Ronnie O’Sullivan has been proven right in his assessment of one rising star in the sport of snooker, who has reached the World Championships for the first time at 19
Stan Moody has reached the World Snooker Championship for the first time in his budding career at the age of just 19. It comes after Ronnie O’Sullivan tipped the Halifax-born talent to have a bright future just a matter of months ago.
After making light work of Robbie Williams in the last 80 with a 10-5 win, Moody was pitted off with Jiang Jun for the final qualifying round of the tournament on Tuesday. In unrelenting fashion, the teenager secured a 10-8 win on Judgement Day to stamp his ticket to the World Championship at the Crucible, which kicks off later this week.
It comes just months after snooker great O’Sullivan was left impressed with the youngster, sharing a glowing assessment of Moody with Metro. He said: “I’m excited for Stan Moody.
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“I think he’s an amazing talent. I watched him play and I thought, ‘yeah, this kid can play.’ I always thought he could play but he’s shown now that the breakthrough’s not far away.”
It comes as Moody shared his aspirations after being compared as the ‘Luke Littler of snooker’ in some circles.
He told the World Snooker Tour: “I’ve got a long way to go to be a Luke Littler of snooker, but I’m on my way.
“I want to be top 32 by the end of the season, go deeper in tournaments. I’m doing alright.”
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It comes as Moody and O’Sullivan could end up facing one another at the Crucible in the coming weeks, as the ‘Rocket’ vies for an eighth title at the coveted event.
Having won in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2022, he is currently tied with Stephen Hendry for most world titles and will be eager to separate himself from the Scottish legend before calling time on his career.
However, O’Sullivan isn’t the only talent that Moody will have to be wise to should he hope to go on an emphatic title run of his own.
Zhao Xintong returns to Sheffield just 12 months on from his remarkable victory over Mark Williams to secure the title in 2025.
Elsewhere, World No. 1 Judd Trump, four-time champion Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson, Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson will battle it out on the baize.
The 2026 World Championship takes place between Saturday, April 19 and Monday, May 4.
