Pierre "Perrie" Mans (born 14 October 1940) is a retired professional snooker player from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, who first won the

South African Professional Championship The South African Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for South African players. History South Africa held a professional championship beginning in 1948. As with Australia it was originally held as ...

in 1965, and won the event 20 times. Mans won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1979 and reached the final of the World Championship in 1978.

Background

Mans' father, Peter Mans, who died in 1975, was also a professional snooker player, making the quarter-finals of the 1950 World Snooker Championship.

Snooker career

Mans won the South African Amateur Championship in 1960, the only occasion in which he competed in the event. He then turned professional and took the

from

Fred Van Rensburg Fred "Freddie" van Rensburg was a South African professional snooker player. Career Rensburg challenged John Pulman for the World Championship title in early 1966. Pulman had played a series of matches against Rex Williams in South Africa in l ...

in 1965. Mans first entered the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it ...

in 1970. His first victory in the Championship came in the 1973 event when he defeated

Ron Gross Ronald Gross (1932 – 25 December 2005) was an English professional snooker player. He won the English Amateur Championship three times before turning professional Career Gross was born in 1932. When he was seven, he was partially paralysed ...

9–2 before losing 8–16 to

Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton, (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winn ...

. However, in 1974 he pulled off a major surprise by defeating John Spencer 15–13 in the second round, before being soundly defeated by

Rex Williams Desmond Rex Williams (born 20 July 1933) is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the Wo ...

in the quarter-final 4–15. In the 1976 event he defeated

Graham Miles Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player. Career Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship. Although he lost 12–22 to Ray Re ...

15–10 and

Jim Meadowcroft Jim Meadowcroft (15 December 1946 – 25 September 2015) was an English professional snooker player who latterly was a coach and a commentator on the game. His most successful years were during the 1970s; he was ranked number 12 in the world ...

15–8 to reach the semi-final where he lost 10–20 to defending champion

Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

. In 1977 he was invited to take part in BBC TV's Pot Black programme which he duly won at his first attempt beating Fred Davis, Ray Reardon and

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...

(over single frames) before defeating

Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the ...

90 points to 21 in the final. During the final he also took the highest break prize with an effort of 59. His career peaked in 1978, when he reached the final of the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, losing 18–25 to Ray Reardon. During that championship he defeated reigning Champion John Spencer 13–8, before achieving wins over Graham Miles (13–7) and Fred Davis (18–16). In the final, he never led Reardon, but held him to 17–18, before Reardon pulled away. He reached number two in the world rankings as a result; at that time rankings were based purely on the world championships of the three previous seasons. 1978 also saw Mans win the Heidelberg 100 event, defeating

Silvino Francisco Silvino Francisco (born 3 May 1946) is a South African former professional snooker player, most notable for winning the 1985 British Open. Snooker career Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Manuel and nephew Peter both ...

9–3 in the final. This same year brought him greater company in the South African professional ranks when Silvino Francisco, Mannie Francisco,

Jimmy van Rensberg Jimmy van Rensberg (born 24 October 1931) is a South African former professional snooker player. He won the South African Professional Championship in 1984. He was a record 12-time winner of the South African Amateur Championship. Career Bo ...

Derek Mienie Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of ''Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name are ...

and

Roy Amdor Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

all turned professional. Mans' most notable tournament success was the Benson and Hedges Masters in 1979, beating

Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn (born 16 January 1948) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Hi ...

5–4, Ray Reardon 5–3 and, in the final,

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...

8–4, winning the competition with a top break of just 48. In January 1980, Mans defeated

Bill Werbeniuk William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and ...

3–0 and John Spencer 3–2 before losing 2–4 to Alex Higgins in the final of the Padmore/Super Crystalate International event held at the Gala Baths, West Bromwich. In January 1981, he pulled off the shock of the season by defeating strong favourite

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

5–3 in the first round of the 1981 Masters event, compiling a highest break of just 36. Mans lost 4–5 to Cliff Thorburn in the quarter-final. In the 1982 World Championship he defeated

Tony Meo Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Cham ...

in the first round. Meo led 3–0, but Mans overtook him to lead 9–8. This looked likely to become 9–9 when Mans trailed 54 points to 0 in the penultimate frame. However, Mans then completed a clearance of 62 to win frame and match. He went on to lose 6–13 in the next round to

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

. Mans' last victory at the Crucible Theatre came in 1983 when he defeated Scottish debutant Ian Black 10–3, compiling breaks of 57, 65 and 69. However, an in-form

Kirk Stevens Kirk Stevens (born August 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional snooker player. Career Stevens started playing young, achieving his first aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship ...

defeated Mans 13–3 in the second round, a defeat which put Mans outside the top 16 in the world rankings. Mans last played in the World Championship in 1986. He defeated

Les Dodd Les Dodd (born 11 February 1954) is an English former professional snooker player. He was runner-up in the 1987 English Professional Championship. Career Dodd was born on 11 February 1954 in Stockport, and turned professional in 1982. In his ...

10–7 in the final qualifying round but despite holding Doug Mountjoy to 3–4, he lost his first round match 3–10. Earlier in the season he had partnered Australian John Campbell to the quarter-final of the Hofmeister World Doubles, where they lost just 4–5 to Ray Reardon and Tony Jones. Mans played in only two ranking events the following season (and the world doubles), failing to win any matches he slumped to fiftieth in the world rankings. He announced his retirement from professional snooker in July 1987 at the age of 46. In terms of World Ranking and performances in the World Championship, Mans remains far and away the most successful South African snooker player. In 1997, Mans returned briefly to the UK snooker scene after a twelve-year hiatus, participating in the "Seniors" Pot Black special on BBC2 timed to coincide with the 1997 World Championship, which marked the 20th anniversary of the tournament being held at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

. At 57, Mans lost to eventual winner Joe Johnson. Mans returned again to play in the seniors event in the autumn of 2000, losing his first match 82 points to 13 to Canadian

Jim Wych Jim Wych (born 11 January 1955 in Calgary) is a Canadian sports announcer and former professional snooker and pocket billiards player. He turned professional in 1979 and reached the quarter-final of the 1980 World Snooker Championship in his debut ...

Playing style

A left-hander, Mans was particularly famous for his long powerful pots, as well as his fashionable waistcoats.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Non-ranking finals: 26 (23 titles)

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Pot Black ''Pot Black'' was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC. Each match was contested over a single , where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points, but played a large part in t ...

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(14) ,

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Australian Masters The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015. History In 1989 the International Management Group took control of the management of the tournament. Though the ...

, Ian Anderson , align="center", , - , -bgcolor="ffffcc" , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 17. , 1979 ,

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

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, align="center", 7–10 , - , style="background:#98FB98", Winner , 23. , 1989 ,

(20) , Robbie Grace , align="center", 8–5

Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mans, Perrie South African snooker players Sportspeople from Cape Town 1940 births Living people Masters (snooker) champions