By Elliott West
“The impressive Parrott was the only player with an unbeaten record, winning all six of his matches”.
John Dee, Telegraph sports journalist.
Introduction
At the height of the snooker frenzy of the 1980s, the game started spreading its wings and created tournaments in several countries. One such place was Thailand where its people loved and still love snooker. Stephen Hendry visited the Crown Prince of Brunei’s flat in Hampstead, North London and gave him a snooker lesson. He compared the bachelor pad to like some out of the 1988 film Coming to America, especially when he was whisked to the practice venue by a convoy of three luxury cars.
A snooker star that came out of Thailand was James Wattana and his manager Tom Moran decided to arrange an event on home soil in the summer of 1993. Familiar faces from the snooker world were assembled to play in the England, Scotland, Ireland and Thailand teams. A tournament that was played over three days at the Channel 9 TV studios in Bangkok carried a winner’s prize of £36,000.
The Path to Glory
After a hard-fought battle, it was England and Thailand who both beat the Scotland/Ireland team 5-4. However the star players were John Parrott, Willie Thorne and Nigel Bond who represented the England team with the Liverpudlian Parrott, showing once again his dominance on foreign soil, having won seven of his nine major tournament victories abroad. He won all six of his matches and never left top gear. John also compiled the highest tournament break of 109 in his 3-0 victory against Dennis Taylor on the third and final day.
Willie Thorne won three of his matches and Nigel Bond avoided a duck by beating Ken Doherty 2-1 on the final day. By then the Irish/Scottish trio were out of the running, having lost five matches to Thailand. John Parrott was responsible for putting the competition out of his opponents’ reach in his match against Thailand’s Rom Surin, the 32-year-old Asian champion, defeating him 2-1. A bitter defeat for the twice Thailand and Asian champion who had previously produced some top-class snooker in this competition to keep Thailand’s chances alive. He had already beaten Nigel Bond, Dennis Taylor and Alan McManus, a strong performance and one that suggested that he wouldn’t be out of place tackling the professional circuit in the next season. Tai Pitchit was also impressive and looked ready for his 1994 season.
The only players who ended the competition in credit with regard to the number of frames won and lost were John Parrott 14-4, Ken Doherty 11-7 and Rom Surin 10-8. Alan McManus recorded the only other century of the tournament, a 105 break which came on day one in the first frame of his match against Pitchit who went on to beat the Scot 2-1. James Wattana produced a poor show which was a far cry from his brilliant performance in the 1992-93 season, winning nine frames and losing nine, to leave him in fourth place in the table of honour.
Afterthoughts
The Crown Prince’s Cup was highly successful in its debut year of 1993 with healthy viewing figures over its three-day duration. In a country where snooker’s love affair has never expired and fans that come only second to China’s colossus fan base, this tournament paved the way for future events such as the World Cup and the Six Reds which are still held in swish Thai hotels. The pandemic has obviously taken its toll on this beautiful and picturesque country but with many of the Coronavirus restrictions now having been lifted, it won’t be long before players pack their suitcases and travel to Thailand for a tournament in the snooker season.
Thailand’s success in snooker largely comes from James Wattana on the main tour and with his fading into the background, a large vacuum exists in the country’s representation in the sport. Perhaps in the next few decades, we will see a future Thai star emerging and with many international players flocking to Sheffield to learn their trade, this still seems a strong possibility. Although now a distant memory, this 5-4 England win over Thailand sowed the seeds of opportunity and fruition in this eastern metropolis.
