Nineteen year-old Noppol Saengkham lifted his first Thai ranking trophy earlier today after a 5-2 triumph over experienced professional Nigel Bond.
Bond has played several times in Thai events without ever managing to triumph, but after a comfortable 4-0 semi final win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh he might have been forgiven for expecting his luck to change. However it was Noppol who got off to the stronger start, opening up a 3-0 lead before the veteran was able to stem the tide and close the gap to 3-2. Noppol was not to be denied though, and went one step further than his losing final appearance earlier in the year by taking the next two frames to seal victory.
His performance this week clearly marks his continuing development and I would be astonished if he is not to be seen on the main tour next season via one route or another. His 4-3 win over a resurgent Nittiwat Kanchanasri in the last four showed he has the temperament for the big occasion, and his result in the final showed he has the talent.
He takes home the trophy and 100,000 baht, while Tai Pichit picked up 15,000 baht for his 136 break earlier in the week.