Sakchai Sim Ngam (; born 12 July 1952) is a Thai former professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player. He won the

IBSF World Snooker Championship The IBSF World Snooker Championship (also known as the World Amateur Snooker Championship) is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. ...

in 1995.

Career

A former kickboxer, Sim Ngam won the 1984

ACBS Asian Snooker Championship The ACBS Asian Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in Asia. The event series is sanctioned by the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports and started from 1984. Mostly, the winner of the tournament qualifies for t ...

with an 8–5 defeat of Vichien Sangthong in the final. The following year, he reached the final again but lost 5–8 to

Gary Kwok Gary Kwok (born June 11, 1966) is best known as a Canadian race driver. He has raced in the Hong Kong Touring Car Championship, the Canadian Touring Car Championship, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Pirelli World Challenge. ...

. Sim Ngam was accepted as a professional by the

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards. It is headquartered in Bristol, England. Founded as the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) in ...

(WPBSA) in 1985, becoming the first Thai professional player. His first professional match resulted in a 5–2 win against

David Greaves David Greaves (1 September 1946 – 5 October 2019) was an English people, English professional snooker player. Life David Greaves was born on 1 September 1946 in Lytham St Annes#St Annes, St-Annes-on-Sea (Lancashire). He went to Stanley Ju ...

in the first qualifying round 1985 Matchroom Trophy, before he was defeated 4–5 by Les Dodd in the following round. In his next tournament, the 1985 Grand Prix, he recorded 5–3 wins over both Derek Mienie and Fred Davis to reach the third qualifying round, where he was eliminated 1–5 by Eugene Hughes. He also reached the third qualifying round of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 4–9 to Joe Johnson after defeating

Roger Bales Roger Bales (born 15 August 1948) is an English former professional snooker player. Career Born in Birmingham on 15 August 1948, Bales first played competitive snooker in 1974, playing in that year's Pontin's Spring Open, a pro-am event, where ...

and

Mick Fisher Mick Fisher (born 12 July 1944) is an English former professional snooker player. He appeared once at the main stage of the World Snooker Championship during his career, and attained a highest professional ranking of 37th, in the Snooker worl ...

. He never progressed further in a professional tournament than he did in these events. He was part of the Rest of the World Team for the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

that was eliminated after losing 0–5 to Canada in their first match. Sim Ngam played one , which he lost 6–102 to

Bill Werbeniuk William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and ...

. In the qualifying rounds for the

1986 World Snooker Championship The 1986 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1986 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1986 at the Crucib ...

, Sim Ngam whitewashed

Bernard Bennett Bernard Bennett (31 August 1931 – 12 January 2002) was an English player of snooker and English billiards, whose professional career spanned from 1969 to 1995, during which he experienced limited success as a player. He owned the Castle ...

10–0 before losing in the to

Paul Medati Paul Medati (14 November 1943 – 29 November 2008) was an English professional snooker and pool player. Career Medati was born in Ordsall, Salford, Lancashire to Maltese parents, and attended St. Joseph's Primary School. After playing snoo ...

, 9–10. Sim Ngam resigned his membership of WPBSA in 1987, when ranked 80th, and did not play in any professional events again until he was a

wild card Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

entrant to the 1995 Thailand Open, 1996 Thailand Open, and 1996 Asian Classic. His highest snooker world ranking was 80. He won the amateur 1995

, defeating

David Lilley David William Lilley (born 31 October 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer who usually plays at centre back but has also played at right back. Lilley was most recently the manager of Bellshill Athletic in the Scottish Junior Foo ...

11–7 after trailing 5–7 at the end of the first day of the final. As defending champion at the

1996 IBSF World Snooker Championship The 1996 IBSF World Snooker Championship was an amateur snooker tournament that took place from 15 November to 30 November 1996 in New Plymouth, New Zealand It was the 23rd edition of the IBSF World Snooker Championship and also doubled as a qua ...

, he was 2–4 behind Stan Gorski in the last 16 round, but then equalised at 4–4 after needing Gorski to concede points from two in the eighth frame. Gorski made a break of 51 in the deciding frame and won the match 5–4.

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 3 (1 title)

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim Ngam, Sakchai Sakchai Sim Ngam 1952 births Living people Sakchai Sim Ngam