While Thai snooker hero Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm scored a convincing 5-3 victory over Nigel Bond of England in his first match of the tournament that offers two million baht to the winner, it was Issara who showed the way with an impressive 5-2 victory over former world professional champion Ken Doherty 5-2 in the first session of the day.
Issara has been in great form of late with his latest major success coming in the 2010 Asian Championship in May.
However, a testing match awaited the Thai, who returns to the world professional Main Tour in the United Kingdom at the end of this month, as he was scheduled to take on two-time former world professional champion Mark J. Williams of Wales in the final session on Monday night.
Williams carried his Main Tour form into the Bangkok event when he pushed Doherty in a tighter corner by beating the Irish star 5-2 in the third session.
Supoj Saenla of the host country had a fine start when he comfortably beat Mohammed Al Joakar of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 5-2 in the morning only to be stunned 5-3 by Pakistan's Mohammed Sajjad in the afternoon.
Thepchaiya Un-nooh had little trouble in beating Glen Wilkinson of Australia 5-2 after another man from Down Under, James Mifsud, had tasted a 5-4 defeat at the hands of teenaged Thai Noppon Saengkham, the 2009 world under-21 champion.
Another young Thai, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon, was up against a seasoned professional and his 5-3 loss to Joe Swail of Northern Ireland came as no surprise anyone.
Jimmy White, winner of the SangSom 6-red World Grand Prix last year, suffered a loss in his opening match when he was edged 5-4 by fellow Englishman Dave Harold.
The most impressive display of the day came from young Welshman Andrew Pagett, a last-minute replacement for Tony Drago of Malta.
Pagett impressed with his awesome potting skills as he routed Manan Chandra of India 5-2 scoring two maximum 75-point breaks in the fifth and seventh frames.
A total of 48 players selected by the world professional and amateur governing bodies and regional federations of Asian, Africa, Europe and Oceania are taking part in the tournament, which has a total purse of six million baht in prize monies.
The first round actions continues until Wednesday night when four players will qualify from each of the eight groups and will be reseeded on the basis of their performance in the first round.
RESULTS
First session -- Stuart Pettman (ENG) bt Hassan Samir (EGY) 5-1, Joe Swail (NIR) bt Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon (THA) 5-3, Supoj Saenla (THA) bt Mohammed Al Joakar (UAE) 5-2, Issara Kachaiwong (THA) bt Ken Doherty (IRE) 5-2, Passakorn Suwannawat (THA) bt Patrick Einsle (GER) 5-2, Michael Holt (ENG) bt Joe Perry (ENG) 5-4, Noppon Saengkham (THA) bt James Mifsud (AUS) 5-4, Stuart Bingham (ENG) bt Mark Selby (ENG) 5-2
Second session: Barry Hawkins (ENG) bt Ricky Walden (ENG) 5-4, Dave Harold (ENG) bt Jimmy White (ENG) 5-4, Darren Morgan bt Sitthidead Sackbiang (LAO) 5-2, Jamie Cope (ENG) bt Judd Trump (ENG) 5-3, Jamie Jones (WAL) bt Yu Delu (CHN) 5-2, Noppadon Noppachorn (THA) bt Habib Sabah (BAH) 5-2, Gerard Greene (NIR) bt Fung Kwok Wai (HKG) 5-2, Andrew Pagett (WAL) bt Manan Chandra (IND) 5-2
Third session: Mohammad Sajjad (PAK) bt Supoj Saenla (THA) 5-3, Mark J. Williams (WAL) bt Ken Doherty (IRE) 5-2, Pettman bt Scott MacKenzie (SCO) 5-1, Peter Ebdon (ENG) bt Sam Craigie (ENG) 5-3, Selby bt Igor Figueiredo (BRA) 5-3, Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (THA) bt Nigel Bond (ENG) 5-3, Mark Davis (ENG) bt Mohammed Shehab (UAE) 5-0, Thepchaiya Un-nooh (THA) bt Glen Wilkinson (AUS) 5-2 |
