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Noppon Saengkham

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Noppon Saengkham
Saengkham at the 2015 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 32)
Samut Prakan Province, Thailand
Sport country Thailand
NicknameMoo[1]
Professional2010/2011, 2013–present
Highest ranking22 (October 2023, December 2023–present)
Current ranking 26 (as of 16 July 2024)
Maximum breaks2
Century breaks152 (as of 3 August 2024)
Best ranking finishFinal (2023 Scottish Open)
Medal record
Men's Snooker
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Palembang Doubles

Noppon Saengkham (Thai: นพพล แสงคำ; born 15 July 1992) is a Thai professional snooker player. Since turning professional in 2010, he has reached one ranking final (the 2023 Scottish Open) in which he finished as runner-up to Gary Wilson.

Career

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Early years

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In April 2009, Saengkham lost in the final of the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 1–5 to Zhang Anda.[2] He went one better at the 2009 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship by claiming the title with a 9–8 win over Soheil Vahedi in the final. It also secured his place on the main snooker tour for the 2010/2011 season.[3]

Professional debut

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He lost his first three matches as a professional, only picking up one frame in the process before beating Luca Brecel 3–1 in qualifying for the 2010 World Open.[4] He lost to Martin Gould 0–3 in the next round and could only win one more match in the next six months.[4] The closest he came to qualifying for a ranking event came at the Welsh Open where he beat Matthew Couch 4–2 and Adrian Gunnell 4–0, but then lost 1–4 to Nigel Bond.[5] Saengkham ended his first season ranked world number 92 which relegated him from the tour.[6]

Saengkham did not play a match in a professional snooker event during the 2011/2012 season.[7] In the 2012/2013 season he came through Group G of the 2012 Six-red World Championship, but then lost 5–6 to Graeme Dott in the last 32.[8] He was awarded a wildcard for the 2013 World Open and lost 4–5 to Mark Joyce.[8] In April he won the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship by defeating Pakistan's Mohammad Majid Ali 6–5 on the final pink. The title earned him a place back on the snooker tour for the 2013/2014 season.[9]

2013–14 season

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In qualifying for the 2013 Australian Goldfields Open, Saengkham beat Andrew Pagett 5–3 and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon, Anthony McGill and Jamie Jones all by 5–1 scorelines to reach the main draw of a ranking event for the first time in his career. He played Stuart Bingham in the first round and lost 5–1.[10] He also won through to the last 32 stage of the UK Championship with victories over Tom Ford and Sean O'Sullivan, before being beaten 6–2 by Shaun Murphy.[11] Saengkham made it to the second round of the Welsh Open and World Open, but lost to multiple ranking event winners in Mark Allen and Mark Selby respectively.[10] Saengkham's season ended when he was edged out 10–9 by Vinnie Calabrese in the first round of World Championship qualifying.[10] He finished the season ranked world number 84.[12]

2014–15 season

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Saengkham defeated Alfie Burden 6–4 to qualify for the International Championship and beat Stephen Maguire 6–5, before losing in another deciding frame in the second round to Xiao Guodong. He was knocked out in the first round of the UK Championship 6–1 by Luca Brecel.[13] Saengkham eliminated David Grace, Mitchell Mann, Ross Muir and Kurt Maflin at the Lisbon Open to reach his first quarter-final in a ranking event, where he lost 4–2 to Maguire.[14] He was unable to build on this during the rest of the season as he lost eight of his last nine matches with his only win coming against German amateur Lukas Kleckers in the first round of World Championship qualifying.[13] Saengkham finished the year outside of the top 64 in the world rankings (he was 71st), but his good play in the European Tour events saw him placed 43rd on the Order of Merit to earn a new two-year tour card.[15][16]

2015–16 season

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In his homeland, Saengkham beat the likes of reigning world champion Stuart Bingham and ranking event winners Michael White and Joe Perry to play in the semi-finals of the 2015 Six-red World Championship, where he lost 7–3 to compatriot Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.[17] A 6–2 win over Stephen Maguire saw him qualify for the International Championship for the second year in a row, but he was knocked out 6–4 by Oliver Lines in the opening round.[18] He lost 6–5 and 4–3 in the first rounds of both the UK Championship and Welsh Open to Xiao Guodong and Fergal O'Brien respectively. Saengkham won a deciding frame against Lines to qualify for the China Open.[18] He shocked Neil Robertson 5–3 in the first round and then beat Ben Woollaston 5–4 and Graeme Dott 5–1 to make the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time.[19] A bad start from Saengkham saw him lose the opening four frames to John Higgins, but he then pulled it back to 4–3. Saengkham missed a yellow in the next frame and would be defeated 5–3.[20] His final match of the season was a 10–8 loss to Dott in the second round of World Championship qualifying.[18]

