Thanawat won the South-East Asian Qualifier for the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, defeating Malaysia's Tengku Hadzali Shah in the final to become the first player from Thailand to qualify for a World Championship. He played against Germany's René Eidams in the qualifying round, losing 2–0 in a low-quality contest that saw both players average below 70. The Thai team were defeated 4–2 by Greece in the first round of the 2017 World Cup.