Noppon Saengkham's ambition of becoming a world champion is still intact although the Thai was well beaten by John Higgins in the second round of the world championship in Sheffield on Monday.
The 46-year-old from Scotland, who remains on course for a first Crucible crown in 11 years, will next meet England's Jack Lisowski who stunned pre-tournament favourite Neil Robertson 13-12.
The Wizard of Wishaw defeated Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, another Thai, in the first round last week.
Noppon said: "He [Higgins] is a very good player and I've learned many things from him. I don't think I played very well and John did. He controlled everything about the game. I want to become a world champion, so I need to play with world champions like John. I'll try my best next year and learn from this."
Noppon, better known in his country as Moo Paknam, will now return to Thailand to see his newly-born daughter, named Believe, for the first time.
She was born last week on the morning of his opening round tie with Luca Brecel of Belgium, which he won 10-5.
"I have another two days here, then I'll go back to Thailand. I will hopefully have some time seeing my family before coming back ready for next season. My daughter is still in hospital and everything is okay. I've received a photo of her and I can't wait to spend some time with her," he told wst.tv.
Earlier, Noppon revealed he named his daughter Believe because of defending world champion Mark Selby.
"I got the idea of the name from when Mark Selby was 10-4 down against John Higgins in the 2017 world final," Noppon told bbc.com.
"He said 'believe, believe, believe' when the camera was on him, and he came back to win.
"He knows I like him. I love his game. His game is to never give up. That is why I like him."
Higgins won the most recent of his four world titles in 2011, when he defeated Judd Trump 18-15 in the final.
He has since reached three world finals in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but lost to Mark Selby, Mark Williams and Judd Trump respectively.
Meanwhile, Robertson made a rare world championship 147 maximum break, but still crashed o defeat against Lisowski on Monday.
The 40-year-old Australian recorded only the 12th 147 in the history of the tournament as he battled in vain to avoid a second round exit at the Crucible Theatre.
It was Robertson's fifth career 147 and the first in the world championship since Higgins in 2020. agencies
