Mark Allen thinks Crucible debutant Stan Moody is starting to produce after overcoming external pressures to succeed early in his career.
The 19 year-old became the first British teenager since Judd Trump in 2007 to qualify for a World Snooker Championship with his 10-9 defeat of Jiang Jun in the qualifiers last week.
Allen could face Moody in the last 16 in Sheffield after the Northern Irishman emerged from his first-round clash against Zhang Anda with a 10-6 victory.
The Pistol looked to be in trouble when he trailed 5-3 after the first session, but his form improved dramatically in the second session.
Refreshed from an afternoon spent relaxing with his friends, Allen returned on day two to win seven out of the concluding eight frames.
The former semi-finalist compiled a hat-trick of century breaks, form he will be hoping to take into the next round.
Next up could be Moody, who is beginning to prove himself as a performer on snooker’s biggest stages.
Moody has been branded as the next bright hope for British snooker – not least by the World Snooker Tour itself – and Allen believes that weight of expectation has actually hindered his progress until now.
“I’ve said it before that I think Stan is a really good kid,” Mark Allen said in a post-match interview with WST.
“I don’t think World Snooker did him any favours for a few years with how much they were promoting him and putting pressure on him.”
“That has sort of tailed off a little, and Stan’s results have started to get better again, which is really good.
“He’s a talented boy and a great scorer. He backs himself in the big moments, which I really like.
“He’s not scared to go for those shots. That would be a very, very tough match.
Moody, of course, would have to negotiate his round-of-32 fixture if he is to face Allen over 25 frames in Sheffield.
That certainly won’t be an easy task having been drawn to face Kyren Wilson in the first round.
Wilson is somebody Allen has had plenty of important battles with – beating the Kettering cueist in the 2018 Masters final but twice losing at editions of the World Championship.
“We’ve played in a lot of big matches over the years, and I’d say the head-to-head is pretty close without actually knowing it,” Allen continued.
“You know what you’re going to get with Kyren. He is just a very good all-round player.”
“He scores, his safety is good, his long potting is very good. You just need to play very, very well to beat him.
“It’s a match I’d look forward to. Obviously, he’s a former world champion and he’ll be wanting to get that crown back.
“I’m standing in his way, but if I can play like I did in that second session against Zhang, I’ll fancy my chances.”
The Wilson versus Moody clash from the 2026 World Snooker Championship draw will take place on Monday.
Mark Williams, Barry Hawkins, and Xiao Guodong were the other players to safely reach the last 16 on Sunday, meanwhile.
Williams and Hawkins set up a showdown against one another courtesy of respective 10-4 triumphs against Antoni Kowalski and Matthew Stevens.
Xiao compiled a brace of century breaks to see off the challenge of friend Zhou Yuelong with a 10-6 scoreline.
A couple of other games reached their halfway points, with Ding Junhui 7-2 up on David Gilbert and Ali Carter leading John Higgins 5-4.
Featured photo credit: WST
