Dechawat Poomjaeng (Thai: เดชาวัต พุ่มแจ้ง Dechāwạt Phùmcæ̂ng,[3] born July 11, 1978) is a Thai former professional snooker player.

Dechawat Poomjaeng
Paul Hunter Classic 2016
Born (1978-07-11) July 11, 1978 (age 46)
Bangkok, Thailand
Sport country Thailand
NicknameMr. Poombastic[1]
Professional2011–2017, 2022–2024
Highest ranking37 (March–April 2015)[2]
Maximum breaks1 (2014 German Masters)
Best ranking finishLast 16 (x3)
Medal record
Men's snooker
Representing  Thailand
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Singles
World Games
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Cali Singles

Career

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Early career

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He won the 2010 IBSF World Snooker Championship in Damascus, Syria, defeating India's Pankaj Advani 10–7 in the final.[4] This earned him a place on the professional Main Tour for the 2011–12 season.[5]

Debut season

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Due to being a new player on the tour and therefore unranked he would need to win four qualifying matches to reach the ranking event main draws. He came closest to doing this in the World Open when he beat Andrew Pagett and Liu Song, before losing to Michael Holt 4–5.[6]

Poomjaeng played all 12 of the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events throughout the season, with his best finish coming in Event 8 where he beat seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry and Stephen Maguire to reach the last 16, but succumbed 1–4 to Ben Woollaston.[6] Poomjaeng finished the season ranked world number 82, comfortably outside the top 64 who retain their places for the 2012–13 season.[7] However, his final placing of 57th on the PTC Order of Merit was good enough to earn him a spot for next season.[8]

2012/2013 season

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Poomjaeng at the 2013 German Masters

The 2012–13 season saw Poomjaeng qualify for the main draw of a ranking event for the first time. This came in the 2013 German Masters, by defeating Yu Delu and Fergal O'Brien. He lost 2–5 to Barry Hawkins in the first round in Berlin.[9] Poomjaeng continued his form by winning four matches to reach the China Open. Once at the venue in Beijing, he saw off Zhu Yinghui 5–2 in the wildcard round, but then lost 3–5 to Mark Davis in the first round.[9] In the Players Tour Championship events this season Poomjaeng's best results were last 16 defeats in the First and Fourth events, losing to Alan McManus and Mark Joyce respectively.[9] He was ranked 42nd on the PTC Order of Merit.[10] Poomjaeng beat Michael Leslie 10–4, Liu Chuang 10–9, Anthony Hamilton 10–4 and Jamie Cope 10–3 to qualify for the World Championship for the first time.[11] He faced sixth seed Stephen Maguire in the first round and produced a huge shock with the world number 70 Poomjaeng winning 10–9, with a composed 63 break in the final frame. The crowd warmed to Poomjaeng as he walked to the wrong table at the start of play and animatedly expressed his emotions throughout the match, including applauding his own safety shot.[12][13] He played Michael White in the second round and lost the fourth frame without a ball having been potted due to missing the reds three times. The rules of snooker state that if a red can be seen full ball and is missed on three consecutive shots, the frame is conceded.[14] Poomjaeng lost the session 1–7 and went on to be defeated 3–13.[15] Poomjaeng finished the season ranked world number 67.[16]

2013/2014 season

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Poomjaeng at the 2014 German Masters

