Opinion: Stan Moody should be allowed to enjoy 'great adventure' in snooker despite raised expectations

Shaun Murphy was allowed to turn professional at 15 because his 16th birthday fell just after the start of the 1998/99 season and it was thought unfair to make this promising young player wait another year. Dizzy with excitement at being part of the glamorous world of top level sport, he was swiftly dealt a reality check when a senior player took him for a coffee and told him that he had no right to be part of the tour. Welcome to the professional snooker circuit.

Ad Given this experience, Murphy is well placed to offer more encouraging advice to Stan Moody, a talented and dedicated 16-year-old, who has just earned his pro status by winning the World Snooker Federation junior title in Australia. Welsh Open‘Like getting on a bike’ – O’Sullivan says he is ‘enjoying’ his snooker2 HOURS AGO Moody, from Happy Valley country in Halifax, impressed by winning a match at last year’s Shoot Out and has kept working hard in the following 12 months, capturing the English under 18 and under 16 titles. After his success in the world juniors he reached the final of the main WSF Championship.

Murphy has already been helping out with advice as a mentor figure. He has much wisdom to impart after 25 years as a professional but can also deal a reality check: life on tour is hard. There are no guarantees.

There’s been a narrative left unchallenged for a while that there is no young British talent coming through. Moody disproves this, as does 16-year-old Liam Davies from Wales, already world champion in the under-21, 18 and 16 age divisions. He plays today as a wildcard in the Welsh Open in Llandudno.