Joke’s on Dechawat Poomjaeng as crowd-pleasing Thai player succumbs to rare snooker rule

SHEFFIELD, England – After lighting up the Crucible with his crowd-pleasing antics, jovial Thai snooker player Dechawat Poomjaeng was left with a scowl on his face at the world championship after three straight misses.

Poomjaeng failed to hit a red ball three times in a row during his second-round match against Michael White. Under snooker’s rules, three misses when a red can be hit leads to the frame being conceded.

It’s only the third time a frame has been lost in such fashion at the championship.

Poomjaeng is making his first appearance at the Crucible and is causing quite a stir, hugging the MC, punching himself in the head after shots and applauding his own shots.

One rival said Poomjaeng wasn’t “the full shilling.”