Top snooker seeding affirmed

Press, 28 November 1988, Page 26

Top snooker seeding affirmed

NZPA-AAP Sydney James Wattana, a Thai teenager, has justified his top seeding for the Bicentennial World Snooker Championship by defeating second seeded Barry Pinches of England, 11 frames to eight in a compelling final on Saturday. Wattana produced superbly executed breaks to win each of the three frames he required for victory, after starting the final session of the best of 21 frame final 8-6 ahead. The sharpshooting Thai came close to concluding the contest in the most spectacular fashion possible.

He potted the first 12 reds and 12 blacks to register 96 points and looked on course for the $lOO,OOO prize for the first player to score a maximum 147 in the tournament. Unfortunately, the 18-year-old was narrowly off target with the 13th red but had immediate consolation when Pinches conceded the frame and the match. Trailing 3-4 at the start of the day, Pinches compiled breaks of 61 and 56 and a superb 105 clearance to win three of the first four frames and lead 6-5. It was the only time the Englishman was ahead in the

match, but Wattana responded like a true champion by taking the last three frames of the session. Surprisingly, it took Wattana until the 13th frame to register his first break of more than 50, but he cut loose in typically exuberant fashion with breaks of 78 and 65 for a 143-0 win. Pinches missed some opportunities to take the final frame of the afternoon session and later admitted Wattana’s two frame cushion going into the evening had proved decisive. It took the Thai dynamo just nine minutes to increase his lead to 9-6 after a quickfire break of

99 helped him to a 119-1 win in the first frame of the last session. Pinches was fortunate to win the following frame after Wattana inadvertently potted the cue ball off the respotted black after the scores had been tied at 62-all. The two players won a further frame each, with Wattana making a 69 break in one of them, before he brought the curtain down on the championship with his spectacular final break. Both men now need to beat just one lowly ranked professional, in England next March, to be admitted to the professional ranks.