Player Profile - James Wattana
DOB: 17 Jan 1970
Lives: Bangkok
Provisional Ranking: Unknown
Last 5 Seasons: 24-32-33-34-32
Turned Pro: 1989
Ranking Tournament Victories: 3 - Strachan Professional 1992; Thailand Open 1994, 1995
Last Seasons Prize Money: £25,000
Career Prize Money: (up to start of 2007/08 season): £1,782,635
Highest Tournament Break: 147 - Mita World Masters 1991, British Open 1992, Catch China International 1997

Last season yielded few positives for James Wattana as he won just two knock-out matches in ranking events and dropped out of the top 32.
His only wins came in the Northern Ireland Trophy and Honghe Industrial China Open. In the 888.com World Snooker Championship qualifiers at the EIS in Sheffield, he went down 10-5 to Judd Trump after losing the first eight frames.
Wattana was the first player from the Far East to make a significant impact in professional snooker and his success led a rapid growth of interest in the sport in Asia, and in turn the emergence of Oriental stars such as Marco Fu and Ding Junhui.
His first ranking title was the Strachan Professional in 1992 and he won the World Matchplay in the same year. Wattana added the Thailand Open in 1994 and 1995, both times among jubilant scenes in his native Bangkok. He became a national hero in the Land of Smiles and Commander third class of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, a rare honour for a Thai sportsman. At the time, only the legendary Thai boxer Khaosai Galaxy had received such an accolade.
Wattana rose to No 3 in the world and appeared twice in the semi-finals at the Crucible: in 1993, when he lost 16-9 to Jimmy White after leading 5-0, and 1997 when he lost 17-13 to Stephen Hendry.
He has made three 147s, including a dramatic one at the 1992 British Open, coming just after he heard the news that his father had been murdered in Thailand.
His last significant tournament win was the 2003 Euro-Asia Masters invitation event in Hong Kong when he beat Ken Doherty, Hendry and Mark Williams.
Wattana’s improved his English rapidly when he first moved to the UK by playing regular games of Scrabble with journalists. He has recently opened a restaurant in northern Thailand.

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