Stan Moody ‘gutted’ after nightmare collapse on World Snooker Championship debut

Jack Otway
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 06:40:39 +0000

Stan Moody's dream World Snooker Championship debut turned into a nightmare on Monday evening as the 19-year-old watched a commanding 7-3 advantage slip away against defending champion Kyren Wilson.

The teenager looked to have the first-round match firmly in his grasp at the Crucible, but Wilson showed exactly why he lifted the trophy in 2024.

The 34-year-old produced a stunning fightback, rattling off seven consecutive frames to seal a 10-7 victory and book his spot in the last 16.

Wilson will now take on Mark Allen in the second round, while Moody heads home to process a brutal introduction to snooker's biggest stage.

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Moody was refreshingly honest about how much the defeat stung, telling TNT Sports: "I'm gutted. I felt like I had the match won at 7-3.

"I missed the red to go 8-3 and it just went downhill from there."

The youngster acknowledged the unique pressures of long-format matches at the Crucible, where momentum swings can be devastating.

"[They are] long matches, a lot of pressure. There are a lot of swings," he explained.

"A top player like Kyren, you're expecting them to come back. I felt like I was the better player today, but just a bit of experience and losing bad frames hurt."

Despite the heartbreak, Moody found silver linings in his Crucible experience, describing it as "amazing" and praising the Sheffield crowd for their support.

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"It's a bit of a disappointing end, but I'll have a few days off to think about what's happened," he said.

"The crowd were amazing. I've gained a lot of fans and I enjoyed it out there."

The final frame summed up his evening perfectly – a missed black that came from sheer frustration.

"I was just at a point where I thought, I don't care anymore. I've lost too many bad frames. I might as well just go for it and see what happens," Moody admitted.

"I rattled it and if it goes in, I might win 10-9, but it didn't. So it is what it is."

TNT Sports expert Alan McManus didn't hold back when assessing what went wrong for the teenager.

"It's a harsh lesson this," McManus reflected.

"He played three or four shots tonight that simply aren't good enough at this level, in this company, against that level of opposition."

Wilson will now take on Mark Allen, with that showdown due to take place on Thursday.