By Elliott West
Introduction
Stan Moody is a rising star in snooker, one of the best junior prospects in the sport. A player who first fell in love with snooker when he was nine years old whilst on holiday with his family, later describing the experience:
“Our room was next to a pool table and when I saw it, I was interested, so my dad showed me how to do a bridge”.
Stan Moody
Stan is a prospect that has definitely impressed me, becoming the reigning Under-14 snooker champion and who has made a 133 break-in match play and already made a 147 break.
Young Blood
This year Stan was invited to take part at the Q School at Ponds Forge and attempted to attain one of the 14 golden tickets to gain access to the professional tour. A goal that would make him the youngest ever player to graduate, an aspiration that was heightened by the success of Jamie Wilson, the teenager who claimed promotion last year. Sadly he lost 4-0 to Duane Jones.
Stan has made an impressive start to his snooker career, this talented Halifax cueist has already won the 2019 English under-14 Snooker Championship, claiming victory in dramatic fashion, winning the final on a re-spotted black in. deciding frame. A great achievement with the amount of talent in this tournament and only being 12 years old at the time. A match where Moody was 3-0 up but his opponent, Liam Pullen pulled the match back, so all credit to Stan for holding his nerve in a very testing sporting situation.
Moody has also represented his country at the Home Internationals and has won two events on the Under-20 Regional Development Tour North. He has also gained promotion to the Under-21 Premier Development Tour after finishing second in the overall rankings. A year that has however been tested like so many other players, due to the lack of tournaments caused by the pandemic.
Stan is lucky because his school had recognised his talent and allowed him to have Mondays and Fridays off school to practice. Practising on a 100-year-old Burroughs and Watts table at home or at either Levels in Huddersfield or at Ding’s Academy in Sheffield, Moody has been lucky enough to practice with the likes of Yuan Sijun, Brian Ochoiski and Nigel Bond, players who have helped him improve his safety game. Practice that fuelled his strengths of potting and break-building, regularly making breaks of over 70. A player who cites Mark Selby and Judd Trump as his snooker idols and gained his nickname ‘The Action’ from Mark Allen after playing him in an exhibition match. Moody has just won the English Under-14 Championship again, whitewashing Dylan Smith 5-0 in the final.
