James Wattana (; born January 17, 1970, as วัฒนา ภู่โอบอ้อม Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm, then renamed รัชพล ภู่โอบอ้อม Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm in 2003) is a Thai former professional snooker player.
A professional between 1989 and 2008, and from 2009 to 2020, Wattana reached his highest ranking position—world number 3—for the 1994–95 season. He 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. He twice reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, in 1993 and 1997. When he was defeated in the semi-finals in 1993 by Jimmy White, it was only Wattana's second appearance in the final televised stages at the Crucible Theatre, his first being the previous year when he lost in the second round to the eventual winner Stephen Hendry.
Having received two-year invitational tour cards in 2014, 2016 and 2018, Wattana fell off the main tour at the end of the 2019/2020 season.
Back in Thailand, Wattana is known as "Tong Sit Choi" (Thai: ต๋อง ศิษย์ฉ่อย, roughly "Tong, Disciple of Choi") a nickname which he got by winning a local youth tournament at the age of 14. "Choi" is from "Choi Susas" (Thai: ฉ่อย ซู่ซ่าส์), the nickname of Wattana's father and mentor Kowin Pu-Ob-Orm.
Career Wattana won his first major tournament, the Thailand Masters, in 1986, aged only 16. As an amateur, he won the Asian Snooker Championship twice and the £6,000 first prize for winning the 1988 Kent Challenge in Hong Kong. He turned professional in 1989, after winning the 1988 World Amateur Championship. His career peaked in the mid-1990s, when he twice won the Thailand Open and rose to number three in the world rankings. Prior to Wattana becoming a professional, snooker had been dominated by British (and to a lesser extent Irish, Canadian and Australian) players.
He was the eighth professional player to earn more than £1 million in prize money, and with three maximum breaks he is one of only eighteen players to have scored more than two maximums in competition. He 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.
With the help of his PR team fronted by Yorkshire business tycoon Ed Clark, Wattana's success caught the imagination of the Thai public. He 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. He 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.
He reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship in 1993 and 1997, losing narrowly in the latter to Stephen Hendry. After a strong 2004–05 season, he returned to the top 32 of the world rankings, despite being the first player since 1992 to experience a whitewash at the World Championship when he lost 0–10 against Ali Carter in the final round of qualifying at the 2005 tournament. By 2007, his continued poor form meant that he dropped off the main tour in 2008. He continued to play, however, 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. He won the 2009 Asian Championships in Tangshan, China, after beating Mei Xiwen 7–3 in the final.
His position on the current provisional rankings received a huge boost with a run to the venue stage of the China Open thanks to four straight qualifying victories.
The 2011/12 season proved to be relatively good, managing to qualify in 2 of the 8 ranking events, the Shanghai Masters losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan 1–5 and the German Masters, beating Stephen Hendry 5–1 in the qualifiers, but then losing to Graeme Dott in the first round. At the end of the season he finished ranked 63, just inside the top 64.
In 2014, he lost his place on the professional snooker circuit, as he finished outside the top 64 on the official world rankings list at the end of the 2013/2014 season. However, he was one of three players awarded an invitational tour card for the next season—alongside Hendry and Steve Davis—and has since competed fairly regularly in tournaments as an amateur. In 2015, he lost in the first round of the qualifiers for the World Championship 3–10 to Jimmy White. In 2016, he lost in the first round of the qualifiers for the World Championship 6–10 to Peter Ebdon.
Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1985/86 1986/87 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/032003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2022/23 RankingFrom the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.He was an amateur.New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.3220753512121522273232343332253366676363Players issued an invitational tour card began the season without ranking points.1237382 Ranking tournaments Riga MastersThe event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016) Tournament not held MR A A A A International Championship Tournament not held LQ2R LQ LQ3R LQ1R A China Championship Tournament not held NR A LQ LQ English Open Tournament not held2R4R1R1R World OpenThe event run under different names as Grand Prix (1990/1991–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004), the World Open (2010/2011) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014) A ASF LQ1R2R2R3R3RQF2R1R3R1R1R3R3RQF1RRR LQ A A1R LQ LQ2R Not heldWR LQ LQ LQ Northern Ireland Open Tournament not held1R1R1R1R UK Championship A A1R3RSFQFQFSF3R2R2R1R1R1R1R1R3R1R2R1R1R A LQ LQ LQ LQ2R1R1R1R1R1R1R Scottish OpenThe event run under different names as International Open (1986/1987–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004) A A2R Not held2RF1R1R2R2R1R2R2R1R2R LQ Tournament