HALIFAX, WEST YORKSHIRE — Stan Moody will make his World Snooker Championship main draw debut on Monday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where he faces world number two Kyren Wilson in the first round. The 18-year-old from Halifax, West Yorkshire, is the youngest player in this year's draw and the first English teenager since Judd Trump in 2007 to reach the main stage.

Moody, ranked 44th in the world, qualified by beating Robbie Williams and Jiang Jun. He played the Jiang match after discharging himself from hospital following a case of tonsillitis.

Moody turned professional in 2023 after winning the WSF World Junior Championship. He first drew attention at the 2022 Snooker Shootout, where he beat Lu Ning in a single-frame match as a 15-year-old.

During the current season, Moody reached the quarter-finals at the Wuhan Open in August 2025 and at the British Open in September 2025. He defeated former world number one Ding Junhui at the Wuhan Open and beat Wilson on his run to the British Open quarter-finals. He also recorded a win over John Higgins at the World Open earlier in the year.

Moody has said he believes he can have an impact on snooker comparable to what 19-year-old two-time darts world champion Luke Littler has had on his sport. "I think it's quite fair," Moody said. "Snooker's a lot harder than darts, I'd say. There's not many young players coming through."

"Snooker's a lot harder to dominate, especially nowadays, with the standard where anyone can beat anyone," he said. "Darts isn't really like that - there's a top few who are very good and Luke's generation is amazing and that's what I'm trying to be in snooker. Got a bit to go yet but I'll keep going, keep trying."

Jimmy White, a former professional, described Moody as a "serious player."

Shaun Murphy, the 2005 world champion, mentored Moody early in his professional career and said he was "honoured" to have a role in his progression. Moody and Murphy are on opposite sides of the draw and cannot meet until the final.