In his opening match of the season, Poomjaeng defeated Darren Cook 5–1 to qualify for the 2013 Wuxi Classic in China where he beat Dominic Dale 5–1 in the first round, before losing by a reverse of this scoreline to John Higgins.[17] Poomjaeng then won three matches to qualify for the Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 5–1 to Barry Hawkins in the first round.[17] Poomjaeng won the bronze medal at the World Games thanks to a 3–2 victory over Brazil's Igor Figueiredo.[18] He lost in the last 32 of the Indian Open to Liang Wenbo and at the UK Championship, lost 6–0 in the second round to world number four Judd Trump, having defeated fellow Thai player Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6–5 in the opening round.[19] Poomjaeng eliminated defending champion Ali Carter 5–4 in the opening round of the German Masters, after having trailed 4–2, but was then beaten in a deciding frame by Xiao Guodong in the second round.[20] His fourth exit in the last 32 of a ranking event this season came at the China Open as Shaun Murphy whitewashed him 5–0.[21] Poomjaeng saw off Zhang Anda and Craig Steadman to stand one match away from playing in the World Championship for the second year in a row, but from 4–2 ahead he lost eight of the last nine frames against 1997 champion Ken Doherty to miss out.[22] He rose 20 spots to be ranked world number 47 at the end of the season.[23]

2014/2015 season

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At the Paul Hunter Classic, Poomjaeng won three matches and then defeated Neil Robertson 4–2 to reach the quarter-finals where he lost 4–2 to Rod Lawler. This result would later help him finish 32nd on the Order of Merit.[24] Poomjaeng's first appearance at a ranking event this season was at the International Championship, but he was beaten 6–2 by Mark Davis in the first round.[25] At the UK Championship he recorded wins over Andrew Norman and Michael Holt, before Marco Fu knocked him out 6–3 in the third round.[26] Fu also eliminated Poomjaeng in the second round of the Welsh Open this time 4–2. Poomjaeng won three frames in a row from 3–1 down against Robertson in the first round of the China Open with the match eventually going into a deciding frame.[27] Poomjaeng took it on the final black and then whitewashed Jack Lisowski 5–0 to play in the last 16 of a ranking event for the only time this season, where he lost 5–1 against Gary Wilson.[28]

2015/2016 season

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Poomjaeng was narrowly beaten 6–5 by Michael White in the first round of the International Championship. He defeated Chris Melling 6–4 and Ryan Day 6–2 at the UK Championship and recovered from 5–0 down against Mark Joyce to win 6–5 and reach the fourth round.[citation needed] He potted just 13 points in the first five frames against Mark Selby and there was no comeback this time as he lost 6–1.[29] A pair of 4–1 victories over Craig Steadman and Robert Milkins saw Poomjaeng reach the third round of the Welsh Open, where he was beaten 4–3 by Yu Delu. Poomjaeng lost 5–4 to Ryan Day in the first round of the China Open, but saw off Eden Sharav 10–4 and Robin Hull 10–5 to reach the final qualifying round for the World Championship.[30] He fell just short of playing at the Crucible again as he lost 10–9 to Mitchell Mann.[31]

2016/2017 season

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Poomjaeng had an extremely poor 2016–17 season. He did not get past the last 64 of a single event and was on a losing run of 11 matches until he beat Chen Zhe 10–7 in World Championship qualifying.[32] Poomjaeng lost 10–4 to Graeme Dott in the next round and finished 70th in the rankings having started the season 45th.[33] He did not enter Q School and has therefore been relegated from the snooker tour.[32]

He entered Q School in 2018 and lost in the final round of the first event to Sam Craigie[34] and then lost again in the final round of the second event to Zhao Xintong[35]

2022/2023 season

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Poomjaeng returned to the tour through Q School Asia-Oceania Event 2.

2023/2024 season

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On 30 October 2023, he announced he will not return to the tour during his existing two-year tour card for personal reasons.[36]

Personal life

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During his time as a professional, Poomjaeng was based at the Star Academy in Sheffield and shared a house with four other Thai players, including former world number three James Wattana, whom Poomjaeng has described as "a big brother".[37]
His elder brother is Suchakree "Kwan" Poomjaeng, who has played on the professional snooker tour in the past.[12]

