Phaithoon wins Thailand Masters in lacklustre final

Phaithoon holds the champion's trophy

[SNOOKER] [SNOOKER] In one of the most lacklustre battles ever witnessed in a national ranking final, Phaithoon Phonbun defeated Nittiwat Kanjanasri 5-2 to win the CAT Telecom-Phitsanulok Thailand Masters 2007 crown late on Saturday night.

The players can hardly be blamed for the lack of fireworks in the showdown as a persistent overnight downpour had left the weather highly humid and rendered the table extremely unplayable.

They couldn't play the screw shots and could hardly use the side and thus failing control the cue ball. As the match progressed, getting position on the balls increasingly difficult.

However, while there is a lot to justify the missing potting streaks, one thing was clear from the beginning of the match: Phaithoon was in there to win the match and he did. He was definitely the better player on the day.

The first two frames went Phaithoon's way with Nitiwat missing time and again in both. Nitiwat succeeded in narrowly winning the third to reduce the margin to 2-1, but then Phaithoon was back at work again and his careful approach paid dividends as he took two more frames in a row to widen the gap to 4-1.

Nitiwat fared a little better in the sixth as it turned out to be his rival's turn to miss easy balls, but then Phaithoon, an experienced campaigner, came to terms with erratic game and played brilliantly in the seventh to wrap the match.

Phaithoon, who received the trophy Deputy Phitsanulok Governor Santi Krusuansombat, said: "It turned out be a tough game because of the way the balls behaved today. The humidity had also left the cushion bouncing in unexpected ways.

"I would say that I was able to win today because I have been in situations like these before and probably it was easier for me adapt to the conditions than it was for Nitiwat."

Phaithoon was also rewarded with a purse of 100,000 for his fourth victory on the ranking circuit in as many years, while Nitiwat received 50,000 baht for his second-place finish.

The fifth ranking will be staged in Chanthaburi at the New Travel Lodge Hotel on July 22-28, when world No. 24 Michael Holt and No. 55 Stuart Pettman will be in the eastern city to showcase their talents. The third foreign wildcard is likely to be the talented Chinese Liu Song.

Frame scores:

Final: Phaithoon Phonbun beat Nittiwat Kanjanasri 5-2 (89-5, 55-47, 56-58, 59-31, 54-9, 57-64, 73-0)

Agencies, Phitsanulok