World Championship snooker: 'That was terrible' – Joe Perry latest Crucible hopeful to suffer shock exit in qualifiers

Updated 12/04/2022 at 09:50 GMT

The 46th World Championship at the Crucible Theatre does not begin until Saturday morning with Mark Selby beginning the defence of the famous trophy at 10am (BST), but we already know that several famous faces from yesteryear will not be joining him. Who is already out of the running? Stream the 2022 World Championship and much more top snooker action live and on demand on discovery+

Watch: Dott make 147 at World Championship qualifying

On the same weekend the 174th Grand National was run over the arduous fences of Aintree, there were plenty of early fallers in snooker's perilous World Championship qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

The final round of qualifiers – when 16 players join the 16 top seeds in Thursday morning's draw (11am BST LIVE on Eurosport) for the first round of the sport's main event – has been dubbed 'Judgement Day', but it is actually held over two days, Tuesday 12 April and Wednesday 13 April this week, to determine who will appear at the city's nearby Crucible Theatre.

As we have witnessed over the past few days, it does not take much for a fancied form horse to fall before the first as the cut-throat nature of qualifying scatters plenty of broken dreams across the old green baize.

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Joe Perry lost 6-3 to Jackson Page (Third qualifying round)

Clasping a ranking trophy does little to shield future prospects. Having hoisted the Welsh Open above his head last month with a 9-5 victory against Judd Trump, Joe Perry would have strongly harboured ambitions of returning to the Crucible after a three-year absence.

Those aspirations were ended in a 6-3 defeat to 20-year-old Page in qualifying on Monday night. 'The Gentleman' led 3-2, but lost the final four frames to the world No. 90, who contributed breaks of 72 and 67 in victory.

"Well that was terrible," said Perry. "Shame to end what’s been a memorable season with such a poor performance. Still can’t believe how bad I played. My worst performance of the season."

Perry was edged out 17-15 by Ali Carter in the 2008 semi-finals, but has not qualified for the final stages since 2019. The wait goes on.

He is safely inside the world's top 30 this season, but that will provide small consolation as Page progresses to a duel with David Grace on Wednesday for a Crucible spot.

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Ricky Walden lost 6-4 to Allan Taylor (Third qualifying round)

Arguably the biggest shock of the qualifiers came with the in-form Walden's loss to Taylor on Saturday.

The world No. 17 Walden would have already been at the Crucible as one of the top 16 seeds if he had won the Gibraltar Open last month but a 4-3 loss to Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals forced him to survive two rounds at the English Institute of Sport.

He failed to successfully negotiate one as world No. 80 Taylor, clearly in stroke having edged out Michael Judge 6-5 on the final black in the previous round, came up with arguably the finest triumph of his jobbing career.

After watching Walden roll in a 133 break to move 4-2 clear, Taylor contributed 74 and 56 as he claimed the final four frames and a final qualifier with Scott Donaldson while Walden – with four semi-finals and two further quarter-finals behind him this season – is left to ponder what went wrong at the ultimate event.

Taylor produces outrageous clearance to edge Judge in decider

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Gary Wilson lost 6-0 to Jamie Clarke (Third qualifying round)

Wilson ploughed a memorable furrow to the semi-finals in 2019 – including victories over Luca Brecel, Mark Selby and Ali Carter before losing to winner Judd Trump – but will take no further part in this year's event after suffering a 6-0 whitewash defeat to Clarke on Monday morning.

Breaks of 119, 52, 58 and 68 will see Clarke, who reached the last 16 two years ago, face 2006 world champion Graeme Dott for a Crucible place on Wednesday after Dott compiled a 147 in a 6-1 victory over Pang Junxu.

Having started the season with a 6-4 loss to Mark Williams in the British Open final, it is a disappointing end for the talented and affable Tyneside professional Wilson, whose start to the week probably does not get much worse for a snooker player.

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Martin Gould lost 6-5 to Ashley Hugill (Third qualifying round)

Former German Masters winner Gould looked to be well in control of his contest with world No. 77 Hugill as breaks of 52, 60 and 78 saw him lead 5-2, but he was then forced to sit and suffer as Hugill recovered with 68, 53 and 52 seeing him claim the last four frames to advance to a final qualifier against Joe O'Connor.

The free-scoring world No. 20 has qualified over the past three years and filleted Stephen Maguire 10-3 in the first round in 2020, but will not be returning this year.

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Kurt Maflin lost 6-1 to David Lilley (Third qualifying round)

Maflin's form appears to have fallen off a cliff since he defeated John Higgins 13-11 from 11-10 behind to reach the quarter-finals in 2020 in a contest that witnessed 19 breaks over 50 and saw Higgins compile a 147.

A one-sided loss to World Seniors champion Lilley playing under amateur status has cost Maflin his prospects of a Crucible return and could also cost him his place on the professional circuit.

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The talented Norwegian opened with a break of 74, but lost the next six as Lilley pieced together 115, 63, 59 and 50 to progress to a final qualifier with 2016 finalist Ding Junhui.

Ranked at 66 in the world having started the season 30 places better off, Maflin will be forced to head for Q School at Ponds Forge in Sheffield next month to regain his tour card.

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Mark King lost 6-1 to Michael White (Third qualifying round)

King reached the semi-finals of the English Open with a 5-3 win over Judd Trump before narrowly losing 6-4 to Neil Robertson in November, but the former Northern Ireland Open champion could not discover the minerals to overcome the talented White, who prevailed despite running in only modest contributions of 52 and 57.

The Welshman, twice a ranking event winner, will face former Welsh Open winner Jordan Brown for a place at the Crucible. At least King does not have to think about Q School when he heads for the golf course during the close season.

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Fan Zhengyi lost 6-5 to Chris Wakelin (Third qualifying round)

Ranked a lowly 80 in the world, Fan lifted the European Masters with a surprise 10-9 win over six-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in February, but the random nature of snooker these days suggests any player can win a trophy if they can find some momentum on any given week.

Despite claiming a major ranking title, the qualifiers are little respecter of reputations with Fan losing 6-5 to Chris Wakelin having led 5-4 on Sunday.

Wakelin, who rolled in 73, 108 and 74 in victory, bids to return to the Crucible a year after losing 10-4 to David Gilbert in the first round.

Former European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson stands between the Rugby man and the potting promised land in the final qualifying round.

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Michael Holt lost 6-3 to Tom Ford (Third qualifying round)

Holt turned professional in 1996, but the former Shoot Out winner is likely to face a trip to Q School next month to attempt to retain his tour card after losing the final three frames to Ford, who meets Jamie Jones for a Crucible spot.

He is one place outside the top 64, but will at least have a few weeks to prepare for a fresh set of qualifiers.

“I’ll go to Q School. While I’m capable of playing at the level I can, it would be silly not to play," said Holt on WST. "I have to contemplate the fact that I might not be on the tour next year if I don’t get through.

“It is what it is. The world will keep spinning. It is disappointing, because I’ve put a lot of work in. I’ve not showed myself. I’m better than that and my level is better. That is sport though, if you lose then you go backwards."

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2022 World Championship final qualifiers (best of 19 frames)