Former Welsh Open champion and Masters runner-up Joe Perry has said he will retire from professional snooker when his participation in this year’s World Championship ends.

The 50-year-old beat Dylan Emery 10-6 in the second qualifying round in Sheffield and must win two more best-of-19-frame matches to reach the main draw.

“I’ll continue to play snooker because I’m going to be in the World Seniors, but my time as a professional snooker player is up at the end of this tournament,” Perry, ranked 65th in the world, said in an interview with World Snooker Tour., external

“It’s not a rash decision, I’ve thought about it for the past 12-18 months and I decided midway through this season that enough was enough.”