End of the road fails to wipe off smile from Poomjaeng

The 34-year-old promised he would return for next year’s tournament after the thrills and spills of his entertaining debut made him a crowd favourite.

He hopes to make enough money from snooker to buy a house but a second-round exit to Welsh wonder Michael White gave him just £16,000, so moving out of the Sheffield property he shares with four other Thai cuemen will have to wait.

It at least dwarfed the meagre £4,000 he had previously banked in winnings since joining the professional tour at the start of last season.

Twenty-one-year-old qualifier White became the first player to secure a quarter-final berth as he crushed world No 70 Poomjaeng. From 7-1 up overnight he prevailed 13-3, winning with a session to spare.

White made breaks of 71, 83, 73 and 102 to set up a last-eight clash with Ricky Walden or Robert Milkins.

Poomjaeng shook hands with fans on the front row before departing behind the dark curtains to bring an end to a campaign that began with a stunning win against world No 5 Stephen Maguire.

On Thursday night Poomjaeng played the jester, fluking a black and punching himself in the head, missing a red and letting his head sink to the table in mock mourning for the ball that stayed up, and incredibly losing the fourth frame without a ball being potted.

From an awkward position he failed three times to hit reds, conceding three fouls. Under the game’s rules, three misses when the reds can be hit full ball means the frame is conceded.

It is so rarely witnessed, and Poomjaeng said: “I couldn’t believe that game myself.

“For the last shot I was trying to play it half-ball but I put on a little bit of side so it swerved, and that meant I lost. Being angry isn’t good for me so I clapped myself.”

Defeat did not appear to rattle him, with Poomjaeng saying: “I’m okay because it’s the first time for me at the Crucible.

“Michael White played well and I started badly. That’s why I lost too easily.

“I loved the crowd’s reaction to me. I’m so proud that everyone likes me. I love them.

“I’ll come back next year. Now I’m going back to Thailand because I miss my family and I miss my daughter a lot.

“I’ll buy my family presents. I’m looking for a new house for me but this isn’t enough money. If I got to the final that would have been okay, but now I can’t do it.”

White is bidding to become the first debutant in the World Championship semi-finals since Andy Hicks in 1995.

White, who beat his compatriot Mark Williams in the first round, said: “I’m thrilled. The way I’ve played in both my matches has been pleasing for me.

“I had to keep in the zone and keep concentration and I felt I did that well all the way through.

“Last night he was joking around a lot but I held it together pretty well.”

Rather than return this morning for a third session against Poomjaeng, he will not play again until Tuesday, when the quarter-finals begin.

“It’s an advantage to me to get finished in two sessions,” he said. “I can just relax and practice for a few days and just enjoy it.”

Elsewhere, Mark Selby had early runs of 98 and 103 and sneaked ahead of Barry Hawkins, leading 5-3 after the first session of their second-round exchange.

Hawkins had chances to make it 4-4, especially after he won a long battle on the final red.

He missed a tricky long blue off that red and inadvertently snookered Selby who jokingly said: ‘I thought you were going for the pot’.

Selby produced a party piece to pot the yellow after being put in another snooker, trebling the white across the table to knock the ball in.

When Hawkins fluked the green and added brown, blue and pink it looked his frame, but he left an awkward black, missed it to the yellow pocket and Selby gratefully rammed the ball in.

During last night’s evening session, the two players shared the early spoils, with Selby enjoying a 9-6 lead.

Graeme Dott gave an electrifying performance to level his heavyweight last-16 clash with Shaun Murphy at the end of the first session.

The clash of the former Crucible champions was going Murphy’s way earlier yesterday when he pulled 6-2 clear, but Dott won the second session by the same margin to make it 8-8 to set up a tantalising climax last night.

Dott, the man who carried off the title in 2006, was briefly knocked out of his stride yesterday morning by repeated static shocks, and the players took the interval a frame early to allow tournament officials to spray the carpet with water in an effort to solve the problem.

It appeared Murphy was untroubled but on several occasions Dott was clearly affected, notably whenever he had to play shots from close to the cushion.

As the match continued deep into the night, Dott had pulled ahead of his opponent, leading 
12-11.

Former finalist Judd Trump fired in breaks of 109 and 127 this afternoon in building an early 4-2 lead against Marco Fu in their second-round match.

The impressive Trump then added runs of 112 and 42 to develop a 6-2 advantage in a match that continues and plays to a finish in morning and evening sessions today.