2016–17 season

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Saengkham had to wait until October to win his first match of the season in the main draw of a ranking event when he beat Michael Georgiou 4–1 at the English Open. He lost 4–0 to Xiao Guodong in the second round. A 6–0 thrashing of Ken Doherty saw him reach the second round of the UK Championship, where he made a 131 break to lead John Higgins 3–2, before going on to be defeated 6–4.[21] He reached the last 32 of the Scottish Open by beating Craig Steadman and Aditya Mehta, but he was whitewashed 4–0 by Judd Trump. Saengkham defeated Tom Ford 5–3 to qualify for the China Open. A 5–3 victory against Robert Milkins followed and he then lost 5–2 to Stuart Bingham.[22] After Saengkham overcame Jak Jones 10–5 and Anthony Hamilton 10–9 he was one win away from qualifying for the World Championship. He overturned a 6–3 deficit against Lee Walker to win 10–8 and met Neil Robertson in the first round.[23] Saengkham lost the opening session 8–1 and, though he won three of the next four frames, he was defeated 10–4.[24] The run meant he finished the season 64th in the world rankings.[25]

2017–18 season

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His 2017–18 season began positively, reaching the last 32 of the opening Riga Masters event where he lost 4-2 to Sam Baird. He also reached this stage at the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and Scottish Open.[26] At the Welsh Open, he recorded the best ranking performance of his career by reaching the semi-finals including notable wins over Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson. He was defeated 6-4 by Barry Hawkins.[27] He finished his season by losing to Hossein Vafaei in World Championship qualifying, but reached his then-highest ranking of 52 at the end of the season.[26]

2018–19 season

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Saengkham picked up where he left off the following season. He reached a ranking semi-final for the second time, this time at the World Open where, in the last 16, he recorded an impressive 5-4 victory against Mark Selby on the final black in a match which lasted 4 hours and 26 minutes.[28] In the semi-final against Mark Williams, he was 5-2 up and one frame from his first appearance in a ranking final, but lost 6-5.[29] He followed this up with another impressive run in the English Open, reaching the quarter-finals where he lost 5-3 to Stephen Maguire.[30] He also lost to Williams 6-3 in the UK Championship, before suffering back-to-back defeats to Mark Selby in the last 16 of the World Grand Prix and the last 32 of the Welsh Open. Although ending the season on a low note after losing to Zhao Xintong in World Championship qualifying, he continued to climb up the rankings, reaching a then-career high of 38.[30]

2019–20 season

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His 2019–20 season was a bit quieter, and by the time of the World Championship, his best ranking performance over the course of the season was reaching the last 16 of the China Championship, where he lost 5-2 to David Gilbert.[31] In the World Championship, postponed to July and August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he recorded qualifying victories over Michael White and Eden Sharav before being drawn against former world champion Shaun Murphy in the last 32. Saengkham won 10-4 to record his first victory at the Crucible.[32] Facing Mark Selby in the last 16, he lost out 13-12 on a deciding frame in a tremendous match.[33] He also broke into the top 32 of the rankings for the first time, being ranked 32 at the end of the season.[31]

2020–21 season

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In a season played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saengkham's best showing was a last 16 finish at the Northern Ireland Open held in Milton Keynes where he was defeated 4-2 by Scott Donaldson.[34] His season ended on a disappointing note as a positive COVID test forced him to withdraw from the World Championship.[35]

2021–22 season

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He managed to recapture a bit of form the following season, and at the UK Championship he recorded victories over Aaron Hill, Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham to meet Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last 16. In a hard fought match and despite leading 3-2 he lost out 6-3.[36] After missing out on the World Championship the previous season, he managed to find some redemption by qualifying for the 2022 edition after defeating Daniel Wells 6-3 and Robert Milkins 10-8.[37] In the last 32, he faced Luca Brecel and won 10-5, recording two centuries in the process.[38] Facing four-time world champion John Higgins in the last 16, Saengkham was defeated 13-7.[39] After dropping to 44 at the end of the previous season, his ranking had now improved again to 37.[37]