not held MR Not held1R1R1R3R European MastersThe event run under different names as the Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008) A A LQ2R1R1RQF2R1RSF NH1R Not held2R LQ1R2R1R LQNR Tournament not heldLQLQLQ A German MastersThe event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998) Tournament not held2R1R2R NR Tournament not held LQ1R LQ LQ A LQ LQ A A A World Grand PrixTournament not heldNRDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ Welsh OpenTournament not heldQFSFSF1R1R3R1RQF3R LQ1R LQ1R LQQF1R LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ3R A1R1R3R2R2R Shoot-OutNot held NRTournament not heldNon-ranking event A 2R 1R A Tournament not heldDNQDNQ1RDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQDNQ Gibraltar Open Tournament not held MR1R A A A Tour Championship Tournament not heldDNQDNQ World Championship A A LQ LQ2RSFQF1R2RSF1R2R LQ1R1R1R1R LQ1R LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A Non-ranking tournaments The Masters A A1R LQQFFSFQF1R1RQF1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A Tournament not heldSFQF3RNH2R2R2R2R2RRRQFRR2R Former ranking tournaments Classic A A LQ3RSFTournament not held Strachan Open Tournament not heldWMRNRTournament not held Dubai ClassicThe event run under different names as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997) Not held2R2R2RSF2R1R2R1R Tournament not held Malta Grand Prix Tournament not held Non-ranking event LQNR Tournament not held Thailand MastersThe event run under different names as Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994–1996/97)Non-rank.F2R2RQFWWQF2R2R2R LQ LQ1R NR Not held NR Tournament not held British Open A A2R3RFFFSF2R1R2R1R3R2R1R1R LQ LQ Tournament not held Irish Masters Non-ranking event LQ LQ LQ NH NR Tournament not held Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament not held NR2R1R A Tournament not held Wuxi ClassicThe event run under different name as Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010) Tournament not held Non-ranking event LQ LQ A Not held Tournament not held Non-rank. Tournament not held LQ LQ LQ A A Not held Shanghai Masters Tournament not held LQ A LQ LQ1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Non-rank. Paul Hunter ClassicThe event was called the Grand Prix Fürth (2004/2005) and the Fürth German Open (2005/2006–2006/2007) Tournament not held Pro-am Event Minor-ranking event A A A NR Indian Open Tournament not held1R LQ NH1R LQ A NH China OpenThe event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999) Tournament not heldNR1R LQ LQ LQ Not held LQ2R1R LQ A1R LQ LQ LQ2R LQ1R LQ LQ2R NH Former non-ranking tournaments Pontins Professional A ASF A A A A A A A A A A Tournament not held European Grand Masters Not heldQF Tournament not held World Masters Not heldSF Tournament not held London Masters NH A AQF Tournament not held European Masters League Tournament not heldF Tournament not held Thailand MastersRRW Ranking2R ranking event A Not held A Tournament not heldHong Kong MastersThe event was also called the Hong Kong Challenge (1990/1991–1991/1992) A A NHWF Tournament not held ANot held Indian Challenge Tournament not held1R Tournament not held Belgian Challenge Tournament not held1R Tournament not held Pot Black A A A A AF ATournament not held A A ATournament not held Kent Classic NH A A A NHQFTournament not held Belgian MastersNot held A AWNot held ATournament not held Nescafe Extra ChallengeNot heldF NHFTournament not held World Matchplay Not held A A AW Tournament not held Top Rank Classic Tournament not heldRR Tournament not held King's Cup Not heldF NHFWSF Tournament not held Scottish Masters A A A A ASF1RQF A A A A A A A A Tournament not held Irish Masters A A A A AQFQFQFQF A A A A A A ranking event NH ATournament not held Superstar International Tournament not heldRR Tournament not held China International Tournament not heldSF ranking event Not held ranking event Super Challenge Tournament not heldRR Tournament not held Premier LeagueThe event run under different names as Matchroom League (1986/1987–1991/1992) and European League (1992/1993–1996/1997) NH A ARRSFRR A A A A A A A ARR A A A A A A A A A A ATournament not heldEuro-Asia Masters Challenge Tournament not held W RR Not held F Tournament not held World Champions v Asia Stars Tournament not held RR Tournament not held Masters Qualifying EventThe event was also called the Benson & Hedges Championship (1990/1991–2002/2003) Not heldFQF MR A A A A A A3R1R1R3R3R NH A A A A3R Tournament not held Shoot-OutNot held WDTournament not held A1R A A A A ranking event
Performance table legendLQ 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-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournamentDQ disqualified from the tournament NH / not held event was not held.NR / Non-ranking event event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / ranking event event is/was a ranking event.MR / Minor-ranking event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
Career finals
Ranking finals: 8 (3 titles) OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRunner-up 1. 1989 Asian Open 6–9Runner-up 2. 1992 British Open 7–10Winner 1. 1992 Strachan Open 9–5Runner-up 3. 1993 British Open (2) 2–10Runner-up 4. 1994 International Open 4–9Winner 2. 1994 Thailand Open 9–7Runner-up 5. 1994 British Open (3) 4–9Winner 3. 1995 Thailand Open (2) 9–6
Non-ranking finals: 19 (9 titles) Legend The Masters (0–1) Other (9–9)