Stan Moody progressed to Stage Two of Championship League Snooker after topping Group 30 on Thursday in Leicester.
The 19 year-old made big strides last season, reaching a couple of ranking event quarter-finals and breaking into the world’s top 50.
Moody also qualified for the World Championship for the first time in his career, giving former champion Kyren Wilson a scare before eventually bowing out in the last 32.
Expectations for the teenager to make even bigger movements on the main tour are high for the new campaign.
Moody got off to a positive start in the first ranking tournament of the 2026/27 season, ending his round robin in first place with an undefeated record.
The Englishman first secured a 2-2 tie with Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon before subsequently landing back-to-back wins against Stuart Carrington and Daniel Wells.
Joining Moody in the last 32 of the competition will be Liu Hongyu, who orchestrated a similar run to prevail from Group 17 at the Mattioli Arena.
Liu initially got off to an indifferent start by scoring just a single point from his 2-2 draw with Oliver Brown.
But ensuing triumphs over Paul Norris and Joe O’Connor brought his tally to seven points and guaranteed his spot in the next phase.
O’Connor had needed just a point from his end-of-day fixture, but a 121 break helped Liu to a 3-1 victory over the Englishman – thus eliminating the 2025 runner-up from the event.
More than half of the Stage Two contenders are now known, but there are still a dozen more group winners to be determined.
Two more will take place on Friday with Iulian Boiko in Group 4 alongside Lan Yuhao, Joshua Thomond, and Ian Martin.
Jak Jones headlines Group 22 and will compete for top spot against Oliver Lines, Michael Larkov, and Alfie Burden.
Championship League Snooker represents the opening ranking event of the fledgling 2026/27 snooker season.
The overall winner on July 15th will take home £33,000 worth of prize money and ranking points, plus a ticket to the lucrative Champion of Champions invitational later this year.
Live coverage is available for Ireland and UK viewers on the Matchroom Multi Sport and Matchroom Pool YouTube channels.
Thursday, July 2
Group 17 Results
Joe O’Connor 3-0 Paul Norris
Liu Hongyu 2-2 Oliver Brown
Liu Hongyu 3-0 Paul Norris
Joe O’Connor 3-0 Oliver Brown
Oliver Brown 3-1 Paul Norris
Liu Hongyu 3-1 Joe O’Connor
Group 17 Table
1. Liu Hongyu – 7 points
2. Joe O’Connor – 6 points
3. Oliver Brown – 4 points
4. Paul Norris – 0 points
Click here for more information about the tournament.
Group 30 Results
Stan Moody 2-2 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
Daniel Wells 2-2 Stuart Carrington
Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 3-0 Daniel Wells
Stan Moody 3-0 Stuart Carrington
Stuart Carrington 2-2 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
Stan Moody 3-1 Daniel Wells
Group 30 Table
1. Stan Moody – 7 points
2. Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon – 5 points
3. Stuart Carrington – 2 points
4. Daniel Wells – 1 point
Featured photo credit: WST
