Stan Moody, Liam Pullen, and Antoni Kowalski will each play at the Crucible Theatre for the first time after emerging from Judgement Day of the World Snooker Championship qualifiers on Tuesday.
All three rising stars of the game came through titanic tussles at the English Institute of Sport to continue their memorable journeys in Sheffield.
There was a great atmosphere inside the venue with a big crowd adding to the overwhelming sense of achievement for the trio.
Moody, suffering from tonsillitis and on medication, defied the recommendation of his doctors to pull out of the tournament.
The 19 year-old, who becomes the first British teenager to qualify for the Crucible since Judd Trump in 2007, won’t regret his choice after prevailing from a 10-9 thriller against Jiang Jun.
Moody trailed 6-5 but underlined his potential by winning five out of the concluding eight frames with breaks of 127, 113, 104, 71, and 70.
“The doctors said to me, ‘we know you are going to say no, but we want you to stay in [hospital],'” Moody told the World Snooker Tour.
“I said, ‘no, I’ve got a match to play.’ And I’m glad I did. I’m very happy. I don’t really know what to say.”
“But it has been a dream of mine since I started playing. To do it so young, I’m over the moon.”
Pullen said that the roar from the crowd when Moody got past the winning line initially put him off, but he admitted that seeing his young countryman qualify ultimately gave him inspiration to do the same.
“To be honest, it was quite off-putting seeing him win,” the 20 year-old, who lost to Moody in the 2023 WSF Junior Championship final, told WST.
“I felt like if I lose now, I’d let everyone down. When Stan won, I needed to wait for the crowd to die down a touch before carrying on.”
Pullen played very well to establish a three-frame lead over Noppon Saengkham, but the experienced Thai fought back to restore parity.
It was anyone’s game at 8-8, but Pullen pulled clear again at the finish to clinch his Crucible debut having begun the competition in the very first round of the qualifiers.
“I’m very proud, to be fair. I’m still in the same tournament, and I’m going to go to the Crucible and try my best.”
“I appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way. All sorts were going on, but I’m just happy to get over the line.
“I felt like I really played well up to 8-5 and then the game was changing, so I’m just happy that I stuck in there.”
Kowalski, meanwhile, will become the first player from Poland to compete at the Crucible Theatre after edging past Jamie Jones with a 10-8 scoreline.
With his tour survival on the line, the 22 year-old outlasted the former quarter-finalist in a low-scoring scrap to successfully safeguard his professional status.
“The best explanation will be that I never cry,” a tearful Kowalski told Rob Walker shortly after his match ended.
“That’s the perfect explanation of how much this means to me. I’m over the moon obviously.”
“But this is the only time in history that I’ll think more about saving my tour card other than playing in the theatre of dreams.
“I don’t know what to say, because there are too many emotions in me right now. My girlfriend and parents will come to the Crucible, so it’s going to be a special moment.”
While the main story on day one of Judgement Day undoubtedly revolved around the up-and-coming youngsters, there were moments of joy for the experienced contingent too.
Matthew Stevens, who was a beaten World Championship finalist all the way back in 2000 and 2005, secured his return to the Crucible for the first time in four years.
The Welshman beat former world champion Stuart Bingham in a final-round clash of two heavyweight competitors.
Two-time former semi-finalist David Gilbert will also be in the draw for the first round proper after ousting Aaron Hill from the competition for the second year on the trot.
There were victories elsewhere for Hossein Vafaei and Pang Junxu, two players who reached the last 16 twelve months ago.
Four-time ranking event runner-up Zhou Yuelong qualified as well after backing up his 10-3 destruction of Robbie McGuigan with a similarly convincing 10-4 defeat of Michael Holt.
The second Judgement Day takes place on Wednesday, which will in turn see the conclusion of the intense ten-day qualifying event in Sheffield.
2026 World Snooker Championship qualifiers
Judgement Day 1
Results
Stuart Bingham 7-10 Matthew Stevens
Hossein Vafaei 10-4 Gao Yang
Aaron Hill 6-10 David Gilbert
Michael Holt 4-10 Zhou Yuelong
Jiang Jun 9-10 Stan Moody
Antoni Kowalski 10-8 Jamie Jones
Jackson Page 8-10 Pang Junxu
Noppon Saengkham 8-10 Liam Pullen
Judgement Day 2
Wednesday, Apr 15 at 11:00 and 17:00 BST
Jak Jones vs Luca Brecel
Lei Peifan vs Ryan Day
Xu Si vs Gary Wilson
Zak Surety vs Zhang Anda
Ali Carter vs Anthony McGill
Liam Highfield vs Oliver Lines
Fan Zhengyi vs Ben Mertens
He Guoqiang vs Jack Lisowski
Featured photo credit: WST
