FEN potter Joe Perry narrowly missed out on a shot at Premier League glory, when he was edged out by World Number 1 Ronnie O Sullivan in a nail-biting semi-final. But the Chatteris player will be hoping the Rocket s current form against him will go out th

FEN potter Joe Perry narrowly missed out on a shot at Premier League glory, when he was edged out by World Number 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan in a nail-biting semi-final.

But the Chatteris player will be hoping the Rocket's current form against him will go out the window next week, with a potential last-16 clash in the UK Championships.

Speaking after Saturday's 5-4 defeat, Perry said: "If I could avoid Ronnie I feel I could be pushing for a few trophies. He's got the hoodoo over me and keeps beating me in tournaments.

"But I play Mark Davis in the first round of the UK Championships on Saturday and, if I win that, we could play each other again in the last 16.

"I was pleased with how I played. I missed a couple of shots I shouldn't have missed but it's always tough to play against Ronnie. He is arguably the best player that's lived and he puts you under immense pressure even when he's not playing 100 per cent.

"I feel I really competed, I played good and it came down to one ball. If I had the chance I could have gone on and won."

The Potters leisure resort on the Norfolk coast was buzzing with excitement as the Premier League circus arrived in town for the tournament's climax.

Perry, provisionally ranked seventh in the world, finished second in the round-robin fixtures of the competition, and was confident of repeating his success against O'Sullivan earlier in the series. But it turned out to be a tense affair, with mistakes by both players.

O'Sullivan - nicknamed the Rocket - won the first frame, only for Perry to win the second with a break of 85. The Rocket responded with a break of 79 in the third frame, but again Perry pegged him back with a break of 72 in the fourth.

O'Sullivan went 3-2 up after taking the fifth frame, which was riddled with errors from both players, but a break of 95 from Perry in the sixth saw the scores again level.

The Rocket went to within one reach of the final by taking the seventh frame, but Perry responded yet again to take the eighth frame, with a 100 break.

The deciding frame, however, was settled when Perry missed a long red and left O'Sullivan in a great position to clear with a break of 104.

After the game, O'Sullivan said: "I was making so many mistakes; the match felt like it was running away from me.

"Joe deserved to win but my experience told in the end. I wasn't there from the off and I made it difficult for myself, but I clicked on eventually."

O'Sullivan went on to win his fifth successive Premier League title, beating Mark Selby in Sunday's final.