Thai teen Panchaya Channoi wins world women’s snooker title

Thailand’s Panchaya “Mind Sakol” Channoi has written a new chapter in Thai snooker history after defeating England’s 12-time world champion Reanne Evans 6-2 to win the 2026 World Women’s Snooker Championship in China.

The 18-year-old rising star delivered a composed and ruthless performance in the final at the Changping Snooker Center in Dongguan, Guangdong province, to claim the biggest title of her career and earn a two-year card on the professional World Snooker Tour.

The victory also made Panchaya Thailand’s third women’s world champion, following Nutcharut “Mink Saraburi” Wongharuthai in 2022 and Siripaporn “Baipat Siripaporn” Nuanthakhamjan in 2023.

Teen star stuns snooker legend

Panchaya, ranked 15th in the world, entered the final after already causing a major upset by knocking out defending champion and world No 1 Bai Yulu in the quarter-finals.

Her final opponent, Reanne Evans, was one of the sport’s greatest names — the world No 4 from England and the most successful women’s world champion in history with 12 titles.

But the Thai teenager showed no sign of nerves in the best-of-11 final, racing into a 3-0 lead and refusing to let Evans complete a comeback.

Century breaks set tone for historic win

Panchaya made a stunning start, firing in a century break to win the opening frame 114-1 and take a 1-0 lead.

She followed with 50-28 and 59-50 wins to move 3-0 ahead before Evans used her experience to take the fourth frame 69-64 and reduce the deficit before the interval.

The English legend continued her fightback after the restart, winning the fifth frame 68-46 to trail 3-2.

But Panchaya responded like a champion. She compiled her second century break of the match to win the sixth frame 107-0, then extended her lead to 5-2 with a 71-12 victory in the seventh.

In the eighth frame, Evans held an early advantage but missed a blue, allowing Panchaya to return to the table and seal the title with a 68-24 win.

World title brings main-tour card

Panchaya’s 6-2 victory earned her the world title, £13,000 in prize money and a two-year place on the professional World Snooker Tour.

The win makes her the fifth Asian player and the 16th player overall to become women’s world snooker champion.

Her performance also underlined Thailand’s growing strength in women’s snooker, with three Thai players now having won the world title in five years.

From snooker-hall childhood to world champion

Panchaya, nicknamed Mind, was born in 2008 and is a former student of Thepleela School.

Her route into snooker began through her family’s snooker-table business, which gave her early exposure to the sport. She started playing seriously at the age of 10 and later developed under well-known coaches, including Ajarn Tik Sakol, the source of her sporting nickname, and Ajarn It Sittai.

Even before her world-title breakthrough, Panchaya had already built an impressive record. She won the IBSF World Junior Women’s Snooker Championship in Romania in 2022 at the age of 14, became Thailand women’s champion in 2023, finished runner-up at the Asian Women’s Championship, and claimed back-to-back world under-21 titles in 2025 and 2026.

Her latest triumph confirms her arrival at the very top of the women’s game — and gives Thai fans a new star to follow on the professional circuit.