Pierre "Perrie" Mans (25 October 1940 – 13 September 2023) was a South African professional snooker player. He first won the South African Professional Championship in 1965 and lifted the title 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,^[1] 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 South African Professional Championship from Fred Van Rensburg in 1965.^[2]

Mans first entered the World Snooker Championship in 1970. His first victory in the Championship came in the 1973 event when he defeated Ron Gross 9–2 before losing 8–16 to Eddie Charlton.^[3] However, in 1974, he pulled off a major surprise by defeating John Spencer 15–13 in the second round, before being defeated by Rex Williams in the quarter-final 4–15.^[4] In the 1976 event he defeated Graham Miles 15–10 and Jim Meadowcroft 15–8 to reach the semi-final where he lost 10–20 to defending champion Ray Reardon.^[5]

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 (over single frames) before defeating Doug Mountjoy 90 points to 21 in the final. During the final he also took the highest break prize with an effort of 59.^[6]

His career peaked in 1978, when he reached the final of the world championships, 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

1978 also saw Mans win the Heidelberg 100 event, defeating Silvino Francisco 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, Derek Mienie and Roy Amdor all turned professional.^[9]

Mans' most notable tournament success was the Benson and Hedges Masters in 1979, beating Cliff Thorburn 5–4, Ray Reardon 5–3 and, in the final, Alex Higgins 8–4, winning the competition with a top break of just 48.^[10]

In January 1980, Mans defeated Bill Werbeniuk 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.^[11]

In January 1981, he pulled off the shock of the season by defeating strong favourite Steve Davis 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.^[12]

In the 1982 World Championship he defeated Tony Meo 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.^[13]

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 defeated Mans 13–3 in the second round, a defeat which put Mans outside the top 16 in the world rankings.^[14]

Mans last played in the World Championship in 1986. He defeated Les Dodd 10–7 in the final qualifying round^[15] but despite holding Doug Mountjoy to 3–4, he lost his first round match 3–10.^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[18] 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. 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.^[19]

Playing style

A left-hander,^[20] Mans was famous for his long powerful pots, as well as his fashionable waistcoats.

Death

Perrie Mans died on 13 September 2023, at the age of 82.^[21]

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1978	World Snooker Championship	Ray Reardon	18–25

Non-ranking finals: 26 (23 titles)

Legend The Masters (1–0) Other (22–3) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1–13. 1965–1977 South African Professional Championship (1–13) Various challengers N/A Winner 14. 1977 Pot Black Doug Mountjoy 1–0 Winner 15. 1978 South African Professional Championship (14) Silvino Francisco 9–5 Winner 16. 1978 Heidelberg 100 Tournament Silvino Francisco 9–3 Runner-up 1. 1979 Australian Masters Ian Anderson Aggregate Score Winner 17. 1979 The Masters Alex Higgins 8–4 Runner-up 2. 1980 Padmore Super Crystalate International Alex Higgins 2–4 Winner 18–22. 1980–1984 South African Professional Championship (15–19) Various challengers N/A Runner-up 3. 1984 South African Professional Championship Jimmy van Rensberg 7–10 Winner 23. 1989 South African Professional Championship (20) Robbie Grace 8–5 Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)[edit] Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1960 South African Amateur Championship References[edit] ^ "Perrie Mans profile". WorldSnooker.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2009. ^ Everton, Clive., Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker, 1982, p74 ^ Everton, Clive., Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker, pp89 & 91 ^ Everton Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1974, pp9 & 14 ^ Everton, Clive, (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1976, p13 ^ Perrin R, (Ed.) Pot Black, BBC Books, 1984, p86 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, pp11–17 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, p28 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1978, p27 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, March 1979, pp16–17, top prize was £3000 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1980, p12 ^ Everton, Clive (ed.) Snooker Scene, March 1981, pp3 and 7 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.), Snooker Scene, June 1982, pp17 & 20/21 ^ Everton, Clive, Snooker Scene, June 1983, pp11, 21, 28 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene May 1986, p15 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1986, p9 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1986, p17 ^ Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, August 1987, p15 ^ Cue Sport Magazine (Ed. John Dee), October 2000, p20 ^ "1978: Reardon makes it six". BBC Sport. 7 April 2004. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2009. ^ "Former Masters Champion Perrie Mans Passes Away". WST. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2017.