Stan Moody before he joined the World Snooker Tour as a 16-year-old (Image: WST)
Snooker sensation Stan Moody is enjoying a breakthrough tournament at the World Open after knocking out the Chinese No.2 and a former world champion. The 18-year-old recorded his second win of the season against the world No.10 Zhang in the first round in Yushan on Sunday.
The youngster compiled breaks of 60, 123, 55, 75 and 68 to triumph 5-3. Moody then followed up by beating 2006 world champion Graeme Dott 5-2, including a break of 123. He plays Chinese star Xu Si in the third round on Tuesday.
Despite his tender age, the Yorkshireman has been regarded as a star of the future for some time. Having first picked up a cue at the age of nine while on a family holiday in Spain when he had a go at pool, Moody earned a World Snooker Tour card at just 16 after winning the World Junior Championship in Australia.
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While that seems incredibly young, it was all part of the fiercely focused youngster’s plan. as he prepared to join the likes of and on the Tour, he said: “I’ve got no GCSEs, nothing.
“I only went to school because I had to, I never enjoyed one bit of it. I just wanted to be at the club hitting balls, it’s my dream. Working in an office isn’t, it just isn’t my thing.
“When it first happened [secured secured his Tour card], I couldn’t believe it. But now it’s sunk in, it’s something I’d always planned to do. Back when I was 11 or 12, I always planned to get on this early.
“I wouldn’t like to get on at 20-21 because the best years of your career are gone then. The experience I’ll gain from getting on so young will be priceless.”
Moody during his victory over Zhang Anda at the World Open (Image: Getty)
By then, Moody had already won praise from the game’s greats, including Jimmy White, who called him a “fantastic talent” and a “really serious player.”
In early 2023, Moody played his idol, O’Sullivan, at the Six Reds World Championship in Thailand in front of thousands of spectators. The Rocket triumphed, but Moody took a couple of frames off him.
“It was a great experience playing on TV against the best person ever to pick a cue up,” recalled Moody. “I know it was only six reds and people say it’s not a proper game, but you’ve still got the pot all the balls.
Moody, then 16, with Ronnie O’Sullivan (Image: Eurosport)
“There were 2,500-3,000 people watching. It was good for me to get used to that environment and the pressure, I loved it. People were coming up to me afterwards asking for autographs and pictures. It’s a reward for doing well.
“He [O’Sullivan] said a bit to me after. I can’t remember all of it but it was something along the lines of ‘how you doing?’, ‘good luck on tour’. It was nice of him to say something instead of just walking straight off.”
O’Sullivan heaped praise on Moody at last year’s Welsh Open, comparing him to 2005 World Championship Shaun Murphy in both looks and style.
“He looks like Shaun Murphy, just 25 years younger,” quipped O’Sullivan on Eurosport. “He plays like Shaun Murphy as well, he stomps round the table, hits the ball really firm. Very confident too.”