11 Facts About James Wattana

James Wattana is a Thai former professional snooker player.

James Wattana has won three ranking tournaments, the 1992 Strachan Open and the Thailand Open in 1994 and 1995, and has finished as the runner-up in a further five ranking events.

James Wattana twice reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, in 1993 and 1997.

James Wattana won his first major tournament, the Thailand Masters, in 1986, aged only 16.

James Wattana turned professional in 1989, after winning the 1988 World Amateur Championship.

James Wattana's career peaked in the mid-1990s, when he twice won the Thailand Open and rose to number three in the world rankings.

James Wattana scored his first one in 1991 at the World Masters and the second at the British Open, which was then, at seven minutes and nine seconds, the fastest ever made.

James Wattana helped raise the profile of the game in the Far East, and has been followed into the game by many players from Thailand, Hong Kong, and China, the most successful being Marco Fu and Ding Junhui.

James Wattana is a Commander Third Class of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, only the second sportsman to receive the country's most prestigious civilian honour.

James Wattana reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 1993 and 1997, losing narrowly in the latter to Stephen Hendry.

James Wattana continued to play and in 2008 he entered the World Amateur Championships in Wels, Austria, where he lost to eventual champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the last 16.