2022–23 season

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At the British Open, Saengkham recorded victories over Fraser Patrick, Zhao Xintong, Jordan Brown and Jamie Jones to set up his first ranking semi-final since the 2018 World Open.[40] In the semi-final against Mark Allen, he was comfortably outplayed in a 6-1 defeat.[41] The rest of 2022 was largely uneventful but he did qualify for the 2023 World Grand Prix. He defeated Mark Selby 4-1 in the opening round[42] before defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-2 in the last 16, a result which he said left him feeling "over the moon".[43] He then defeated Mark Williams 5-3 in the quarter-final[44] to set up another semi-final with Mark Allen. However he lost out again 6-1 in a relatively one-sided match.[45] After coming through a final frame decider against Zhang Anda in the final round of qualifying for the World Championship, he was drawn against Jack Lisowski in the last 32 where he lost 10-7.[46] For the second time, he finished the season inside the top 32 of the rankings, at 27.[40]

Personal life

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Saengkham's daughter was born in April 2022 in Thailand[47] He couldn't attend the birth, as he was competing in his first round match against Belgian Luca Brecel at the 2022 World Snooker Championship.

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 2010/
11 		2012/
13 		2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2016/
17 		2017/
18 		2018/
19 		2019/
20 		2020/
21 		2021/
22 		2022/
23 		2023/
24 		2024/
25
Ranking[48][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] [nb 2] 84 [nb 4] 69 64 52 38 32 44 37 27 26
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event RR 2R RR 3R WD
Xi'an Grand Prix Tournament Not Held
Saudi Arabia Masters Tournament Not Held
British Open Tournament Not Held 2R SF 1R
English Open Tournament Not Held 2R 1R QF 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held 2R
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R 3R 1R 1R 4R 1R 1R 3R
International Championship NH A LQ 2R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ Not Held 1R
UK Championship LQ A 3R 1R 1R 2R 3R 3R 3R 2R 4R LQ 1R
Shoot Out Non-Ranking Event 2R 2R 1R 1R 4R 1R 4R 2R
Scottish Open NH MR Not Held 3R 3R 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R F
German Masters LQ A 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ
Welsh Open LQ A 2R 1R 1R 1R SF 3R 3R 1R 1R LQ 1R
World Open LQ WR 2R Not Held LQ 1R SF 2R Not Held 1R
World Grand Prix Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ 2R DNQ DNQ 1R SF 2R
Players Championship[nb 5] DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 1R
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ A LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 2R WD 2R 1R LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Championship League A A A A A A A RR A A A RR RR
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic NR A LQ WD Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open NH A 1R WD A Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters LQ A LQ LQ A LQ LQ Non-Ranking Not Held Non-Ranking
Paul Hunter Classic Minor-Ranking Event WD 2R 3R NR Tournament Not Held
Indian Open Not Held 1R LQ NH LQ LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
China Open LQ A LQ LQ QF 2R 1R LQ Tournament Not Held
Riga Masters[nb 6] Not Held Minor-Rank 1R 2R LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR 1R 2R 2R Tournament Not Held
WST Pro Series Tournament Not Held RR Tournament Not Held
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 2R 3R 2R WD 1R 2R Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 4R Not Held
European Masters Tournament Not Held LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R 2R LQ QF NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot Out A A A 1R A Ranking Event
Six-red World Championship 3R 2R QF 3R SF 3R 2R RR RR Not Held 2R Not Held
Haining Open Not Held Minor-Rank 4R A A A NH A NH A NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ^ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ a b New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  3. ^ He was an amateur
  4. ^ Players qualified through European Tour Order of Merit started the season without prize money ranking points
  5. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2010/2011 and 2012/2013–2015/2016)
  6. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

Career finals

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Ranking finals: 1

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2023 Scottish Open England Gary Wilson 5–9

Pro-am finals: 1

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2016 Singapore Snooker Open Thailand Boonyarit Keattikun 4–5[49]

