Who is Stan Moody? Crucible debutant profiled

Who is Stan Moody? Crucible debutant profiledByJonty Colman, BBC Sport journalist and John Skilbeck, BBC Sport senior journalistPublished19 April 2026Updated 14 minutes agoStan Moody is the teenager who believes he can do for snooker what Luke Littler has for darts.Moody, who will make his World Championship debut on Monday in the first round against world number two Kyren Wilson, won't be found lacking for confidence or belief in his ability."I think it's quite fair," he says of the Littler comparison."Snooker's a lot harder than darts, I'd say. There's not many young players coming through."The 19-year-old Moody is the youngest player in the draw at the Crucible this year.He sits 44th in snooker's world rankings but is a player many expect to become one of the sport's elite.Reaching the World Championship main draw at his age makes him the first English teenager since Judd Trump in 2007 to make his debut at the tournament.In darts, the 'Littler effect' has sent sales of darts and dartboards stratospheric, and the sport has a booming audience, whether on television, websites or at venues.What could the Moody impact be? More players turning up to their local club and giving snooker a try, perhaps."Hopefully. I think people think it's a boring game, an old man's game, but it's not - it can be fun," says Moody, who hails from Halifax, West Yorkshire, and turned professional in 2023 after winning the WSF World Junior Championship."That's why I like to play more attacking, play fast, and encourage young players to do it and believe they can do it."There are echoes of Trump's talk of "sexy snooker" and "naughty snooker" when he made his sensational run to the 2011 final in Sheffield as a 21-year-old.Moody says it is inspiring to see someone such as two-time world champion Littler, who is also 19, dominating in darts."Of course," he s...