While the spotlight naturally falls on the title favourites, the early rounds of the World Snooker Championship often introduce new names to a wider audience.
Stan Moody, Liam Pullen, Antoni Kowalski, and He Guoqiang are among those looking to seize that opportunity.
Here’s a closer look at four players aiming to make a significant impact on their Crucible debuts in the 2026 World Snooker Championship draw.
Stan Moody
Stan Moody has been on the radar for a few years now and is widely regarded as one of England’s best teenage prospects.
A multiple-time English junior champion, he built his reputation early and graduated to the main tour aged just 16 with his triumph at the 2023 WSF Junior Championship.
What stands out most is his cue action – compact, repeatable, and already well suited to the demands of the professional game – similar in many ways to one of his mentors, Shaun Murphy.
There’s still a rawness to parts of his game, and his shot selection can occasionally be a little rushed, but the potential is obvious.
Importantly, Moody doesn’t look overawed by the bigger occasions, and he twice reached the quarter-finals of rankings events during the 2025/26 campaign.
Many are expecting big things from the young man from Halifax, and against Kyren Wilson in Sheffield he will have the chance to quickly prove those people right.
Liam Pullen
Liam Pullen has taken a slightly more gradual route into the spotlight, although like Moody he is a former English champion at junior level.
He lost to Moody in the final of the 2023 WSF Junior Championship, but several months later he graduated to the professional circuit regardless through his impressive performances at Q School.
Pullen’s displays since turning pro haven’t been as eye-catching as Moody, but he does also have a quarter-final run under his belt from this season.
The 20 year-old’s achievement at the World Championship qualifiers where he emerged from the very first round of the preliminaries should also be applauded.
Pullen beat two ranking event champions from this season along the way in Alfie Burden and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.
The Yorkshire potter looks comfortable in match play, and with confidence under his belt he could prove a handful for reigning Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin at the Crucible.
Antoni Kowalski
Antoni Kowalski has been one of the more visible players emerging from Poland’s developing snooker scene, with several strong runs in international amateur events before turning pro.
A three-time Polish amateur champion, Kowalski lost to Liam Davies in the final of the 2024 European Under-21 Amateur Championship.
But a few months later, he emerged from Q School to earn a maiden two-year card to compete on the World Snooker Tour.
Rarely lacking in confidence, Kowalski turned some heads for some of the self-assured comments he made when joining the circuit.
As with many newcomers, though, consistency was hard to sustain and it looked like relegation was on the cards at the end of the current term.
Yet by qualifying for the Crucible for the first time – a feat that reduced him to tears at the English Institute of Sport – Kowalski has safeguarded his spot on the tour for another season at the very least.
The 22 year-old plays three-time former world champion Mark Williams in the first round, a draw that had him literally jumping for joy in a widely shared video on social media on Thursday.
He Guoqiang
He Guoqiang comes from the increasingly competitive Chinese system, and that has been evident in how rounded his game already is.
The 25 year-old is perhaps not the most explosive scorer among the newer Chinese players, but he’s technically sound and has steadily risen up the ranks since turning professional.
A former IBSF world amateur champion at under-18 level, He graduated to the main tour through his performances at the Asia-Oceania Q School of 2023.
Just a few months later, he appeared in the quarter-finals of the British Open – a run that helped him receive the WST Rookie of the Year award at the end of the same campaign.
Like many players at this stage, the key question is whether there’s another level to his game, and if there is, when will it reveal itself?
After knocking out Jack Lisowski on Judgement Day, He has the unenviable task of facing seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round at the Crucible.
Featured photos credit: WST
To me, Moody has grown noticeably since I first saw him a few years ago — the fact he’s still a teenager shows just how young he was when he first started gaining attention — obviously a tough draw for him versus 2024 WC Kyren Wilson in the first round — would be nice to see him put aside any jitters and give Wilson a good battle — Wilson is not the toughest player mentally, so it could get interesting if Moody plays well.
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