Cope dispatches Perry

World number 12 Perry had led 5-4 after the opening session but he was woefully out of form when play resumed and a hungry Cope punished his lapses with ruthless efficiency.

Cope stormed out of the blocks with breaks of 81, 75 and 78 helping him race into a 7-5 lead with the second of those frames being secured from a 56-0 deficit.

A 60 before the mid-session interval did get Perry his first frame of the afternoon but it was not to kick-start a comeback.

Perry had the first chances to break in the next two frames but he lost position early on both occasions and breaks of 73 and 50 helped Cope to move 9-6 in front and to within one frame of victory.

Cope needed a couple of chances to seal that final frame but Perry could not find his way back into the frame with poor potting and safety letting him down just like it had done all afternoon.

Stoke potter Cope will next face John Higgins or Michael Holt in the second round and will prove a dangerous prospect in this tournament if he can replicate this type of form.

Joe Perry held a narrow 5-4 advantage over Jamie Cope after the opening session of their first round match at the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield.

Last year's semi-finalist took advantage of some lax safety play from Cope to race into an early 4-1 lead despite only one significant break - a 79 in the third frame.

Cope continued his all-or-nothing policy and it finally started to pay off for him. He needed a couple of chances to make it 4-2 but a 71 effort saw him close the gap to a solitary frame.

Perry though went 5-3 up as Cope left a red on trying to get out of a snooker and Perry punished him with a superb clearance to the blue of 110.

However, the highly watchable Cope ensured that the match was kept very much in the balance by concluding the evening's proceedings with a frame-winning break of 81.

The match will be played to its conclusion on Tuesday afternoon.