By Elliott West
“He’s a fantastic talent, I watched him play in Sheffield for a week before the World Championship. He is a really serious player”.
Jimmy White
Introduction
It is always lovely when after a long period of support, a snooker player breaks through and achieves the victory that you knew he was so capable of. Many mistake Stan Moody for a junior version of Shaun Murphy, which is a mistake wrapped up in a compliment. The 16-year-old from Halifax who first picked up a cue when he was only 10, moved from pool to snooker when he was 11 and has never looked back since. Stan has soared on the junior circuit, packing a number of titles under his belt including winning the English Under-14 championship twice and holder of the Leeds Under-16 championship also twice, the Leeds Under-18 championship, the Yorkshire Open Age Handicap champion and Stratford Pro-Am champion. His victories all down to hard work, dedication and the love of support of especially his father and manager Nigel and his coach Neil Johnson.
Bags of Talent
I don’t often get excited about a snooker player but Stan Moody gets my blood pumping. He is that raw talent that has been transformed, a player with a beautiful cue action that makes music when the ball hits the back of the pocket. Stan is someone that doesn’t fear a challenge and has the metal to resist all that is thrown at him. A young man who may be Moody by name but certainly not by nature and someone who has one of the best work ethics that I have ever witnessed. So it was no surprise that there was a real buzz in the air when Stan travelled to Sydney in Australia to take part in the World Snooker Federation Junior Championship. A country that propelled Jimmy White onto the road to snooker stardom when he won the IBSF World Amateur Championship in Tasmania after beating Ron Atkins 11-2 in the final.
The Road to Victory
The route to success has a rocky path and is full of twists and turns but for Stan Moody and 17-year-old Liam Pullen, this appeared to be a breeze. Both players flew through the knockout stages of the event at the Mounties Club with a clean and sweeping sheet, 100% to be precise with Moody producing two whitewashes along the way. It wasn’t until the semi-finals that Stan was tested with a close match against Iulian Boiko, ending 4-3 in Moody’s favour. Meanwhile, Pullen also produced an amazing run, only dropping three frames in the knockout rounds and a tremendous 143 break in his semi-final match against Filips Kalnins.
Stan’s the Man
This was a final that sent many tongues wagging with a large number of players and fans tuning into the streaming including big names of snooker such as Shaun Murphy and Alan McManus. In a pressurised final where a two-year tour card was at stake, Liam Pullen let his nerves get the better of him and let his opponent race into a 4-0 lead. Liam avoided the dreaded whitewash or bagel as we call it in snooker but the sucker punch came in the sixth frame with Moody pouncing on his opponent to produce a tremendous 5–1 victory.
Afterthoughts
This Under-18 victory by Stan Moody places him firmly on the snooker map. It gives him the golden opportunity of a two-year tour card on the main tour and a guaranteed £20,000 a year salary, thanks to a recent WST decision to help players as a result of the Cost of Living crisis. Stan coped well when he appeared as a 15-year-old at the 2022 Snooker Shootout, won by Hossein Vafaei. Moody played some brilliant snooker in his debut match against Lu Ning, producing a 53-27 victory before losing to Oliver Lines in the last 64 2-11. A run that alerted many to his snooker capabilities. Stan has an abundance of potential and it will be interesting to follow his progress on the main tour when he joins it next season.
