The narrative surrounding Judd today though will be about his conspicuous absence from finals with this surprisingly being his first ranking final of the season. By his own lofty standards, he has struggled to reach his very best in this campaign but his experience still shines through in this match up.

Perry last reached a ranking final in the European Masters in 2018 when he was beaten 9-6 by Jimmy Robertson. Since then, Trump has amassed a huge 14 ranking titles in three seasons and sits proudly as one of the top stars of the sport.

The Gent has never been shy of heaping praise on his opponent and not long back claimed he believed Trump was producing snooker to a standard as good as we'd ever seen. So the formula is a simple one for him. He will need to be at his very best to beat Trump today.

Back at the business end

There's been a lot to admire about Trump's performance this week, both on and off the table.

While he hasn't been at his scintillating best throughout, he's look prepared to really stick it out. There have been spells in matches when he's really had to grind it out to win and has proved that he's got the winning mentality even when matches aren't going entirely his way.

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Between matches, he's spoke candidly and maturely about his form and opened up about losing a bit of self-belief in a season where winning hasn't quite come as easily as those gone past.

Making his way to today's final is a big step forward. It will help to restore confidence and being a player for the big occasion, you'd expect him to up his game with the top prize now within reach.

His timing could be impeccable too. Victory would see him take a giant leap towards qualifying for the prestigious Tour Championship event and build momentum ahead of the all-important World Championship which is now just over a month away.