Performance and rankings timeline

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Tournament 2011/
12
2012/
13
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/
17
2018/
19
2022/
23
2023/
24
Ranking[38][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 3] 67 47 43 45 [nb 4] [nb 2] 86
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event A A
European Masters Tournament Not Held LQ LQ A A
British Open Tournament Not Held A A
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R A 1R A
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held A
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held 1R A A A
International Championship NH LQ LQ 1R 1R LQ A NH A
UK Championship LQ LQ 2R 3R 4R 1R 1R LQ A
Shoot Out Non-Ranking Event 1R A 4R A
Scottish Open NH MR Not Held 1R 1R A A
World Grand Prix Not Held NR DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A
Welsh Open WD LQ 2R 2R 3R 1R A LQ A
Players Championship[nb 5] DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Open LQ LQ LQ Not Held LQ LQ NH A
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ 2R LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ A
Former ranking tournaments
Wuxi Classic NR LQ 2R WD Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open LQ LQ 1R WD A Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ NR NH NR
Riga Masters[nb 6] Not Held MR 1R LQ Not Held
Paul Hunter Classic Minor-Ranking Event 2R WD Not Held
Indian Open Not Held 2R 2R NH 1R LQ Not Held
China Open A 1R 2R 3R 1R LQ A Not Held
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 1R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Shoot Out A A 1R 1R 1R Ranking Event
Six-red World Championship NH 2R 2R 3R A A A 2R 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. ^ Shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ a b New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking
  3. ^ Players qualified through Players Tour Championship Order of Merit started the season without ranking points
  4. ^ He was an amateur
  5. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2011/2012–2015/2016)
  6. ^ The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)

Career finals

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Amateur finals: 1 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2010 World Amateur Championship   Pankaj Advani 10–7[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Introducing Mr Poombastic". Irish Examiner. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "World Rankings after the Players Championship 2015" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  3. ^ "คำคมคนกีฬาของ เดชาวัต พุ่มแจ้ง". Thai PBS. April 25, 2013.
  4. ^ "World Snooker Championship – Damascus, Syria, 4–15 December 2010". International Billiards and Snooker Federation. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  5. ^ "2011/12 Tour Players". WPBSA. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Dechawat Poomjaeng 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Order of Merit". Snooker.org. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Dechawat Poomjaeng 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Betfair World Championship". Snooker.org. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Sonic Poom Flattens Maguire". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  13. ^ "World Snooker Championship 2013: Stephen Maguire out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  14. ^ Skilbeck, John (25 April 2013). "Snooker: Dechawat Poomjaeng has it all to do against Michael White". The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  15. ^ "World Snooker Championship 2013: White into quarter-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  16. ^ "Official World Snooker Ranking List For The 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Dechawat Poomjaeng 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Snooker at the World Games". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  19. ^ "UK Snooker Championship 2013 results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Carter Suffers Early Exit In Berlin". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. ^ "China Open: Jimmy White and Peter Ebdon win second-round ties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Dott / Williams / Stevens Miss Crucible". World Snooker. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  23. ^ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  24. ^ "European Order of Merit 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  25. ^ "Dechawat Poomjaeng 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  26. ^ "UK Championship: John Higgins advances after convincing victory over Matthew Stevens". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  27. ^ "Snooker - Neil Robertson stunned by Dechawat Poomjaeng but Ding Junhui wins". Eurosport. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  28. ^ "John Higgins beat Judd Trump in China Open". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  29. ^ "UK Championship: Mark Selby revels in 'second chance' in 6-1 thrashing of Dechawat Poomjaeng". The Press (York). Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  30. ^ "Dechawat Poomaeng 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  31. ^ "Betfred World Championship (2016)". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Dechawat Poomjaeng 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  33. ^ "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Craigie Clinches Tour Card As Pros Bounce Back". World Snooker. May 19, 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020.
  35. ^ "Brown Earns Tour Return". World Snooker. 25 May 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020.
  36. ^ "Dechawat Poomjaeng". World Snooker. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023.
  37. ^ "Quartet Of Debutants Through To Crucible". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  38. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  39. ^ "Past Champions". IBSF.info. Reims: International Billiards and Snooker Federation. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
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