Perrie Mans
| Born | 14 October 1940 |
|---|---|
| Sport country |
 South Africa
|
| Professional | 1961–1987 |
| Highest ranking | 2 (1978/79) |
| Career winnings | £44,892 |
| Highest break | 85 (1980 World Championship) |
| Best ranking finish | Final (1978 World Championship) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Non-ranking | 21 |
Pierre "Perrie" Mans (born 14 October 1940) is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African Amateur Snooker Championship in 1965, and won the event 19 times. He won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1979 and reached the final of the World Championship in 1978.
Mans won the South African Amateur Snooker Championship in 1960, the only occasion in which he competed in the event. He then turned professional and took the South African Professional Title from Freddie Van Rensberg in 1965.
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 16–8 to Eddie Charlton. 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 in the quarter-final 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 20–10 to defending champion Ray Reardon.
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.
His career peaked in 1978, when he reached the final of the world championships, losing 25–18 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 18–17, 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.
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