The Thai Tornado
James Wattana is the most famous player to ever be produced by Thailand and has proved his excellence over the years. James was an early career winner, winning his first title at the tender age of just sixteen, the Thailand Masters in 1986. This was the springboard to success and after winning the 1988 World Amateur Championship, he turned professional. In the mid 1990s he won the Thailand Open twice and climbed to number three in the world rankings. Prior to James coming on the scene, snooker had been dominated by English and to a lesser extent, British, Irish, Canadian and Australian players.
Wattana has always been an ambassador for the game in Thailand and across the world and was very successful in UK tournaments in the 1990s reaching two semi-finals of the World Championship in 1993 and 1997, losing narrowly in the latter to Stephen Hendry. Varied success in China, meant that James was a a dominant force in snooker for most of the 1990s and returned to the top 32 after a very season in 2004/5. However poor form started to emerge in his game and a 10-0 whitewash by Ali Carter in the qualifying stages of the World Championship in 2005 signalled the end of Wattana’s professional career. With limited success in the China Open and the German Masters, James finally dropped off the tour in 2014 and has played as a wildcard ever since.
Like any player who was once at the top of his game, Wattana still gets a great deal of respect whenever he does appear in a tournament and I would compare his following in Thailand to that of Ding Junhui in China. Now a shadow of his former self, the Thai Tornado plays with less gust but can still give any top player a problematic match before they clear the winning line. James still oozes class when he walks into an arena and truly shows how far and wide snooker is played to a top standard. His natural successor is my opinion is his fellow countryman, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who plays snooker at an amazing pace, quicker than Jimmy White and Tomy Drago. Now that is a bold statement but just watch him when he gets a chance in a frame. He is just clinical with the cue and usually starts his break with a long red that develops into a winning clearance or a sizeable break.
Thankfully we will see more of James Wattana now as he recently agreed to take part on the Seniors Tour. This will give a second wind to a player who deserves to be shown to a snooker audience again. Wattana is a master of the game and knows every player’s game that have graced the snooker arena for the last thirty years. He is still a danger and far from being a spent force. Watch out for Wattana because he will appearing on your television screens more regularly soon.
Wattana has always been an ambassador for the game in Thailand and across the world and was very successful in UK tournaments in the 1990s reaching two semi-finals of the World Championship in 1993 and 1997, losing narrowly in the latter to Stephen Hendry. Varied success in China, meant that James was a a dominant force in snooker for most of the 1990s and returned to the top 32 after a very season in 2004/5. However poor form started to emerge in his game and a 10-0 whitewash by Ali Carter in the qualifying stages of the World Championship in 2005 signalled the end of Wattana’s professional career. With limited success in the China Open and the German Masters, James finally dropped off the tour in 2014 and has played as a wildcard ever since.
Like any player who was once at the top of his game, Wattana still gets a great deal of respect whenever he does appear in a tournament and I would compare his following in Thailand to that of Ding Junhui in China. Now a shadow of his former self, the Thai Tornado plays with less gust but can still give any top player a problematic match before they clear the winning line. James still oozes class when he walks into an arena and truly shows how far and wide snooker is played to a top standard. His natural successor is my opinion is his fellow countryman, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who plays snooker at an amazing pace, quicker than Jimmy White and Tomy Drago. Now that is a bold statement but just watch him when he gets a chance in a frame. He is just clinical with the cue and usually starts his break with a long red that develops into a winning clearance or a sizeable break.
Thankfully we will see more of James Wattana now as he recently agreed to take part on the Seniors Tour. This will give a second wind to a player who deserves to be shown to a snooker audience again. Wattana is a master of the game and knows every player’s game that have graced the snooker arena for the last thirty years. He is still a danger and far from being a spent force. Watch out for Wattana because he will appearing on your television screens more regularly soon.
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