Thai Teen 'Mind Sakol' Wins 2026 World Women's Snooker Title
Thai teenager Mind Sakol, 18, won her first World Women's Snooker Championship title in Dongguan, China, defeating England's 12-time champion Reanne Evans 6-2 to become Thailand's third world snooker champion.
DONGGUAN, China — 19 May 2026, Thai teenager 'Mind Sakol' Panchaya Channoi made snooker history on Tuesday by defeating 12-time world champion Reanne Evans to capture her maiden World Women's Snooker Championship title and become Thailand's 3rd World Snooker Champion.
The 2026 World Women's Snooker Championship, held at the Changping Snooker Center in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, reached its climax on Tuesday with the highly anticipated final match. The 18-year-old Thai sensation 'Mind Sakol' Panchaya Channoi, ranked 15th in the world, defeated her fellow Thai world number 3 and 2022 world champion 'Mink Saraburi' Nutcharut Wongharuthai 5-3. She then overcame England's Reanne Evans, the world number 4 and legendary 12-time world champion, 6-2 in the best-of-11 frame final.
In the final played under a best-of-11 frames format, the current two-time consecutive Under-21 World Champion, Mind Sakol, started aggressively, opening with a 3-0 lead against Evans. Although Evans fought back to trail 4-2, Mind closed out the match with a 6-2 victory.
This triumph propelled Mind Sakol to the world title along with a 550,000 Baht cash prize. She also achieved a historic double by successfully defending her World Under-21 title and capturing the main senior tournament title within a single year.
With this win, Mind Sakol becomes the third Thai player to claim the women's world crown, following Mink Saraburi and 'Baipat Sriracha' Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan.
Moreover, Mind matches a record set by China's Bai Yulu in 2024 by becoming only the second woman in snooker history to win both the junior and senior world titles in the same calendar year, 2026.
The championship victory earns Panchaya a top prize of £13,000 (approximately 559,000 Baht) and a coveted spot in the elite 2026 Champion of Champions tournament. More significantly, the title grants her a two-season tour card to compete on the prestigious professional World Snooker Tour alongside male professionals starting in the 2026/27 season.
Meanwhile, Thailand's world number 3 'Mink Saraburi' Nutcharut Wongharuthai faces a tougher road back to the professional circuit. Having competed on the main tour since 2022, her contract extension is now uncertain. She must either compete in the Q School qualifying tournament in England or secure a remaining World Snooker Tour wildcard invitation. If neither option materializes, she will have to climb back to world number 1 via the women's ranking circuit to regain her professional status.