Halifax's Stan Moody races into 6-3 lead over former champion Kyren Wilson on his World Snooker Championship debut
Halifax’s Stan Moody leads 6-3 after the first session of his debut at the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield.
Moody, 19, from Sowerby Bridge, is the first British teenager to qualify for the tournament in 19 years, and is up against former World Champion and reigning Masters champion Kyren Wilson.
But he showed no signs of nerves on his Crucible debut, racing into a 3-0 lead, potting a long red with his very first shot of the match and winning first frame in a single visit, scoring 84 in the manner of a seasoned pro.
After breaks of 22 and 17 in frame two, either side of a Wilson break of 42, Moody made a clearance of 26 to double his lead.
The Halifax star’s long-potting was outstanding as he went 3-0 up with a superb break of 91, immediately looking comfortable in his vaunted surroundings and as if he was playing at his local snooker club rather than on the world’s biggest stage.
Wilson got off the mark by winning a scrappy fourth frame 74-7.
He then made a break of 33 to make it 3-2 in another disjointed frame, with both players making errors.
A missed red by Wilson allowed Moody in for an impressive break of 110, with his maiden century at the Crucible eliciting a huge ovation from the crowd as he went 4-2 up.
Another missed red by Wilson let Moody in for a break of 32 in frame seven, before a poor safety shot by Wilson was capitalised on as Moody went 5-2 up with a break of 55.
Wilson made a break of 30 in frame eight but left a red for Moody, who made it 6-2 with a composed clearance of 101 in the manner of a player far more experienced.
In the last frame of the session, it was Wilson’s turn to take advantage of a Moody error to bring the score to 6-3.
But the former World champion has a lot of work to do to avoid an upset in tonight’s second session.