You know there’s a World Cup on when you hear the phrase ‘dark horse’ trotted out in the discussion about who could be the eventual winners.
It’s one of the most overused clichés in tournament sport (but that doesn’t mean it’s not valid, of course).
What the term ‘dark horse’ really means is: “I’m not actually bold enough to predict they’ll win it. In fact, I think there are quite few teams with a better chance but, if they do win it, I’d like to say ‘I told you so’ anyway.”
Essentially, it means they have an outside chance.
And what usually happens when it comes to the phenomenon that is a ‘dark horse’ is that everyone tends to agree on who the official ‘dark horse’ is.
In football world cups down the years, it’s often nations such as Belgium, Ivory Coast or Chile who assume the position. In other words, it’s a tag reserved for teams with great promise and attacking ability, but perhaps lacking the experience or tactical nous to follow it through to actually win it.
As a result of the kind of qualities a ‘dark horse’ usually possesses, they often become the team everyone wants to see succeed. Not only because they can say “I told you so,” but because they are revered for playing the game the right way and because it would symbolise a shift away from the more expected winners.
After all, we all love an underdog in sport.
You only have to look back to the reaction of China B’s unlikely World Cup win two years ago to acknowledge that it’s this kind of unpredictability which can make a World Cup more exciting and memorable.
Thailand tip
With this year’s snooker World Cup now firmly under way and given we’ve had a chance to see all the nations in action, Thailand appear to be the team we are universally tipping to be this year’s ‘dark horse’.
In line with everything I’ve mentioned above, they have all the hallmarks to fit the bill.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Noppon Saengkham look like a very dangerous proposition in Wuxi.
They are arguably two of the most entertaining players to watch outside of the world’s top 16. They are both heavy scorers, talented single-ball potters and seem to have just about enough big-game experience to suggest they could go all the way if everything clicks this week.
An opening match victory against the highly fancied Scotland team of John Higgins and Ants McGill has got everyone talking about them and could prove to be a catalyst for a memorable tournament. They followed this up today with another 3-2 win against Israel and look to be playing themselves nicely into contention.
The Thai team (albeit with Saengkham instead of Dechawat Poomjaeng this time) are no strangers to big wins in the World Cup. Two years ago, they scored an equally impressive opening group win against an England team of Mark Selby and then recently crowned world champion Stuart Bingham.
They went on to qualify out of the group ahead of England and also seeded Republic of Ireland, before eventually losing to 4-1 to Wales in the quarter-finals.
In many ways, the World Cup feels like an ideal competition for Noppon and Thepchaiya to make their mark.
They have a similar enough game to form a strong partnership and also seem motivated by representing their country and the added incentive that brings.
For Thailand to go on and win the World Cup, there’s still a lot of work to be done and many more difficult hurdles to overcome.
But what they have done is laid the foundations, allowed their confidence to build and got the momentum rolling with a positive start.
Thailand’s affinity with snooker largely revolves around James Wattana and his contribution to the game down the years. But this year’s competition is an opportunity for two newer talents to write the next chapter in Thailand’s snooker history.
