"A dream come true" - Halifax's Stan Moody reflects on his Crucible debut at the World Snooker Championships

Moody, from Sowerby Bridge, lost 10-7 to former champion Kyren Wilson in the first round of this year's tournament in April, but became the first English teenager since Judd Trump in 2007 to make his debut at the event.

The 19-year-old led 6-3 after a stunning first session, but succumbed to Wilson's fightback in the second session.

"It was amazing," he reflected, "the venue was class, a bit bigger than I expected it to be but it was a good Yorkshire crowd, getting behind me and supporting me.

"It was class."

Moody's first ever entrance into the famous Curucible Theatre was greeted by an unforgettable reception from the Crucible crowd.

"It was loud. Apart from maybe the semis or the final, I don't think anyone got a cheer that loud, it was amazing," he said. "A dream come true."

And not long afterwards, Moody announced his arrival on the sport's biggest stage with a magnificent opening long-range red.

"I don't know how it went in to be honest!" he said.

"My legs were still shaking from coming out, my whole body was shaking.

"But I somehow just hit it straight and made an 80 or 90 break straight away, which settled me well and I played well in that first session.

"I didn't really miss, I put Kyren under a lot of pressure and I felt comfortable out there.

"I came out the same at night, went 7-3 up, felt exactly the same, flying, then missed a silly red to go 8-3 and it completely changed the match.

"He cleared up from there, potted a long black to go 7-4 and it just went downhill.

"I still felt good but he got a bit of momentum then and the game changed."

The match eventually slipped out of Moody's grasp as he lost seven straight frames in the second session.

"You try not to think too far in-front, you try not to think 'it's going to go badly now'," he said.

"One shot can change things. He could have missed one and it could have swung back my way, but it didn't.

"You've just got to stay in the moment and try to make the best of your chances.

"They're really long matches, so you've got to keep playing well.

"Who knows what I could have done, but I'll try and get back there next year and do a bit better."

On what he feels his main lesson learned from the experience was, Moody said: "Just certain shots at certain times, when to take it on, when to play safe.

"Really, the positive I took from it was playing that well straight away really, I felt comfortable but I know that next time, it'll be even easier.

"I'll know what to expect more and hopefully I can go deeper."

Since then, Moody has been to Thailand and China for a month to see his girlfriend.

"I was still practising in-between, three or four hours a day," he said.

"I played my first qualifier back in England the other day and lost. I wasn't rusty but just wasn't as sharp as normal.

"I've put a lot of time in since then though (the World Championships) and sorted myself out a bit, so I'll play better now."

Moody is excited to see what the new snooker season has in store for him.

"There's going to be a few ups and downs but we'll see what happens," he said.

"I want to win a tournament. I know it sounds a bit of a bold statement but I feel like my game's good enough to do that now.

"I've shown I can beat top players, last season I beat Kyren, John Higgins, Ali Carter, Ding Junhui, so I know I can do it, it's just doing it consistently.

"I know I can handle the pressure as well, that isn't a problem, it's just about keeping sharp, practising good and enjoying it."

While Moody is looking forward to hopefully getting his hands on some silverware this season - he's been tipped as a future world champion by Ronnie O'Sullivan - he can look back on a memorable 2026 whatever happens.

"To do it so young, and so quick - there's some players who've been on the tour 20 years and still not got there, so it's a very good achievement," he said of his Crucible debut.

"I beat some very good players to get there.

"I'll try to tick off some more goals and try to win a tournament."