Sunthorn Jarumon, President of the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand, has launched the U-21 Youth Snooker Championship, emphasizing the removal of the sport from the Gambling Act to propel Thai youth onto the global stage that resonates worldwide. Tags: [Youth Snooker, Gambling Act, Thai Sports, Billiard Association]
On 31 March 2026, "Big Hong" Sunthorn Jarumon, President of the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand, presided over the opening of the U-21 Youth Snooker Championship of Thailand at PS Sport Academy on Phetkasem Road. The tournament runs until 3 April 2026 and features 91 young players from across the country. The first round employs a group stage format before progressing to knockout rounds up to the final. Tags: [Youth Snooker Championship, Thailand, PS Sport Academy, Tournament]
"Big Hong," the association president, said this year's youth snooker tournament has been another success with a large number of participants. Initially, the association planned to accept only 80 players, but due to higher registrations and to increase excitement, more players were admitted. He believes the current popularity of 'F1' (Thepchaiya Un-Nooh) will attract more youth to snooker. Importantly, if snooker is removed from the Gambling Act, the number of young players could rise to thousands.Tags: [Youth Participation, Snooker Popularity, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Gambling Act]
"As president of the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand, I have continuously pushed for snooker to be exempted from the Gambling Act. We nearly succeeded previously, but the issue stalled in parliament after the government changed. I believe that if the government seriously advances this now, with the association collaborating on regulations alongside all snooker venues to provide youth training spaces free from gambling and related vices, we will see many Thai players advance to the professional world stage," Sunthorn said.Tags: [Gambling Act Reform, Youth Training, Snooker Venues, Professional Sports]
The Thai snooker chief added that currently fewer than ten academies offer youth snooker training. The largest is the Professional Billiard Sports Development Center project run by the association with support from the Sports Authority of Thailand. This center has produced nearly 30 years of world and international champions, including stars like F1 Nakornnayok, F1 Moo Paknam, Man Nakornpathom, Five Nakornnayok, and many others who have reached the professional world stage. Presently, the association’s academy trains 13 young male and female players who live and practice continuously at the Rajamangala National Stadium for the second consecutive year after a hiatus. In April, ten players along with coaches and officials will travel to train and study techniques for one full month at an academy in China, which hosts thousands of youth players.Tags: [Snooker Academies, Youth Training, Sports Authority of Thailand, International Training]
"Big Hong" concluded by saying that if snooker is freed from the Gambling Act, it will open opportunities for more sponsors to support the sport. This would enable the association to expand its planned projects to hold competitions for younger age groups beyond the current U-21 National Championship, such as for ages 14, 16, 18, and 20, or even more categories. Currently, limited budgets restrict the association to organizing only the U-21 event. He urged the government to promote snooker actively instead of being held back by the Gambling Act, which has been in place for 91 years.Tags: [Sponsorship, Youth Sports Development, Government Support, Gambling Legislation]