Amateur finals: 4 (2 titles)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2009 Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship China Zhang Anda 1–5[50]
Winner 1. 2009 World Under-21 Snooker Championship Iran Soheil Vahedi 9–8[51]
Runner-up 2. 2011 World Under-21 Snooker Championship Thailand Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon 3–9[52]
Winner 2. 2013 Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship Pakistan Mohammad Majid Ali 6–5[53]

References

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  1. ^ "Noppon Saengkham". WPBSA. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "10th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2009". Cue Sports India. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  3. ^ "World Under 21 Snooker Championship 2009". International Billiards and Snooker Federation. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2010/2011". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open Qualifiers". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Rankings after 2011 World Championship" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Noppon Saengkham 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Noppon Saengham 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Saengkham beats Majid to scoop Asian U-21 snooker title". Dawn. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  10. ^ a b c "Noppon Saengham 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  11. ^ "UK Snooker Championship 2013 results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  12. ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Maguire Wins Lisbon Open". World Snooker. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  15. ^ "European Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  16. ^ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Un-Nooh to Face Liang in Final". World Snooker. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  18. ^ a b c "Noppon Saengkham 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  19. ^ "China Open: Stuart Bingham and Ricky Walden meet in last eight". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  20. ^ "John Higgins survives Noppon Saengkham scare as Ricky Walden breezes past Stuart Bingham at the China Open". Live Snooker. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  21. ^ "UK Championship 2016: Stuart Bingham beaten by world number 62 Yu Delu". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Noppon Saengkham 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  23. ^ "O'Brien Wins Record Two-Hour Frame". World Snooker. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  24. ^ "World Championship 2017: Neil Robertson beats Noppon Saengkham in first round". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  25. ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  26. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2017/2018". Snooker.org. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  27. ^ "John Higgins downs Gary Wilson to set up Barry Hawkins showdown". Eurosport. 3 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Mark Williams sizzles to coast into World Open quarter-finals, but Mark Selby crashes out". Eurosport. 9 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Mark Williams secures World Open final clash against David Gilbert". Eurosport. 11 August 2018.
  30. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2018/2019". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  31. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2019/2020". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Shaun Murphy suffers World Snooker Championship shock at the hands of Noppon Saengkham". Metro. 4 August 2020.
  33. ^ "Superb Selby Ends Saengkham's Run". WST. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020.
  34. ^ "Noppon Saengkham 2020/2021". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  35. ^ "Saengkham Tests Positive For COVID-19". WST. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021.
  36. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan fights back to beat Noppon Saengkham and reach quarter-finals". WST. 1 December 2021.
  37. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2021/2022". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  38. ^ "Noppon Saengkham beats Luca Brecel to book place in second round". Shropshire Star. 21 April 2022.
  39. ^ "John Higgins sees off Noppon Saengkham to reach first World Championship quarter-final for three years". WST. 25 April 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Noppon Saengkham 2022/2023". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  41. ^ "Mark Allen beats Noppon Saengkham in comfortable fashion and books spot in final". Eurosport. 1 October 2022.
  42. ^ "Noppon Saengkham stuns Mark Selby at World Grand Prix as Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump advance". Planet Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  43. ^ "Noppon Saengkham continues stunning World Grand Prix run with shock win over Ronnie O'Sullivan". Planet Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  44. ^ "World Grand Prix: Noppon Saengkham adds Mark Williams to list of victims as he moves to semi-final". Planet Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  45. ^ "Mark Allen heading to World Grand Prix final after defeating Noppon Saengkham 6-1, will face Judd Trump or Shaun Murphy". Eurosport. 20 January 2023.
  46. ^ ""Panicking" Lisowski holds nerve to beat Saengkham". WST. 19 April 2023. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
  47. ^ "Daddy Cool! Double Celebration For Saengkham". World Snooker. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022.
  48. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  49. ^ Pro-Am Snooker - 2016 Singapore Snooker Open
  50. ^ "10th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2009". Cue Sports India. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  51. ^ "World Under 21 Snooker Championship 2009". International Billiards and Snooker Federation. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  52. ^ "World Under 21 Snooker Championship 2011". International Billiards and Snooker Federation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  53. ^ "Saengkham beats Majid to scoop Asian U-21 snooker title". Dawn. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
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