[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 that championship he defeated reigning Champion John Spencer 13–8, before achieving wins over Graham Miles (13–7) and Fred Davis (18–16).
[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.
[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.
[19] 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.